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
Magma, a novel by Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir, translated by alumna Meg Matich ’15, will be published simultaneously in the US, by Grove Atlantic, and the UK, by Picador. Gunnhildur Jónatansdóttir, a translator and UNESCO grantee, said of Matich’s work, “Matich’s translation of Hjörleifsdóttir’s piercing tale of abuse verges on the poetic. She makes the prose come to life in a way that feels personal, an urgent tale told in confidence to the reader.” In Matich’s capable hands, the work in English speaks with humane urgency and lyrical power—the blood pressure of the book—while…
Recent alumnus Taejoong Kim '19 has a solo show in Duisburg, Germany titled Du. Hosted by the Earport music/performance/art space, Du, which translates to “you” in English, is a show about space, light, and motifs, and how the latter two occupy the former.
Alumna Patrice Aphrodite Helmar ’15 is part of a group exhibit in New York titled Zwang.
SKiNFoLK: An American Show by alumna Jillian Walker ’17 was selected as a New York Times Critic’s Pick. The production had its first presentation at The Bushwick Starr as a part of the Star Reading Series in 2016. We spoke with Walker about the play’s inaugural reading in 2016. This season, SKiNFoLK returned to the Bushwick Starr with a full length production. The 2020 critically acclaimed production is directed by alumna Mei Ann Teo ’14.
The Tribeca Film Festival, originally scheduled to take place from April 15 to April 26 2020, is a familiar playground for Columbia filmmakers. In 2017, alumna and faculty member Rachel Israel ’13 took home the top prizes for Best US Narrative Feature and Best New Narrative Feature Director for her film Keep the Change. This year, nine Columbia affiliates have been chosen to participate in the 19th edition of the festival, bringing a total of four films to lower Manhattan.
Film and Media Studies BA alumna Larysa Kondracki ’01 (GS) joined the upcoming Amazon Prime show Them: Covenant as an executive producer. Kondracki, an accomplished director who signed a first-look television deal with Amazon in 2018, is also set to direct the pilot and multiple other episodes of the show. According to Deadline, the project received a two-season straight-to-series order. With no specific release date set, the series will premiere on Amazon Prime in winter 2020.
Valley of Empty Pockets, a book of poetry by alumnus Eric Helms ’12, will be published by Main Street Rag Press in April of 2020.
This spring at the ICA Miami, alumnus Carlos Sandoval de León '08 has a solo exhibit featuring his installation and sculptural work.
Winner of the Diode Editions’ poetry contest, The Minister of Disturbances by alumnus Zeeshan Khan Pathan ’18 has received advance praise from such noted American poets as Edward Hirsch, who called the book a “passionately lyrical and deeply probing book of disturbances and dispossessions, of longing, quest and exile.” Poet Mary Jo Bang called the poems “brilliantly edgy.”
An MFA Writing student remembers the double lung transplant that saved her–and so much more.
The Ballad of Lefty Brown, a feature-length western co-produced by current student Rachel Ward, is now available to stream on Netflix. The 2017 film was distributed by A24 and stars Bill Pullman, Peter Fonda and Tommy Flanagan.
Undergraduate Writing Alumna Morgan Parker ’10 recently won the National Book Critic Circle Award in poetry with her book Magical Negro, published in February 2019.