Arts and Humanities grads celebrated as exhibition opens

This year’s arts graduate students celebrated the public opening of the annual Arts & Humanities 2026 Graduate Exhibition on June 4 with friends, family, faculty and staff at the the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. Three prizes enable the museum to purchase graduate student work for the university’s Fine Arts Collection, while the Savageau Award in the Department of Design recognizes and furthers the career of a graduate in design. 

Levi Keatts (M.F.A., art studio) was awarded the LeShelle & Gary May Art Purchase Prize for their large panel oil paintings that feature shapeshifters moving between states and landscapes. 

Tara K. Daly (M.F.A., art studio) was awarded the Keister & Allen Art Purchase Prize for her intricate, colorful sculptures that explore the movement of woven materials, and the tension between structure and imagination.

The Letters & Science Prize for Excellence was awarded to Sean Olmstead (M.F.A., art studio) by Elizabeth Miller, executive associate dean in the College of Letters & Science. 

“Harnessing the sensibilities and fearlessness of an inventive prankster, Sean uncovers a space that tethers us humorously between old and new technologies beyond the myth of obsolescence to find the ghost within the machine,” Miller said.

Rafael Bertacini (M.F.A., design) won the Savageau Award for Design with his project “Designing for Homeostasis,” a wearable device developed to support neurodivergent emotional regulation. Jiayi Young, chair of the Department of Design, said, “The awards committee was impressed by the project’s exhibition design, research foundation and prototyping process.”

Nathalia Sousa Guimaraes (M.F.A., design) received an honorable mention for her project “EcoPlay Landscapes: Designing Learning Landscapes for Environmental Connection,” with co-design research and prototyping process conducted with the UC Davis Early Childhood Lab School.

Twenty Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts and doctoral students in art history, art studio, design and performance studies took part in this year’s presentation. Their works are  on view through June 20 at the museum. Art history students presented their research at a colloquium on June 5.

The Arts & Humanities 2026 Graduate Exhibition is on view through June 20, Wednesday–Saturday, at the Manetti Shrem Museum.

–Laura Compton

New mural brings student voices to Shields Library

Community engagement at the heart of undergraduate mural workshop course 

A wall on the first floor of Shields Library has become the canvas for a new mural created by UC Davis undergraduates that emphasizes the importance of keeping knowledge accessible, visible and honest through collective storytelling.

Located in a large, open study area in Shields’ east wing (at the far end of the first floor from the main entrance), the mural is the stunning finale to a spring quarter project by 13 students in the ART 171/CHI 171 Mural Workshop, a for-credit course taught by Jose Arenas.

Vibrant imagery of students, The California Aggie newspaper, and an oak tree bearing the words “Saber es Poder” (“Knowledge is Power”) are among several elements that explore the library as a space where preservation and empowerment meet.

Arenas, who was a graduate student under nationally known muralist and UC Davis Professor Emeritus of Chicana/o/x Studies Malaquías Montoya, sees the library mural as a full-circle moment.

“Working with Montoya opened my eyes to what community art can represent,” said Arenas, instructor and director of Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer (TANA). “This design reflects the artists coming together as a group, engaging with fellow students and leaving their mark here — their stories.”

The idea for the mural sprang from feedback the library gathered as part of a strategic plan priority of making its spaces more inclusive and welcoming. It’s the latest in a series of community-driven initiatives that reflect the library’s evolution into a “third place” for the UC Davis community, beyond home (first) and class or work (second).

“Art matters. It’s not merely decorative; it invites curiosity, reflection and discovery — exactly the kinds of habits a great research library should cultivate,” said Bill Garrity, university librarian and vice provost. “Having a mural created by student artists is a profound contribution to our goal of making the library a place that supports not only academic success, but also belonging, inspiration and connection.”

Read the whole story. 

-Kristin Burns, UC Davis Shields Library