Tags: Arts

UGA Cortona began in 1970 with a friendship between sculptor and art professor emeritus John D. "Jack" Kehoe, the late founder of the university’s Cortona study abroad program, and the former mayor of Cortona. Today, UGA students study year-round in Athens’ sister city to practice art across various mediums. This fall, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s biomedical physiology course joined the roster: “UGA Cortona has strategically broadened…
The upward trajectory of research and development expenditures at the University of Georgia continues with a record-high figure for FY25.  The $654 million in related expenditures during fiscal year 2025, representing a 4.1% increase over the previous year, set a new set a research and development record for the university. Since 2015, UGA’s R&D activity has grown by 75%: The growth of the university’s research enterprise has been…
The University of Georgia has selected 10 faculty - four from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences – to join the 2026 class of its Advanced Leader Program, an initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of higher education leaders. The program provides a select group of faculty and administrators an opportunity to build upon their existing strengths as they learn from senior administrators, experts in leadership development and…
Happy 2026 from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Best wishes as we look forward to an outstanding new year in teaching, research, and service. From the classroom to our laboratories and performance halls, let's bring our highest ambitions, be mindful of community, and find new ways to strengthen our connections to friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues.  
Happy Holidays from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences!   Image: The Iron Horse sculpture, illuminated red with LED lights. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)
University engagement with cities and towns across Georgia takes shape in shared vision, expertise, and innovative economic growth strategies. Community service is about much more than fulfilling credit hours for Franklin students – for many, it's a way to give back to hometown or region. For others, service opportunities provide invaluable training experience and inroads to exciting career opportunities. The recipe for success led UGA to be…
An increasing number of high-achieving in-state students are choosing to apply and enroll at the University of Georgia. The trend echoes with a national current of students increasingly looking to Southern universities including UGA that pair strong academics with a vibrant student experience: Applicants this year represented 49 states and Washington, D.C., as well as 129 Georgia counties, up from 115 last year. Admission offers went to students…
Franklin College Research Mixer  November 20, 2025 | Hendershots Coffee   The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences hosted a successful research mixer on November 20 at Hendershots Coffee, our new community partner for these networking events. Thirty-five faculty members gathered to explore collaborative opportunities under the theme "Connected Futures: Community, Risk & Networks," with six presentations showcasing…
Exceptional arts programming, research, and scholarship across Franklin and UGA were on display throughout November during the 14th annual Spotlight on the Arts festival. Congratulations to the many students and faculty in arts units who worked so hard to capture and hold the attention of the campus community. The monthlong festival featured more than 40 events and exhibitions in the literary, performing, and visual arts, including the fifth…
The creativity of University of Georgia students provides vitality to the Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s partnership with military installations – as well as a fresh take on existing infrastructure that will help guide future use. In spring 2025, 15 interior design students in the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art were tasked with reimagining a historic gas station at Fort Benning into a workspace for architects and an archaeology lab.…
In summer 2024, Peter Kanda (B. Mus. Piano Performance, German Studies Minor ‘26) prepped his final year at UGA by participating in the Pehlivanian Professional Opera Academy in Slovenia. Founded under the direction of Maestro George Pehlivanian, the academy is a pillar of the international opera scene, offering comprehensive training for conductors and vocalists from all over the world, with a focus on refining their skills. Its summer opera…
Ten years after she was a Chase Street Elementary School third grader, Maya Shrivastav found herself on stage as a UGA student performing for an audience of third-graders. "It was a full-circle moment. It’s really great to see how everything I’ve done since third grade has led me here,” said Shrivastav, now a first-year UGA student majoring in international affairs, political science and ceramics. Both Shrivastav and the students at her former…
Composer Emily Koh, associate professor in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, typically creates new emotional textures and moods in 24-pitch increments. Her work with two pianos dictated this constraint, an approach she stuck with for a long time. When she decided to explore music beyond 24 pitches, however, she knew she needed a new solution. Working with partners in the College of Engineering, Koh created ModμMIDI, a modular MIDI device with…
