Aug 28 - Nov 20
School of Filmmaking Symposium
School of Filmmaking: Symposium

The School of Filmmaking's "Symposium" series opens a door into the world behind the screen, offering audiences a chance to engage with filmmakers, artists and creative thinkers from myriad disciplines who are shaping contemporary storytelling. Through screenings, conversations and engaging dialogue, each event becomes a unique space to come together and explore how art is made, why it matters and what it reveals about the world we live in.

29
Aug
Exploring AI
Arts and Emerging Technology Residency

Hosted by the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, the residency will bring together artists, technologists, legal scholars and industry leaders to examine the ethical, legal, technical and creative implications of AI for the arts. The event centers on the work of acclaimed choreographer and Martha Graham Dance Company member Xin Ying, which was created in collaboration with Mimi Yin and NUUM Collective.

1
Sep
Northern Luminescence
Northern Luminescence: A Journey through Nordic Song with Alisa Jordheim

Step into a luminous soundscape as soprano Alisa Jordheim (Gilda in "Rigoletto," Soeur Constance in "Dialogues des Carmélites," Violetta in "La Traviata") brings the dramatic beauty of the Nordic landscape to life through music. Featuring works by Edvard Grieg, Eyvind Alnæs, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Hugo Alfvén, Jean Sibelius, Lars-Erik Larsson, Albert Schnelzer and Carl Nielsen, the program draws on a rich tradition of song shaped by mountains, fjords, forests and shifting light. Performed in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish, these works reflect a deep connection to nature, from quiet introspection to moments of striking intensity. With clarity, warmth and expressive depth, Jordheim invites audiences into a world where the natural and musical realms are inseparable. Alisa Jordheim performs at UNCSA as part of a year-long operatic celebration of the 25th anniversary of the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute.

6
Sep
Shadows to Sunlight
From Shadows to Sunlight: Prokofiev's Journey from Darkness to Radiance

Experience a powerful arc of contrast and transformation as Sergei Prokofiev's music moves concertgoers from shadow into light. Faculty members Ida Bieler, violin; Dmitri Vorobiev, piano; and Tadeu Coelho, flute, trace a compelling emotional journey through two of the famed composer's most expressive chamber works. The program features the Violin Sonata in F minor, Op. 80, and the Flute Sonata in D major, Op. 94. Opening in the shadowed, unsettled world of the Violin Sonata, tension and fragility intertwine in music Prokofiev described as "wind over the graves." The Flute Sonata offers a striking contrast: bright, transparent and serene. Together, the works reveal a composer navigating war, fear and upheaval while still reaching toward beauty and light. The result is a deeply human portrait of resilience expressed through sound.

12
Sep
Brett Deubner
Violist, Brett Deubner in Recital

Discover the dazzling power of the viola in a program that reveals the instrument's full range: restless, lyrical, bold and radiant. New faculty artist Brett Deubner leads an evening that moves from high-contrast modernism to intimate chamber dialogue, including a special commissioned work. The viola shifts constantly -- exposed and unaccompanied, in close conversation with its musical counterparts and expanded by unexpected color and texture. The result is a portrait of an instrument that embraces many identities. Joined by faculty members Ida Bieler, violin; Allison Gagnon, piano; and Ksenija Komljenović, chimes, Deubner highlights both the viola's tradition and its evolving voice on the contemporary stage.

18
Sep
Priscilla Navarro
Piano Fridays: Priscilla Navarro

The Piano Department at the UNCSA School of Music opens its fourth season of Piano Fridays with Peruvian-born artist Priscilla Navarro. Navarro's career has included performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and her playing has been featured on BBC Radio and Medici TV. Her UNCSA program features works by Bach, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Albéniz and Gershwin.

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Kenan Institute for the Arts awards 2022-2023 Faculty Leadership Grants

The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts is pleased to announce its 2022-2023 Faculty Leadership Grants, which provide UNCSA faculty support to develop projects that provide extraordinary creative development and interdisciplinary opportunities beyond the curriculum.

