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So you want to be an artist...

Presented by UCI, Claire Trevor School of the Arts

January 26, 2009

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WHAT: "So you Want to be an Artist," a workshop for current art students being presented by former graduates of the Studio Art Department of UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts. 

WHO: Former graduates now working professionally in the art world will discuss their experiences post graduation.
(See biographies below of participating graduates.)\

WHEN: MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2009 11:00 A.M. TO 1:00 P.M.

WHERE: Room 160 of the ARTS BUILDING on the UC Irvine campus

RSVP TO: Lesly Martin, Sr. Director of Marketing & Communications 949. 824. 2189; elmartin@uci.edu
 

Panelists:
Zainy Ahmed (Sp 05)
After graduating UCI with a major in Studio Art and minors in Psychology and Education, Zainy got her Masters in Psychology and emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), Art Therapy and a Credential in School Counseling (PPS). Since then she has worked in a variety of settings ranging from hospital to schools, working towards becoming a licensed MFT and Art Therapist.

Chris Chan (Su 05)
After graduation, Chris was doing design work (flyers, t-shirts, pamphlets and websites) for his fraternity big brother who was working as a recruiter for a temp agency, then working as graphic designer for an engineering firm. During his 13 months at Burkert, he decided to also take classes at night at both Art Center (Orange County) and Golden West Community College. He excelled in those classes and acquired many useful tips from his teachers on how to become a successful freelance designer. He then moved to Los Angeles and continued to take Art Center's At Night classes, freelance jobs and worked part-time at a web design firm (Infusion Studios). He was later offered a job doing in-house design at a juniors clothing company where he learned a lot about marketing, design and the fashion industry. After about 9 months with the company he felt as if he had reached a plateau and realized that he no longer wanted to be an in-house designer. It was time to make the transition to creative director. While working at PrivacyWear he met many other creative people who had all attended design programs at various other colleges and he had always felt like he missed out on that experience. He also noticed how important networking was in the design industry and how most everyone's network stemmed from their college days. Seeing as how much he enjoyed his experience with the Art Center At Night courses and the vast improvement to his design skills, Chris decided to take another leap and quit his day job to attend the full-time program. Chris is now currently a full-time student in the Art Center Undergraduate program, majoring in Graphic and Packaging Design.

Jeff Lee (Su 03)
While at UCI, Jeff was employed as a graphic design intern at a software company in Santa Ana where he received most of his on-the-job training and gave him insight into corporate office culture. After graduating from UCI in 2003, he did some freelance design work for Paul Frank Optometry; it was there that he realized he wanted to pursue graphics as a full-time profession. Later, he continued freelance work with a part-time graphics position at NewSong Church Irvine, which helped him build his portfolio and resume. Within a few months the part-time position had turned in to a full-time one. Since Winter 2007, he has been the Angels Baseball marking coordinator/designer.

Mathew Lin (Su 01)
After graduating from UC Irvine in 2001, Matt wanted to pursue a career as a professional photographer but was uncertain of how to become one. One day by chance, he met a wedding photographer at the mall and started chatting with her about her career. Soon after he became an assistant to her and her husband and started shooting weddings and events alongside them. He started building a portfolio while assisting them, and started taking on his own weddings pictures. Because he had the photographic skills learned at UC Irvine, within a year after graduating, he started his own wedding photography business and has built a name and a brand for his company. He has had the opportunity to travel worldwide and work for various celebrities and heads of states. He also had the fortune of being published in various national and international bridal magazines. This past year, he opened up his first photography studio in the city of Brea and plans to expand his business to commercial and product photography in the near future.

Nzuji De Magalhaes (Sp 00)
After completing her B.A in Studio Art and a minor in Digital Art from UCI, Nzuji De Magalhaes received her M.F.A. in Studio Art with emphasis on Mixed Media from the University of Southern California. Currently, she is attending the California State University in Fullerton in pursuit of a M.A in Music History. Nzuji shows her work in many known art galleries nationally which include Steve Turner Art Gallery, MOAD in San Francisco, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, BoxHeart in Pennsylvania, and WoMan Made Gallery in Illinois. Her work is nationally being represented by known collectors and art curators. Her artwork depicts vividly stereotype issues, Post Colonial Discourse, Myth, ethnicity, politics and other genres that she encountered and confronted in her life. She meticulously combines both art forms learned in Angola and in America to be able to create work that conveys stories of her birth place and her stay in America. At present, Nzuji's work has grown into a three-dimensional arena, where she is exploring and adding sound as another medium for great expression and artistic endeavors.

Kara Tanaka (Sp 05)
Since her blissful undergraduate years at UCI, Kara Tanaka has pursued graduate programs in art at Goldsmiths College, University of London and CalArts. A lover of history, literature, human spirituality and the future, Tanaka builds her ideas like a detective builds a case: with a madman on the loose! Her recent sculpture "Crushed by the Hammer of the Sun" is currently on view at OCMA for the 2008 California Biennial.