2024 McKinney International Art and Design Residency
The Eskenazi School of Art Architecture + Design at Indiana University Bloomington invites applications for a 4–6-week McKinney International Art and Design Residency.
2022 News
Holland blooms with new mural by Eskenazi student
The Netherlands is known for tulips, windmills, and painting. With a new mural by an Eskenazi student, Holland, Indiana can say the same. Fourth year Comp Design student Trenton Musch collaborated with the town's residents to help Holland represent itself.
Mies Building featured in Dezeen Magazine's Top 10 for 2022
Dezeen Magazine named the Eskenazi School's Mies van der Rohe Building among the 10 architectural projects completed in the United States in 2022 that most captivated its readers.
Eight Eskenazi faculty recognized for excellence in teaching
Eight Eskenazi School faculty members were honored at a reception November 29 in Presidents Hall for the teaching awards and summer fellowships they had received over the past three academic years.
Navigating grief: MFA photographer Justin Carney's "Those Left Behind"
"Photography is something that helps me understand the world and people around me, as well as myself," says third-year M.F.A. student Justin A. Carney. On view December 1-15 at the Lotus Foundation gallery, the Baltimore native's autobiographical series "Those Left Behind" captures his family's private moments in the wake of his grandmother's death.
Pathbreaking artist Betty Hahn receives College's Distinguished Alumni Award
Renowned photographer Betty Hahn (BA ’63, MFA ’66) was awarded the 2022 College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Alumni Award November 17. Hahn's genre-defying practice expanded the definition of fine art photography in the 1960s and ‘70s, knocked down barriers for women, and helped usher in the post-modern period.
An appreciation of Tony Moravec, friend of the Miller Architecture Program
Columbus businessman Tony Moravec played a pivotal role in the Eskenazi School's J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program by pledging support for the purchase and rehabilitation of The Republic Building to house the program. Moravec died November 8.
2022 Mid America Print Council Conference showcases Torgerson's "Body Politic" series
Eskenazi printmaking lecturer Tonja Torgerson collaborated with Christa Carleton on "Body Politic," a series combining woodblock, screenprint, and letterpress to deliver stark, feminist messages through word and image. The politically charged work is being featured through November 19 at the 2022 Mid American Print Council Biennial conference, hosted by Kent State University.
Students convene leaders to examine human toll of cheap fashion
The Eskenazi School's Merchandising program joins with the Department of Economics to host the Ethical Labor Speaker Series, to "lay bare connections" between the clothes we buy and the lives of those who make them. Taking place Tuesday, November 8, the student-led conference convenes corporate leaders, scholars, and human rights organizations.
Grunwald's Mies show featured in Indiana Daily Student
The Indiana Daily Student spoke with Eskenazi School faculty member Jon Racek and Grunwald Gallery Director Betsy Stirratt about the exhibition "Mies in Indiana," on view at the gallery through November 12.
Retail industry leaders return to IU for student-led Retail + Design Forum
IU alumni in executive positions in the retail industry focused on the soft skills that complement a merchandising education in their keynotes for the annual Retail + Design Forum, organized by the Retail Studies Organization.
McRobbie honored at Republic Building during AIA convention
IU Chancellor and President Emeritus Michael McRobbie was honored by the American Institute of Architects' Indiana chapter at their 2022 convention, held October 21 at The Republic Building, home to IU's J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program.
Grunwald Gallery's "Identity: Identify" featured in IDS
Currently on view at the Eskenazi School's Grunwald Gallery, the exhibition "Identity: Identify" was featured in the Indiana Daily Student. Part of Themester 2022, the show includes work in diverse media by four Eskenazi alumni, among others, who explore the the concept of identity from a variety of intersectional viewpoints and perspectives
Bloomington's Rogers Family Park will showcase sculpture by Eskenazi faculty
Comprehensive design lecturer Jon Racek's metal sculpture FLEET/ing will be installed in Bloomington's Goat Farm Park, to be renamed Rogers Family Park upon reopening. Racek collaborated with fellow Eskenazi faculty member Jiangmei Wu on the metal sculpture (C)olumn, installed at the corner of S. Walnut and W. 2nd Streets in 2015.
60 Years of IU Printmaking show featured in IDS
The Indiana Daily Student speaks with the three current MFA printmakers behind the new exhibition showcasing the Eskenazi School's teaching archive of 3,500 prints, donated by grads since 1963. The show is on view through the fall semester at University Collections at McCalla.
Exhibition Celebrates 60 Years of IU Printmaking
Curated by three Eskenazi printmaking M.F.A.s, a new show drawn from the school's printmaking archive celebrates 60 years of innovation in what might be -- even the curators admit -- the most "mysterious" of the fine arts.