The Kenan Institute invited UNCSA faculty to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to support projects led by the faculty member that provide opportunities to explore new approaches to creative learning challenges; impact student learning outcomes; foster the capacity of faculty to lead; engage diverse stakeholders; and produce creative ideas and initiatives for further study or implementation. Since 2016, the Kenan Institute has awarded over 99 Faculty Leadership Grants totaling more than $301,463 in direct project support.

“The Kenan Institute for the Arts is committed to providing transformational learning opportunities for the campus community,” says Kevin Bitterman, executive director, “The Faculty Leadership Grants represents our long-term investment to create conditions where UNCSA faculty can have the freedom to explore, innovate, and take risks on creative projects that have the potential to produce new ideas and approaches for the benefit of the campus community.”

Recipients of the 2022-2023 Faculty Leadership Grants are instructors in the Schools of Dance, Drama, Design and Production, Filmmaking, and Music.

School of Dance

  • Taryn Griggs, Modes of Capture Conference at the at the University of Limerick, Ireland
Taryn Griggs at Dance Limerick

Professor Taryn Griggs received a grant to attend the 2023 Modes of Capture Symposium at the University of Limerick, where she presented a piece choreographed by herself and Chris Yon from UNCSA Preparatory Dance. The work was co-presented by Dance Limerick and the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick. Photo Credit: Dance Limerick

School of Design and Production

  • Yoon-Jung Bae, Prague Quadrennial USA National Exhibit and lecture/workshop at Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in the Czech Republic
  • Will Taylor, “The Deep South: Drawings, Prints and Photographs” exhibition
Yoon Bae and Students at PQ

In 2023, the Kenan Institute provided funds to send Professor Yoon Bae and nine Design & Production students to the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design in the Czech Republic. Professor Bae was part of a team that designed the US exhibition at the PQ.

School of Drama

  • Jason Bohon, “The Art of the Mask in Commedia dell'Arte” at the Museo Internazionale della Maschera Amleto e Donato Sartori in Abano Terme, Italy
Papier-mâché mask by Jason Bohon created under the tutelage of three generations of mask makers at the Museo Internazionale della Maschera Amleto e Donato Sartori in Abano Terme, Italy. Photo Credit: Jason BohonCarving a wood form for molding a leather mask. Photo Credit: Jason BohonMolding the leather to the wood form. Photo Credit: Jason Bohon


School of Filmmaking

  • Amit Bhattacharya, documentary film “The Idolmakers”
  • Robert Gosse, international exchange with the Konrad Wolf Film School in Baselberg, Germany
  • Jeffrey Hammer, documentary film “The Runt: Cutting Ankles with Wendi Furguson”
  • Shahin Gorgani, multi-media installation “The Tree I Carry” (working title)

School of Music

  • Jared Miller, world premiere of “Sto Lat” at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada
  • Janet Orenstein, “Yoga Therapeutics for Performing Artists” course development
  • Stephanie Patterson, “Reimagining the Classical Canon Starting with Bassoon” curriculum
  • Maria Serkin, world premiere of “Shelter” at the 55th International Horn Symposium at the University of Montreal, Canada
  • Robert Young, UNCSA Alumnus Tyson Davis saxophone commission and masterclass

More information about the 2022-2023 recipients’ projects can be found on the Faculty Leadership Grants page.


About the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts

The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts (TSKIA) at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) was established in 1993 to strengthen the arts by initiating and incubating new ideas within the various constituencies and settings of UNCSA. By leveraging the extraordinary talents and creative energies of students, faculty, staff, and alumni to bring distinction to the University, the Institute acts as a springboard to the broader creative community. In the local community, the Kenan Institute forges alliances aimed at strengthening the arts ecosystem and increasing the contributions that artists make to develop social and economic capital. Regionally and nationally, the Kenan Institute collaborates with leading artists, and partners with exemplary arts organizations, to advance the creative community.

July 24, 2023