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SHOWCASE

Everyday, the dynamic work of the MICA community enriches our culture and propels social and economic advancement. Recent recognition of several MICA artists, designers, and entrepreneurs demonstrates the importance of their contributions. They are preserving our country’s history in paint and pencil, garnering some of their disciplines’ top honors, and have been singled out as changemakers in art and business. Below is a look at just a few of the creative pacesetters from MICA.

FOR THE RECORD

CAPTURING LEGENDS

ROBERT MCCURDY’S OBAMA PORTRAIT DEBUTS

Barack and Michelle Obama unveiling Robert McCurdy's portrait.

When Robert McCurdy ’74 (General Fine Arts BFA) was revealed as the artist behind President Barack Obama’s official White House portrait last month, he joined an exclusive list of MICA alumni commissioned to paint modern political icons.

Those alumni include Amy Sherald ’04 (LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA), who was commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery for its official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama, and Jerrell Gibbs ’20 (LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA), who painted the official portrait of the late Maryland congressman and civil rights activist Elijah E. Cummings.

(Left to Right) Barack Obama portrait by Robert McCurdy; Michelle Obama portrait by Amy Sherald; Elijah E. Cummings portrait by Jerrell Gibbs.

Commissioned by the White House Historical Association, the identity of the artist painting Obama’s portrait was kept secret until the official unveiling in the East Room of the White House by President Biden. McCurdy, who is known for his photorealistic oil paintings of notable figures in contemporary history, has painted Nelson Mandela, Toni Morrison, and Neil Armstrong, in addition to the former president.

Read the Story: MICA painters capture political legends

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VISUAL JOURNALISM

ART LIEN, LONGTIME SUPREME COURT ARTIST, RETIRES FOLLOWING STORIED CAREER

In this sketch by artist Art Lien, Seth P. Waxman presents oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt. In the background, Justices Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh look on. Sketch by Art Lien, CC-BY-SA-4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Using a graphite pencil and watercolor paints, MICA alum Art Lien ’76 (General Fine Arts BFA) spent his entire career as a courtroom sketch artist, going where cameras were not allowed and capturing history in the process.

He began sketching courts shortly after his graduation from MICA, covering the fraud trial of former Maryland governor Marvin Mandel for Baltimore news station WJZ. He went on to work for CBS and, later, NBC, sketching the Supreme Court as well as notable federal trials.

While most of Lien’s work focuses on Supreme Court cases — from arguments focused on Obamacare to Fourth Amendment rights — he also sketched the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of perpertrating the Boston Marathon bombing, and the trial of convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the Oklahoma City bombing. He also sketched for SCOTUS blog, a law blog written by lawyers, law professors, and law students about the Supreme Court.

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HONOR SOCIETY

MICA FACULTY RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR WORK, CAREERS

MICA’s faculty do more than teach — they are working professionals immersed in the art and design communities. They are also highly respected within their disciplines, as demonstrated by recent honors garnered by four faculty representing design, fine arts, and media arts.

ELLEN LUPTON

The founding director of MICA’s MFA in Graphic Design and Betty Cooke and William O. Steinmetz Design Chair was recently named curator emerita by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Lupton, who spent 30 years as senior curator of contemporary design at Cooper Hewitt, concluded her stint in that position last July.

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MAIA CHAO

The social practice professor in MICA’s First Year Experience program was named a Pew Fellow in the Arts in September. Granted by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the distinction includes an unrestricted, $75,000 award.

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YOHEY HORISHITA

The Illustration faculty member won inclusion in the Communications Arts Illustration Annual. His piece, The Storm is Coming to Tokyo 2021, was created for a Sports Illustrated article about the Tokyo Olympics and the discomfort associated with the games’ occurrence during a pandemic.

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ERIN JOHNSON

Filmmaker Magazine named this faculty member in MICA’s Film & Video BFA program as one of 2022’s 25 New Faces of Film. The publication, which focuses on independent film, recognized Johnson for the short film To Be Sound Is To Be Solid, which is set to be presented as a five-channel installation in fall 2023 at Instituto Bardi/Casa de Vidro in Brazil.