Kinsey sculpture featured in Limestone Post
Eskenazi School faculty member Melanie Cooper Pennington's newly dedicated bronze sculpture of Dr. Alfred Kinsey celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Kinsey Institute and salutes its ongoing relevance and cutting-edge research.
Graphic design BFAs bring fresh looks for fall traditions
What says fall on the Bloomington campus best? A pair of graphic designers in training at the Eskenazi School came up with imagery to capture just that. Two of the season’s signature events – Themester and the First Thursdays festival – are getting a promotional boost from designs crafted by two B.F.A. students.
Interior Design faculty Wu curates "Everything Folds and Unfolds"
The South Haven (Mich.) Center for the Arts exhibition committee invited Eskenazi associate professor Jiangmei Wu to create a call for entries for its annual juried exhibition based on her connection to origami as an art form.
Eskenazi faculty receive two of eight inaugural IU Presidential Arts and Humanities Fellowships
Two Eskenazi faculty members are among the eight IU faculty members to have been awarded the inaugural IU Presidential Arts and Humanities Fellowship in 2022. The program aims to accelerate and amplify the work of outstanding IU faculty poised to become national and international leaders in their fields.
Creating African Fashion Histories
Fashion historian and Eskenazi faculty member Heather Akou has spent her career studying clothing that doesn’t normally get a lot of attention. Akou and colleagues will discuss the role museums play in the study of African fashion September 7 on the Bloomington campus.
'Mies in Indiana' opens at Grunwald Gallery
The Eskenazi School's Grunwald Gallery of Art has mounted “Mies in Indiana,” an exhibition that explores the little-known history of Mies van der Rohe’s architecture in Indiana between 1947 and 1953, particularly in Indianapolis and Bloomington.
Montauk Resort features installation by Eskenazi Painting B.F.A.
A painting installation by Eskenazi alumna Danielle Orchard (B.F.A. '09) at a resort at Long Island's eastern end is one of "5 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week."
Once Upon a Mies Van Der Rohe Skyline
IU VP for Capital Planning Adam Thies traces the history of the Eskenazi School's new Mies van der Rohe Building, which he helped translate from plans unveiled in 1952 to a building dedicated seventy years later. Thies spent seven years in museum archives researching the building originally designed to be a fraternity house.
Eskenazi Alum Joins Inaugural Cohort of U.S. Digital Corps
Eskenazi alumna Lacy Kelly Ramos (Graphic Design B.F.A. '09) is part of the inaugural cohort of the U.S. Digital Corps, a two-year fellowship that recruits early-career technologists to contribute to high-impact efforts across the federal government.
Eskenazi Fashion Design Alum Sierra Naomi Shows in DesignArts 2022 Utah
“I believe that design is at the heart of solving complex social issues,” says the Eskenazi School Fashion Design alumna (B.A. 2018), whose design collective concept was selected for inclusion in DesignArts 2022 Utah, the annual juried exhibition of the state’s best design.
High school students explore sustainability through summer program led by IU faculty
Eskenazi Lecturer in Fashion Design Lori Frye led high school students from around the country in exploring the environmental impacts of fashion as part of IU's Summer Experience in Sustainability and the Environment in July.
Back-to-School Shopping to Critical Thinking: Two Intensive Freshman Seminars Are Fashion-Forward
This week, some freshmen are jumpstarting their first year with a quick, deep dive into a cutting-edge topic. Queer activism, psychoactive drugs, and fast fashion are just some of the issues they might explore in Intensive Freshman Seminars (IFS). Two senior lecturers in the Eskenazi School are among the leading IU faculty teaching these intimate, two-and-a-half week courses.
Eskenazi Architecture Students Bring Stakeholder Input to Columbus Memorial Plaza Redesign
Two memorial plazas at Columbus' front door are being reenvisioned. Students in the Eskenazi School's J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program interviewed those connected with both memorials to help convey their opinions of the site and ideas for its future use.
Husband and Wife Making Indigo and Art
Artist Rowland Ricketts met his wife, weaver Chinami Ricketts, in Japan over big vats of indigo when they were apprentices with a family of dyers more than two decades ago. Today, though their Bloomington home is a world away, “indigo remains the point where our work converges,” Rowland says.
This month's 4th Friday celebration in Huntingburg will bring together local elementary students with IU artists for a mural dedication and a showcase of work produced during two recent grads' six-week artist residency.
Work in Progress: the Alfred Kinsey Legacy Sculpture
In September, Eskenazi faculty member Melanie Pennington's life-size bronze of Dr. Alfred Kinsey will be installed on the Bloomington campus as the world's premier sexuality research institute marks its 75th year.
Fibers lecturer's site-specific installation caps Eastman residency
For a few moments last Saturday evening, those in passing boats and airplanes might have spied a colorful eight-pointed star along the Martha's Vineyard shoreline. The temporary art installation was the culmination of Carissa Carman's two-week Eastman residency, dedicated to inspiring the creative and scholarly activities of IU faculty.
