Category - Arts & Film

Man playing guitar on stage

Alumnus takes 15 minutes to step toward fame Nieman Gatus '17 launches his R&B career touring the Philippines

It took Nieman Gatus ’17 roughly fifteen minutes to write “Knots” with his cousin Moira Dela Torre, recording it the same night. It was time well used: “Knots” has more than 3 million listens on Spotify and shifted the...

March 14, 2019
Brittany Hanson Brittany Hanson
Bella Pepke, a cellist, listens intently to Kishi Bashi during the students' master class before his show in the Musco Center.

A Master Class with Kishi Bashi The classically trained violinist welcomes students into his unique performance world as plans evolve to honor Japanese American heritage at Chapman.

Standing on the stage of the all-but-empty Musco Center for the Arts with a small group of students on a weekday afternoon, the musician known as Kishi Bashi showed them how to create artistry with their feet. Spiky...

March 11, 2019
Robyn Norwood

Meeting and Learning From Holocaust Survivors Nearly 1,000 middle and high school students gather at Chapman University's annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest for lessons more timely than ever.

By his own account, middle school student Ezekiel Torres is not the kind of guy who’s ever at a loss for words.  But then he toured Chapman University’s Holocaust library and later stood spellbound while an 89-year-old...

March 11, 2019
Dawn Bonker Dawn Bonker

Hilbert Museum Celebrates International Women’s Week with “Suffragettes” Painting, the Disney Art of Mary Blair and More

The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University will participate in the university-wide celebration of International Women’s Week with a special exhibition of the painting “Suffragettes” by Isa Barnett.  The...

February 28, 2019

No Bigger Stage Dance and performance tech students train at the highest level thanks to a Chapman partnership with Cirque du Soleil.

How do undergraduate students get access to the Cirque du Soleil “Zumanity” stage in Las Vegas? By having Chapman University open the door. Thanks to Chapman professors Alicia and Donald Guy, the University enjoys an...

February 8, 2019
Brittany Hanson Brittany Hanson

Can You Tell Me How to Get … to a Completely Different Street? Chapman theatre students gain unique skills by taking a racy puppetry turn onto "Avenue Q."

Don’t tell Cookie Monster. But some people frown on the prospect of cookie crumbs in monster fur. That was the message during a recent rehearsal for Chapman University’s upcoming production of the triple-Tony-winning...

February 8, 2019
Dawn Bonker Dawn Bonker

The ‘Us’ Factor Earning the trust of collaborative artists, cinematographer Yasu Tanida ’01 becomes a prime-time player.

According to Yasu Tanida ’01, the realities of working in the film industry are a lot like those in other lines of work. He has to show up on time, be ready to work long hours and have the skills to troubleshoot a range...

February 5, 2019
Aaron Singh

The Satellite Experience Mounting an exhibition of their works during the high-profile Miami Art Week gives Chapman students a taste of professional success.

People mean well. But for student artists, it can grow wearisome when yet another person asks how they plan to practically apply their fine-arts education. “Not only are you fighting against the competitiveness of the...

February 5, 2019
Dennis Arp

Hilbert Museum Named Best of O.C.

In an area with a host of venerable visual-art institutions, the 3-year-old Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University was named editors’ pick as Orange County’s best art museum in OC Weekly’s 2018 Best of...

February 5, 2019

Drama from the Front Lines A Veterans Day performance taps the power of “If All the Sky Were Paper.”

The mark of a compelling story is that it’s told over and over, sometimes even to the same listeners, who often hear something new in each retelling. So it is with “If All the Sky Were Paper,” the play by Chapman...

February 5, 2019
Dawn Bonker Dawn Bonker