Blood, songs, demons, dancing and more! UGA Theatre's production of "Evil Dead" brought the audience a musical filled with comedy horror, catchy songs, and plenty of fake blood.  "Evil Dead" is a rock musical featuring four college students who camp out in an old cabin in the woods, when they discover an ancient book that unleashes demons and the undead into the world. Inspired by slasher films and filled with plenty of comedy, “Evil Dead”…
As the timer counted down 4 minutes and 33 seconds, presenters took the stage to share their integrative arts investigations. The presentations that unfolded went beyond standard explanations of an abstract and utilized creativity to captivate the audience.  The 2025 4’33” Competition featured a variety of presentations from poetry readings to immersive visuals. First place winner Younghyun Kim, Ph.D. student in Learning, Leadership, and…
Five accomplished alumni from the University of Georgia’s Department of Theatre and Film returned to campus this fall to share insights from careers spanning film, television, arts administration, production technology, and fundraising.  Moderated by theatre major Abby McWethy (BA, ‘27), the panel showcased the department’s growing influence across creative industries and affirmed the enduring value of a UGA education. The event was a…
UGA professor explores a distressed landscape in new interdisciplinary collection This November Andrew Zawacki, Distinguished Research Professor in the department of English, published Endscape, a collection of his poetry and photography. The work appears in the inaugural edition of the P5 Photo Poetry Pamphlet series, directed by Photoworks.    Endscape began around 2019, born out of an interest in the landscape surrounding…
 As a part of the month-long Spotlight on the Arts event, Karla Kelsey, the Diann Blakely Visiting Poet spent the last week participating in events, visiting classes and finally a reading of her most recent work, Transcendental Factory: For Mina Loy (2024).  Kelsey was introduced by Nik Moore, graduate student in the Creative Writing Program and began her reading, not with her own work but an excerpt from Mina Loy, giving the…
After discovering his singular passion for the French language as an undergraduate at UGA, William Carter AB ’63, MA ’67, made teaching and interpreting Proust’s novel a lifelong passion. Georgia magazine shares the story of an inspiring alumnus: "I loved it immediately,” he says. “I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to major in when I came to UGA, but once I took that first class, I never looked back.”…
The Generative AI student competition returns for its third year and asks students to use Artificial Intelligence to create something meaningful to enrich the UGA community/experience. Submissions are due March 6, 2026. Monetary prizes and swag will be awarded to the top three submissions, judged according to the innovative use of AI, creativity, impact on our local community or the lived experience of UGA community members, and…
Director of Bands and professor of music Nicholas Enrico Williams oversees five ensembles for the Hugh Hodgson School of Music as open routes to creative discovery for student performers. What began as a dream to be a music school faculty member has matured into a passion for achievement and bringing out the best in musicians on stage: Now in his fourth year as a professor and director of bands for the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Hugh…
This fall, Sharina Maíllo-Pozo, associate professor in the department of Romance Languages, taught a First Year Odyssey class focused on rapper, singer, and record producer Bad Bunny and the reggaetón music genre, which encouraged students to engage with Bad Bunny’s music from global and personal perspectives.   Maíllo-Pozo gave an overview of her seminar: “At the intersection of music, culture, and critical inquiry, this seminar invites…
With fundings from the UGA Arts Collaborative, the Medical Partnership, and a Mellon Building Southern Intersectional Futures grant through the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies, the University of Georgia Malady Mystery Project blends Murder mysteries, improvisation and medical training. The innovative program invites medical students, theatre artists and faculty from to co-create  — an interdisciplinary collaboration in the form of…
The Franklin College has partnered with The Marcus Foundation to launch Franklin CREATE!, a new initiative designed to build students’ entrepreneurial confidence and to help them create successful startup companies. Funded by a $3 million grant from The Marcus Foundation, Franklin CREATE! will establish a robust three-phase model that allows arts and sciences students to gain hands-on experience, mentorship and access to the resources needed to…
The University of Georgia has placed in the top 20 among the nation’s best public universities for the 10th consecutive year, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 rankings. UGA and Georgia Tech remain the only two Georgia institutions in the top 20, making Georgia and California the only two states with multiple universities ranked in that tier. Among private and public universities, UGA placed No. 46 in the nation: The USNWR…