Eskenazi's Carman Makes Public Art in Shifting Sands
Carissa Carman, senior lecturer in the fibers area, will create a temporary public art installation on a beach at Martha's Vineyard. Carman is the first IU faculty member to spend a summer residency at the historic Max Eastman House, bequeathed to the university as a retreat center.
Limestone Symposium co-founded by Eskenazi grad Amy Brier going strong in 26th year
Now in its 26th year, the Indiana Limestone Symposium brings together master carvers and students from around the world to a stone quarry in Ellettsville. Eskenazi alumna Amy Brier (MFA Sculpture '96) co-founded the symposium that celebrates south-central Indiana's world-renowned geological riches.
Students document the making of 4th-graders’ ‘dream machines’
The Dog Distractor and the Homeless Helper? Local fourth graders dreamed up machines that solve problems and make a difference. Comprehensive Design students in the Eskenazi School helped turn their fantasies into real machines. Media School students made short films documenting the collaboration, which also got Hoosier Hills Career Center students into the act.
Model home designed by Eskenazi's Jon Racek offers possibilities for affordable housing in Paoli
"Possibilities in Paoli" will give residents a look at an affordable, energy-efficient home model designed by Eskenazi faculty member Jon Racek in partnership with Orange County residents through the IU Center for Rural Engagement. The Paoli Housing Task Force strives to build 25 houses like it to start growing local housing stock and spur economic development.
Eskenazi Architecture Faculty and Recent Grad Showcase Creative Placemaking at IU Rural Conference
Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design faculty and a new graduate of the school’s architecture master’s program will explore recent creative placemaking initiatives in rural Indiana at this week’s Indiana University Rural Conference in French Lick, Indiana.
A first-generation college student from South Bend, Post-Modern Scholar Shanita Hunt is leveraging fashion to foster inclusion. With her innovative case study, the Merchandising student won a $7500 scholarship and unlocked a position at Neiman Marcus.
Eskenazi School's Mies van der Rohe building featured in Metropolis
Based on a never-built 1952 design, the new building will house the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture & Design, while graduate architecture programs occupy another modernist gem in nearby Columbus.
Eskenazi Alumna Petra Slinkard Activates Peabody Essex Museum's Fashion Collection
An Eskenazi graduate (B.S. Merchandising, '03; M.S. Apparel Studies, '08) and Dean's Advisory Council member, Slinkard tackles big questions about the role fashion plays as the Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Salem, Massachusetts museum.
Themes of Race and Representation in Smith’s Ceramics Inspire Ballet
“Evermore Nevermore,” Associate Professor Malcolm Mobutu Smith’s recent exhibition of ceramic sculpture at the Hunterdon Art Museum culminated with a collaborative dance experience by the Roxey Ballet April 23.
Eskenazi School Sculpture students create art with items from IU Surplus
Melanie Pennington, a lecturer in sculpture and area coordinator at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, has students gather items from IU Surplus to transform into a sculpture. The project is inspired by artists like Marcel Duchamp, who presented everyday objects as art.
The NRF Foundation Honors on April 13 in NYC awarded undergraduate scholarships and recognized retail professionals.
Women of IU Portrait Collection Dedicates Portrait of Metalsmithing and Jewelry Legend Alma Eikerman
A portrait of metalsmithing and jewelry design pioneer Alma Eikerman will be dedicated to the Women of Indiana University Portrait Collection during an unveiling ceremony Friday, April 22. Eikerman (1908-95) built IU Bloomington’s Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design area into one of the nation’s premier programs over her three decades at the university, while her own work was featured in over 200 exhibitions around the world during her lifetime.
Spring 2022 BFA Thesis Exhibition opens Tuesday at Grunwald Gallery
The spring 2022 BFA Thesis Exhibition, featuring work from graduating BFA students, will open on April 19 at the Grunwald Gallery. The exhibition will officially close April 30. All events at the Grunwald Gallery are free and open to the public.
Jerry Uelsmann, Surreal Image-Maker, Dies at 87
He did not believe that a photographer’s creativity ended with the click of the shutter; in his darkroom, he combined elements of multiple pictures to create something new.
Remembering Photographer Jerry Uelsmann, IU Distinguished Alumni Award Honoree
Renowned photographer Jerry Uelsmann, a 1960 Indiana University graduate and recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award, died April 4, in Gainesville, Florida. Decades before the advent of digital photo-editing software, Uelsmann’s surrealistic photomontages secured his place in the history of photography and contemporary art. From their debut at the Museum of Modern Art in 1967, Uelsmann’s photographs were exhibited in over a hundred solo shows and collected by major museums around the world.