
The Escalette Collection Celebrates its 10+2 Year Anniversary
The Escalette Collection recently celebrated its 10+2 year anniversary, a commemoration delayed two years due to the pandemic. Established in 2010 through a generous donation by Phyllis and Ross Escalette, Wilkinson College’s “museum without walls” has grown to include over 830 works displayed in the public spaces throughout campus. This event celebrated this monumental milestone

An Escalette Summer
This story begins in a little coffee shop in Urbana, Illinois, where I paired my first day as an intern at the Escalette Collection with a blackberry latte and a croissant. I opened Jessica’s e-mail attached with my official 10-week internship program. Seeing the program she curated just for me, I was filled with anticipation

Gerald Clarke and Creative Sovereignty
Last week, Gerald Clarke, multimedia artist, enrolled member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, and Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Riverside, came to campus as part of Wilkinson College’s Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Ethnic Studies initiative. Combining various media in his sculptures, paintings, works on paper, videos, performances, and installations, Clarke

River Garza
Earlier this summer, the Escalette Collection introduced Mercedes Dorame, an artist whose work asserts the Tongva people’s presence by intervening in the landscapes of California. Today, we’d like to introduce another Tongva artist who utilizes visual imagery to amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples in Los Angeles: River Garza. River Garza is a Los Angeles-based

Tribute to Maggi Owens
Image: Maggi Owens (center) with Ross and Phyllis Escalette It is with great sadness that the Escalette Collection announces the death of its former Curator, Maggi Owens, on August 15, 2022 in Palm Desert, CA. Owens made an inestimable contribution to Chapman’s campus over the long period she served, first as a volunteer, then co-director

Celebrating 10 Years of TAB
The Escalette Collection is excited to announce a new exhibition featuring 10 years of Tab: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics in the Henley Galleria on the 2nd floor of Argyros Forum. Tab Journal re-envisions literary cultural production using design thinking; publishes work that represents a range of aesthetics and stages of career; and strives to

Escalette Collection Featured in International Exhibition
Almost a year ago, we announced that one of the most well-known paintings in the Escalette Collection – Untitled by Mary Corse – was going to be on loan to Copenhagen Contemporary in Copenhagen, Denmark. This summer, we were so fortunate to be able to go to Copenhagen to see our painting in their landmark exhibition about

Laurie Steelink
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 Artist is Present" - New Escalette Podcast
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

Mercedes Dorame
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