Laurie Steelink is an artist, curator, musician, and member of the Akimel O’otham tribe (Gila River Indian Community). Born in 1960, in Phoenix, Arizona, she is part of a generation “that was impacted by one of the last vestiges of the U.S. Government’s active attempts at full hegemonic assimilation of Native Americans through the promotion
The Escalette Collection is excited to share our new mini podcast series hosted by Catalyst: A Creative Industries Podcast, titled “The Artist is Present.” In this series, students interview Escalette Collection artists, asking questions about their artistic practice, career, and interests. A new episode will drop every Thursday during the month of July. You can
As an artist born in Los Angeles, and as a member of the Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California (whose land extended from the Los Angeles Basin to the Southern Channel Islands), Mercedes Dorame feels deeply connected to the landscape of California. She explores the problematics of living in a place that once belonged to her
The 3rd floor of Beckman Hall recently got an art makeover by students in Micol Hebron’s Contemporary Gallery Practices course. Throughout the Spring semester, the students in Gallery Practices worked together to conceptualize an exhibition and select artwork from the Escalette Collection to be featured in Beckman Hall. Since the students in Gallery Practices came
Zackary Drucker, in collaboration with Rhys Ernst, created a series of photographs titled Relationship that lasted from 2008 until 2014 that focused on not only their evolving stages in their respective transitions, but also their attachment to one another. Gaze, energy, and intimacy are all important themes in this series. The representation of transgender bodies
This year, the Escalette Permanent Collection of Art is excited to celebrate it’s 10+2 Year Anniversary. Milestones like this give us the opportunity to look back at how much we’ve accomplished over the years. We felt particularly nostalgic looking through the stacks of retired exhibition banners saved from the past 10 plus years. Embedded within
As a “museum without walls,” the Escalette Collection fills Chapman’s campus with enriching, thought-provoking artworks that impact life on campus for thousands of members of the Chapman Family every day. In 2021, we were honored to receive a prestigious grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that will allow us to commission an artwork
In celebration of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month, Escalette Director, Fiona Shen, joins Hong Kong-born artist Bovey Lee, to discuss the imagery of migration and the freedom of creative practice. FS: So much of your imagery is airborne. I’ve noticed paper airplanes, balloons, streamers in the wind and birds, waves, sail boats, and
Have you ever heard the phrase “male gaze”? It was first coined in 1975 by film critic Laura Mulvey to describe how women are represented in visual arts and literature. She noticed that in movies, advertisements, literature, art, etc., women were often presented as objects of pleasure for heterosexual male viewers. This pattern reinforces a
The Escalette Collection is looking back at some of the amazing work students created in the Fall 2021 semester based on artwork in the collection. Displaying artwork throughout Chapman’s campus gives students the opportunity to engage with the collection, whether in their classes or just walking by. By bringing their unique backgrounds, perspectives, and knowledge to an artwork,