Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities

Imagining Magnificent Designs
and Bringing Them to Life

Victoria “Toria” Snow’s triumphant Feb. 16 Facebook post read: “I came, I tried, and I WON!” That’s how the WSU theatre design student announced to friends, family and “followers” that she was one of eight regional finalists for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s (KCACTF) national award for excellence in costume design.

On April 20, Snow’s news got even better. She became the first WSU student costume designer to capture a KCACTF grand prize for her work on the WSU Theatre production of The Cripple of Inishmaan, a play that takes place on Ireland’s isolated isle of Inishmaan, where inhabitants observe ancient customs and wear traditional clothing.

Snow’s costume designs included pampooties, rawhide moccasins worn by men on the isle, and Aran sweaters, which traditionally feature intricate patterns that were zealously guarded by the same clan throughout generations.

“I used natural fibers and earth tones to convey a realistic feel,” Snow explained to KCACTF judges. “But each character had a pop of color to help them stand out.” To become the best, Snow had to learn from the best. In 2014, she enrolled at Weber State specifically to study with professor Catherine Zublin, who received a 2018 KCACTF gold medallion — the organization’s most prestigious regional award — for her outstanding efforts in encouraging young artists to develop their talents and pursue their dreams. Snow also worked closely with assistant professor Samantha “Sam” Transleau, who supervised her senior project, an outdoor art installation in Southern Utah.

Snow’s KCACTF award package included a trip to Washington, D.C., $500 and a trip to the 2019 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. She graduated from WSU in April 2019, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in costume design at California State University Fullerton.

Migration Captured in Mural

By creating three large-scale art installations in Ogden, 2018 Hurst Artist-in-Residence Jane Kim connected northern Utah to the Migrating Mural campaign, a nationwide art initiative highlighting endangered animals along migration corridors they share with humans. The Ogden Migrating Murals are part of a larger network of monarch butterfly-inspired murals across the country. Ogden is a pit stop along ?the monarch’s epic 3,000-mile North American migration path.

The project began at the Ogden Nature Center with six banners depicting the monarch’s life cycle. The next phase was a mural painted on the exterior walls of The Monarch, a new event space in downtown Ogden. For the third phase, Kim and her team selected three student interns from the Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities to help produce a monochrome mural for the Kimball Visual Arts Center atrium.

Kim hopes the Ogden murals will create awareness about the monarch’s endangered status and inspire widespread conservationism.

Casting Invisible Mountains

Using two simple materials — plastic sheeting and hot glue — internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi created what appeared to be a vast, floating mountainscape inside the Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery. In a process he calls casting the invisible, Onishi draped semi-translucent plastic over stacked cardboard boxes, suspended the mass with wispy strands of black glue, then removed the boxes. Reverse of Volume, described as a meditation on the nature of negative space, was on display from Feb. 8 to April 6, 2019.

Acclaimed Jazz Quartet Sets the Stage

The inaugural season of Browning Presents! (formerly the Office of Cultural Affairs) began on a high note with a performance by the Sean Jones Quartet. Famed trumpeter, composer, educator and activist Sean Jones taught master classes on campus prior to the Sept. 14, 2018, concert. He told students that jazz music tells America’s story and can help us all become better human beings. Other Browning Presents! events during the 2018–19 academic year included a conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow and a performance by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge.

Debate Team Wins Big

When WSU family communication student Bianca Morales joined the Weber State Debate team in 2013, speaking was her weakest skill. At the 2019 Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament, she walked away as the second-place speaker in the nation and an All-American. “I worked hard with my coach to improve,” Morales said. “I was blown away and brought to tears by this accomplishment.”

Morales’ distinction was not all WSU brought home from the CEDA National Tournament. Weber State Debate also won first place in the western region sweepstakes. Debate coach Ryan Wash was awarded Critic of the Year for the western region. Students Roey Sellouk, Zachary Baker and Jordan Stephens received the National Debate Scholar recognition, awarded to those who, in addition to competitive accomplishments, maintain a strong academic record.

Designing New Paths in Arts & Humanities

A wide range of recently approved programs in the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities has increased learning opportunities and career paths for liberal ?arts students.

As of the 2019–20 academic year, students could enter any of the following programs:

Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies
Associate of Arts or Minor in Localization
Associate of Arts in Technical Theatre
Minor in Literary Editing

In addition, the college began offering certificates of proficiency in American Sign Language, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, jazz studies and music entrepreneurship.

“Our new programs prioritize deep learning in the liberal arts combined with the professional and technical skills required for an enriching, lifelong career,” said Scott Sprenger, dean of the Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities.