Alumni Updates
Recent Alumni Submissions
We post alumni updates as we receive them. Use our handy online form to send us your news! You can also find alumni news in our newsletter and in our news archive.
For updates received in previous years, check out the categories of class years in the left menu.
Rebecca Shkeyrov, '20 (Studio Art and Psychology), opened a solo exhibition titled Kept Under Her Wing, featuring work in various media, at the Linda Matney Gallery in Williamsburg, Virginia, on October 22, 2023.
Bart Shepherd, '92 (Art History and Anthropology), Director of the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences, is saving the world's coral reefs by showing them off. See the article in the Spring 2023 W&M Alumni Magazine.
Sophia Wiedeman Glock, '04 (Studio Art), published a graphic memoir titled Passport (Hachette / Little, Brown and Company, 2023). In a W&M Alumni Magazine profile (Fall 2023), Sophia cites Studio Art Professor Brian Kreydatus as an important influence on her work.
Danielle Carrabino, ’98 (Art History & English) Danielle writes: My exhibition, "Brought to Life: Painted Wood Sculpture from Europe, 1300-1700," just opened at the Smith College Museum of Art, where I am the Curator of Painting and Sculpture. It will be up until next August, but if can't make it in person, check out the website.(10/22)
Rebecca (Merck) Coplon, ’86 (Fine Art) Rebecca writes: Nearly 40 years to the day after I first arrived on campus at W&M, I delivered my son to begin his coursework at Old Dominion University, pursuing a degree in Art Education. Although professionally I have not worked in an art field, I have continued my creative efforts in stained glass, photography, and painting, adding in creative writing in recent years. Then focused my artistic endeavors on expanding the horizons of my favorite work - my son. He and I have painted, photographed, and sculpted, and he was the one who brought our entire family into blacksmithing. His focus has been on ceramics where he exceeds my skill on the potter's wheel tenfold. As an empty nester, I hope to turn my free time back to my own creative efforts now. So pleased to remain part of this community, and to have joined the Monarch family as well. (10/22)
Erin McGough, ’00 (Art History) Erin writes: I have been announced as the new Executive Director for the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts, effective January 3, 2022, by the Board of Trustees. (8/22) https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-mcgough-rowe-154b979a/
Rachel Daley, ’15 (Art History) Rachel writes: Since graduating in 2015, I went on to pursue a Masters of Arts in Art Business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art in New York and London. After graduating in 2017, I worked as a Prints & Works on Paper Specialist at a small auction house outside of the DC metro area for two years. I received a call to work for the Santa Fe Art Auction in New Mexico as their Senior Auction Coordinator in 2019, and spent three years cataloging, overseeing, and developing protocols for sales. Together with a small team, we grew from two sales annually to over a dozen, nearly quadrupling our sales revenue and work intake. As the sole cataloger (over 4000+ objects a year!), I developed a keen interest in American Indian arts and culture and Southwestern American art. I recently accepted a job as the Collections Manager at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site in Taos, New Mexico. Managed by the Couse Foundation, the site is a living museum and archive dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Taos Society of Artists - notably E. I. Couse and J. H. Sharp. I am excited to be a part of the incredible work of the Site, and look forward to a bright future in Taos. New Mexico captured my heart in other ways too - I just got engaged to my wonderful partner, Kyle. Life is good! (April 2022)
Olivia Bambara, ’16 (Art History) Olivia writes: Since graduating from WM I interned at various arts institutions in the Washington DC area including Washington Performing Arts and International Arts and Artists at Hillyer. Most recently I was working full time in Visitor Experience at the National Geographic Museum. In January 2022 I left DC to pursue a Master's in Art History and Museum Education at The City College of New York. (April 2022)
Sarah Henry, ’16 (Studio Art/Psychology) Sarah writes: Since graduating from W&M in 2016, I also graduated from UVA's Education School, where I completed my masters in Counselor Education: School Counseling. I worked in rural Virginia as a school counselor for three years. In August 2021, I started my PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision at The Ohio State University! I have two main research interests, including using creative outlets in counseling and equity in rural education. I still take ceramics classes in community settings, and love creating anything. I make and share zines often for students I work with--from elementary to masters level students. I think about my time in the Old Power Plant (the Ole PP) nearly every day and how it formed my ideas around teaching, processing, and joy. (November 2021)
Rachel Ciampoli, ’19 (Art History), Rachel writes: After graduating in 2019, I joined the Education team at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. I had completed an internship with the museum prior to graduation and was very excited to continue my work creating visual arts integration resources and programming for students and teachers. In Fall 2021, I began a PhD program in Art History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with the intent of studying antebellum American art. I am so grateful for the continued support of WM Art and Art History! (Oct 2021)
Jordan Solet, ’21 (Studio Art, Classical Civilizations) Jordan writes: I now work at the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art in Reston, Virginia. I also attend Georgetown University as a post-baccalaureate student. (Sept 2021)
Caroline Katz, '20 (Art History) Caroline writes: During my last semester as a student at W&M, I worked on an Independent Study paper with Professor Braddock. My paper, titled Blunt Matter: The Significance of Paint in Pablo Picasso's Guernica, was recently published in Yale's Asterisk* Undergraduate Journal of Art and Art History. (June 2021)
Ingrid Unander-Scharin, ’17, (Art History, European Studies) Ingrid writes: After graduating in 2017, I worked for two years at the United States Institute of Peace in an administrative position on the curriculum and training design team. During my time there, I was fortunate enough to work with a number of international youth peacebuilders and learn more about issues surrounding cultural identity and society. For this reason, in August 2020 I moved to Sweden to start the 2020-2022 Erasmus Mundus Masters of Euroculture program at Uppsala University, with a (tentative) plan to write my thesis on cultural and national identities of immigrant youth in Europe. I thank the Art & Art History and European Studies departments for the incredible experience I had during my Bachelor's and for preparing me for my graduate studies. (Oct 2020)
Kate Fleming, ’14 (Studio Art, Literary & Cultural Studies) Kate writes: In November of 2019, my partner, Tom, and I embarked on a journey to create art in all 50 states in one year: a project I created called “The 50 States Project”. The project’s mission is to conduct serious artistic inquiry into the present state of the nation, learning and sharing the stories of our fellow Americans and engaging with communities across the country by painting and photographing in all 50 states. While on the road, I am making small (6.5” or less), portable, plein air paintings in oil with a palette knife on gessoed paper. My paintings are of American sprawl: our most ubiquitous landscape. Tom is a documentary photographer working interchangeably with a digital SLR, a mirrorless point-and-shoot, and an iPhone to create a narrative that explores the current national climate of fear. While in Nevada (our 17th state) in mid-March, we had to abruptly return to the D.C. area to seek shelter from the COVID-19 crisis. Until it is safe for us to get back on the road, we plan to use our time at home to deepen and further the research that has always been at the core of the project. The 50 States Project asks: How can we document America right now — setting aside nostalgia and preconceptions, and teasing out what is unique to this exact moment in time?
Learn more about the project at https://www.the50statesproject.com/or on instagram at @the50statesproject_ (Oct 2020)
Kiernan Lofland, ’10 (Studio Art) Kiernan writes: I graduated in 2010 with a BA in Art and Art History. In 2014 I completed an MFA as a Meadows Fellow from Southern Methodist University. I helped co-found 100W Corsicana, a residency hosting national and international artists and writers in Corsicana, TX. Recently, I have taught at both the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Nebraska Lincoln, where I directed the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery. (Mar 2019) kiernanlofland.com
Update October 2020:
I am at the Lincoln Arts Council, Artist in Residence and have an ongoing Adjunct Lectureship at Concordia University Nebraska. My partner and I had a baby! His name is Theo.
Katie Wood, ’14 (Studio Art) Katie writes: I am happy to share that I just completed a 6-month residency at Mana Contemporary Chicago, for their New Media Residency 2020. I graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in May 2019 with an MFA in Sound, and since then I have completed residencies at Experimental Sound Studio (Chicago) and the Vermont Studio Center, in addition to Mana Contemporary Chicago. Recently, my work has been shown online through Mana Contemporary's online open house as well as Gray Area (CA)'s online platform, "Patch Pulse." Currently, my work "paradise / maybe windows" is being hosted by Viral Ecologies, an online publication for listening, reading and dreaming. (Oct 2020)
You can visit it at https://viralecologies.us/PARADISE-MAYBE-WINDOWS
https://www.katiewoodkatiewood.com
Kareem Obey, ’16 (Studio Art, Economics) Kareem writes:In the Spring of 2019 I completed my Master of Architecture program at the University of British Columbia, where I graduated with the AIA Henry Adams metal. My M.Arch thesis project focused on the typification of North American cannabis architecture and its intersection with queer activism. A publication/interview done on this project can be found here: https://www.koozarch.com/interviews/queering-cannabis/
Since graduating, I have served as a guest critic and speaker at the University of British Columbia. Currently, I work at “Workshop AD” as an architectural designer in Seattle, Washington. Projects at the office aim to insert density into existing single-family urban fabric while enhancing street level experience. In this new chapter following the completion of my M.Arch I am actively working towards my professional licensure in Architecture. (Oct 2020) www.kareemobey.com
Beatrice Chessman, ’16 (Studio Art, German) Bee writes: I graduated from my MFA program at the New York Studio School. My thesis show will be November 10-15 at 8 W 8th St, NYC. (Oct 2020)
Andrew Hollomon, ’97 (Art History), Andrew shares the news that Quinn Evans, an award-winning planning and design firm with offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, has announced that Andrew Hollomon has joined the firm as chief technology officer. Hollomon, who has more than 20 years of experience in technology and telecommunications infrastructure management in the architectural profession, will lead Quinn Evans’ firmwide information and design technology team. Hollomon, who previously served as director of technology for ZGF Architects, brings large-firm expertise in digital design and technology strategies, selection, and support to Quinn Evans. He will assess future technology and data needs while creating solutions for resilience and multi-office growth and productivity. “Andrew has been a national leader in synthesizing information technology systems and products to support high-end design collaboration and delivery,” says Alyson Steele, FAIA, LEED AP, executive vice president and chief design officer for Quinn Evans. “He will lead our firm in our commitment to integrate design, information, and business technologies and tools throughout our practice and provide clients with responsive and informed planning and design solutions.” (April 2020)
Hollomon holds an M.S. degree in information and telecommunications systems (2005) from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. degree in art history (1997) from the College of William and Mary. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects’ Large Firm Roundtable CIO Group and AECIT Leaders.
Gabriela MacPherson,'19 (Art & Art History minor, Anthropology), Gabriela writes: I am currently working at the New York Immigration Coalition, a non-profit that advocates for immigrants across New York state. In my role, I organize legal training courses for immigrant-focused non-profits to help expand access to quality, low-cost immigration legal services. I am so grateful to the Art History program at William & Mary for teaching me to look at urban complexities through the lense of design. This added a vital nuance to my perspective on the social justice issues I encounter in my work, and gave me a new way to analyze my own relationship with the city. (April 2020)
Sophie Higgerson, ’19, (Art History minor, European Studies), Sophie writes: After graduating in May, I moved to DC for a "professional gap year" to explore potential career paths. I spent the summer as a Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress, where I catalogued printers' ornaments from a collection of 18th century French legal documents. In the fall, I entered the Advanced Level Program at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, through which I have interned in both the registrar's office and the research and scholars center. This September, I will begin working towards my PhD in the History of Art and Architecture at Brown University and intend to continue my undergraduate focus on 19th century European architecture and urbanism. I am so excited to return to school and pursue my passion for research that was nurtured at William & Mary. (April 2020)
Natalie Walter, ’18, (Art History, German Studies), Natalie writes: After graduation in 2018, I completed a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Berlin, Germany, where I taught English at a German elementary school for a year. In the summer of 2019, I began my Master’s in Historical Urbanism at the Technical University of Berlin. This program focuses on the historical development of urban areas worldwide as well as contemporary issues and practicalities. I love it! I owe not only my interest in Urban Design and the Built Environment to the Art and Art History Department, but also my ability to analyze urban issues through a historical lens and appreciate contemporary developments. And honestly, I genuinely just enjoyed my classes and am so thankful I had such a special, warm and invigorating undergraduate experience, which is all due to the faculty in this department! (April 2020)
Lovisa Magnusson Odelstierna, ‘17 (Studio Art) Lovisa writes: Since departing William and Mary, I immediately dove into the workforce at IBM in Washington DC a few weeks after my graduation. There I was a consultant for United Airlines, which was installing a new internal system for their major American hubs. I provided expertise on visual communications/marketing, reported pain points of their new product, and traveled between five cities in five states on a weekly basis. However, I felt that I wanted to trace back to my artistic roots that I grew at university, so I left IBM to join a travel analysis startup, Data Visualization Intelligence, as a UI UX Designer. I host meetings between executives and developers to plan enhancements and wireframes for our products as well as provide those said deliverables. In addition, I also create graphic designs for our conferences, marketing, and sales presentations, which constantly challenge my creative juices. Since the start of the pandemic, my company has had to reduce hours, so I am taking the time to enhance my HTML and CSS programming skills as I prepare to relocate to the windy city of Chicago. There I hope to continue my UI UX work, either in the travel industry or another creative environment. I honestly am thankful for my William and Mary education for pushing me to explore and adapt to a variety of subjects as well as challenge me to dig into my artistic hobbies. I did not think I would be able to work with art and design, but by my graduation, I had the confidence to pursue those interests for my career. (April 2020)
Tianchu Gao, ’17 (Art History) Tianchu writes: I am now finishing the MA program of Art History at the Ohio State University and will continue my study of modern Chinese art in the Ph.D. program. (July 2019)
Kexin Ma, '17 (Art History) Kexin writes: Last year, I completed my Master's degree in History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Starting from this September, I will be studying in the MPhil/ PhD program in History of Art and Archaeology offered by the same school and engaged in research on a Yongzheng period handscroll entitled Guwan tu (Pictures of Ancient Playthings). (July 2019)
Zoe Powell, ’16, (Studio Art, Biology), Zoe writes: Upon graduating from William & Mary, I completed
two artist-in-residence programs focused on wood-fired ceramics and locally-sourced clays: one at the Cub Creek Foundation in rural Virginia and the other at Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project in Northern California. After completing these residencies, I moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where I opened my own ceramics studio and gallery, Studio Alluvium. Now, whenever I am not working towards an exhibition, I work on commissions for restaurants and travel around the country teaching local material workshops to other ceramics students." (April, 2020)
www.zoepowellceramics.com
www.studioalluvium.com
Avery Siler, ’16, (Art History) Avery writes: After graduating in 2016, I spent several years working for environmental non-profits. First, I handled conservation easement acquisitions and region wide outreach for conservation programs at a small land trust in Pennsylvania. I then found my way to DC and raised major gifts for The Nature Conservancy. This fall, I'll begin a Master's program at Yale's School of the Environment where I will study how conservation can be used as a tool for equity. I appreciate William and Mary for so many things, from the research and writing skills I honed there, the professors who took an active interest in helping me achieve my goals even after graduation, and the art history knowledge I gained that makes my frequent trips to the National Gallery in DC even more fulfilling. Perhaps most importantly, I'm grateful for the smart, funny, vibrant community I met at WM, many of whom remain my close friends to this day. (April 2020)
Katie Fee, ‘16 , (Studio Art), Katie writes: Since graduating from W&M, I have pursued professional opportunities to manage community studios, operate atmospheric kilns, teach art, and push my own studio practice. Currently, I am an Artist-In-Residence at the Morean Art Center in St. Pete, FL, where I have a studio space, manage their kiln yard, and teach both children’s and adults ceramics classes. My work is represented online by ClayAKAR, Companion Gallery, and In Tandem Gallery. (April 2020) www.katiefee.com
Briana Chaney, ’15 (Studio Art, Marketing) Briana writes: I just moved to Colorado in July, and I am working as a Marketing Coordinator for a subcontractor in the booming Denver market. I create digital designs for our business collateral, take progress and completed project photos, and I write content for press releases and social media. (Oct 2017)
Iren Tete, ’13, (Studio Art minor, Kinesiology and Health Sciences) Iren writes: I am a Visiting Faculty in Ceramics at Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, Canada. I hold an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a BS in Kinesiology and Health Sciences from the College of William and Mary. I equally call Sofia, Bulgaria and Washington, D.C. home. My work has been shown nationally and internationally, as well as published by Friend of the Artist and Create! Magazine. Recently, I was selected as an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly Magazine. I’ve received multiple grants that have supported my practice and research. During the summer of 2018 I was able to further my study of Brutalist theory and architecture through a residency at the Zentrum fur Keramik in Berlin, Germany. I have also completed residencies at the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH) and the Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis, MN). (April, 2020) www.irentete.com
Barbara Pearsall, ’13, (Studio Art), Barbara writes: I am an artist, living and working in Brooklyn, NY, and I combine research, sculpture, installation, and photographs to explore the structures that create the American West. By considering the ways language and matter created the conditions for the landscape that we maintain as the West, I shape a network of connections explaining how the desert terrain has become a manufactured space. My most recent bodies of work come from a year-long, primarily field-based, investigation into the West. The work complicates the idea of land remaining, land that has not been formed and determined through production and waste, either imagined or material. This past year, I attended the Ucross Foundation, the Jentel Foundation, and the Land Arts Artist Residency programs, and I was awarded a Jerome Foundation grant and residency at Saint John's Pottery. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Art History from the College of William and Mary. (April, 2020) https://barbarapearsall.com/
Katherine Hughes, ’12 (Art & Art History minor) Katherine writes: I have recently joined the American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art as the Decorative Arts Trust Research Scholar, working on the exhibition, "Stories in Clay: Stoneware from Edgefield District, South Carolina," scheduled to open October 2020. This will be the first major exhibition in the American Wing of The Met to feature southern and African-American pottery. (Mar 2019)
