A Welcome Message from Laila Maher
Dean of Student and Alumni Affairs
Now more than ever it is crucial for artists to be supported as they pursue their craft. The life of an artist as well as that of a student involves much more than the classroom and the work itself, and this is where the Office of Student Affairs comes in. In addition to guiding new students through the process of transitioning to the School of the Arts, we plan the School-wide orientation, School of the Arts Convocation, and support student groups, events, and activities.
We also play a critical role in connecting School of the Arts students to the larger university and necessary services, and help students navigate many of the central offices including Health Services (which houses the Office of Disability Services, Insurance, Immunization, and Counseling and Psychological Services), Columbia Residential, Public Safety, University Life, the International Students and Scholars Office, and the Registrar's Office. Our office also helps to uphold many of the School and University-wide policies and we manage the School’s disciplinary procedures.
The Artists’ Resource Center, also part of our Office, maintains information on funding opportunities and career resources for students and alumni at the Columbia University School of the Arts, and provides consultations to students and alumni to help them look for professional development opportunities and more.
After graduation, the Office of Alumni Affairs provides more than 7000 alumni artists, creators, and leaders with opportunities to stay connected with the School of the Arts, the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA), and one another through alumni programming, benefits, a monthly newsletter, and collaborations with CAA Arts Access.
Our ultimate goal is to support our students and alums while they pursue their education as valued members of our dynamic community and as they navigate their time after graduation.
Student & Alumni News
Beginning, a feature film written and directed by alumna Déa Kulumbegashvili '18 and produced by alumnus Ilan Amouyal '17, was the big winner at the 68th edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival, winning the Golden Shell, the festival’s top prize. Kulumbegashvili’s debut film also secured the awards in the Best Director, Best Actress (Ia Sukhitashvili) and Best Screenplay (for Kulumbegashvili and Rati Oneli) categories.
Theatre alumnus and Miami New Drama Artistic Director Michel Hausmann ’14 will stage 7 Deadly Sins — Temptation in the Magic City in vacant Miami Beach storefronts this fall.
Theatre student Kanika Vaish directs Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj for SoHo Shakespeare Company.
The American Literary Translators Association recently announced that alumna Shoshana Akabas '18 is among the recipients of its 2020 Virtual ALTA Travel Fellowship.
Film and Media Studies alumna Kate Saccone '13 programmed and co-hosted an outdoor, paddle-in screening of Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate (1915) for The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club earlier this month.
Vichitra by Theatre alumnus Shayok Misha Chowdhury ’16, an episodic, audiovisual project, will be produced at The Bushwick Starr this winter. Chowdhury’s Vichitra is “the fourth installment of an experiment in queer South Asian imagination,” where “Carnatic classical music is the shapeshifting protagonist.”
Theatre alumnae Daaimah Mubashshir ’15, Gethsemane Herron-Coward ’19, Zizi Majiid ’20, and Katherine Wilkinson ’19 have been selected for the 2020-2021 Women’s Project Theater Lab.
Paint, co-produced by film alumnus Gabriel Wilson ’19, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature at Dances with Films this past August. Must Love Pie, written and directed by film alumnus Patrick Clement ’20, and Diabla, produced by film alumna Maya Korn ’19, were also featured at the festival.
Four Columbia alumni had their films screened at the Short Shorts Film Festival (SSFF & ASIA) in Tokyo. Greenhouse, a short film written & directed by Xixi Wang '19 and produced by Haichao Fang '19, screened on Monday.
Conversations with Artists in Art Getting Art is a bi-weekly series and a play on Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. We interview artists about their art and 'getting art'.
True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality, the new documentary by Professor Trey Ellis won an Emmy at the 41st News & Documentary Emmy Awards last night.
The Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School has awarded theatre alumna Anna Rebek ’20 the 2020-2021 Opera Directing Fellowship, a nine-month program.