College of the Arts Began a New Annual Lecture Series

Fiber Artist Diedrick Brackens spoke with students March 10 | Musician Stephanie Matthews came to campus March 22

 

 

The CSULB College of the Arts began a new lecture series this semester, supported by a generous gift from the Anderson-Malcolm family. The lecture series kicked off with a Conversation and Q&A with Diedrick Brackens on Friday, March 10 at 4pm in the University Theatre.

Diedrick Brackens is a weaver best known for his woven tapestries that explore themes of African American and queer identity, American history, as well as his own lived experience. Brackens makes work both figurative and abstract, narrative and allegorical, utilizing techniques from West African weaving, quilting from the American South, and European tapestry-making. Brackens is a familiar presence to welcome back to CSULB where he served as a faculty member in Fiber Arts previously.

Later that month Stephanie Matthews spoke to students, faculty, and guests within the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music on Wednesday, March 22 in the Gerald R. Daniel Recital Hall.

Stephanie Matthews is a Los Angeles based violinist, contractor and arranger, and the Owner/Creative Director of StringCandy. Most recently, Matthews and the Re-Collective Orchestra collaborated with Hans Zimmer to record the soundtrack for the 2019 remake of The Lion King. She also co-arranged strings on Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift. Additionally, her work has been featured on Saturday Night Live, the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, late night talk shows, VH1 Storytellers, the BET Awards, BET Honors, as well as on various daytime television shows and music videos.

The CSULB College of the Arts Lecture Series is envisioned as an opportunity for each of the Academic disciplines housed within the College to select and invite important and impactful figures within their art form’s professional community to visit and share their work, philosophy, and advice with our students. Two academic disciplines will arrange and present these lectures each academic year, with the disciplines rotating each year.

The Cecelia Anderson-Malcolm Endowment was established in 2021 by the Robert Malcolm Estate in order to support a college-wide lecture series. Cecelia Anderson-Malcolm had a lifelong passion for the arts, especially music, dance, textiles, and the fine arts. Both Cecelia and Robert were long-time supporters of the College of the Arts and its programs. The Design Student Gallery and the Design Lecture Series are both named for Cecelia’s son, Duncan Anderson, a promising young design student who was killed while coming to the aid of a robbery victim.

All lectures in the CSULB College of the Arts Lecture Series are free and open to the public. Campus parking information is available at https://www.csulb.edu/parking-and-transportation-services/permit-information.