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PERFORMANCE HISTORY

JAMES WILLIAMS II WINS SONDHEIM ARTSCAPE PRIZE

ONE OF A DOZEN MICA-CONNECTED WINNERS SINCE THE PRIZE’S INCEPTION

Multimedia artist and MICA faculty member James Williams II ’09 (Mount Royal School of Art MFA) was named winner of this year’s $30,000 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize.

It’s not the first time a member of the MICA community has claimed the top prize. Since its inception, of the last 17 Sondheim Prize winners, 11 have had ties to MICA in addition to Williams, demonstrating the vital role MICA plays in the region’s arts and culture scene.

The prestigious competition is open to individual visual artists or visual artist collaborators living and working in the Greater Baltimore region, and finalists for the 2022 award were selected from over 300 applicants.

Williams — a MICA faculty member who teaches in the College's undergraduate Painting Department — is a curator and interdisciplinary artist whose work encompasses painting, sculpture, and photography. He focuses on topics of social and cultural identity in the United States tied together by self-portraiture and narration.

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BEAUTY’S
WORTH

MICA ALUMN JENNIE LOBATO HONORED BY L’ORÉAL PARIS

Jennie Lobato ’00 was among L’Oréal Paris’ 2022 Women of Worth

Jennie Lobato ’00 (General Fine Arts BFA) was among L’Oréal Paris’ 2022 Women of Worth. Chosen for her role in launching drawchange, an organization dedicated to empowering disadvantaged children through the use of art therapy-based programming, Lobato was one of 10 women to receive the honor.

L’Oréal Paris conceived the award to celebrate all the beautiful things women do, specifically the causes they devote their time to — and each year the cosmetics giant launches a nationwide search for extraordinary female nonprofit leaders. Honorees receive $20,000 to support their cause, mentorship from the L’Oréal Paris network, and a national platform to tell their stories. Over the past 17 years, the company has recognized 170 Women of Worth from across the US.

Lobato, whose parents immigrated to New Jersey from Uruguay, grew up torn between a need to blend in with local US culture and a desire to cling to her heritage. Art was her outlet — and in understanding its influence on her own formative years, she created drawchange to use art as a means to help children experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty.

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AREA OF INFLUENCE

FACULTY AND STAFF LISTED AMONG BALTIMORE’S MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Unique Robinson's feature in Baltimore Magazine

Local engagement is essential to MICA’s mission as a College, and members of our community consistently devote their time and talent to the city we call home. Two such individuals — Unique Robinson, director of the MFA in Community Arts program, and Stacy Stube, associate director of creative entrepreneurship at MICA — were recently hailed by local publications for their impactful presence in Baltimore.

Robinson — a queer multimedia performance artist, poet, and educator — is currently the subject of a feature story in Baltimore Magazine’s special "Game Changers" issue, with the publication spotlighting her influential and inspirational presence for the city’s LBGTQ+ community.

The special issue of Baltimore Magazine is sharing the stories of people who are working everyday to make Baltimore thrive.

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Technical.ly Baltimore recently named Stube a ReaLIST Connector. The publication’s ReaLIST Connectors are a who’s who in local technology, entrepreneurship, and business communities. Stube was hailed for using her role at MICA to connect the College’s entrepreneurs with resources and networks that facilitate their ventures’ success.

The publication cited 20 members of the Baltimore community for keeping the city’s tech ecosystem thriving through work creating events, building networks, and guiding young entrepreneurs.

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RISING GENERATION

MICA STUDENTS SELECTED AS FINALISTS FOR MAJOR COMPETITION

Artwork by Delzy Alarcon ’24, Jirawat Paul Khumbugnkla ’23, and Teresa Nicolella ’22

Three MICA students have been selected as finalists for this year’s AXA Art Prize competition, one of the leading student art competitions in the US. The finalists include Delzy Alarcon ’24 (Illustration BFA), Jirawat Paul Khumbugnkla ’23 (Painting BFA), and Teresa Nicolella ’22 (Painting BFA).

The trio are among 40 finalists selected from over 500 applicants. Work submitted to the competition, which is open to undergraduate and graduate art students, can include figurative paintings, drawings, and original prints.