Art & Art History

Hometown: Da Nang city, Vietnam BFA in Illustration 2025 How did you first get interested in art?In high school, I had a friend, who liked to draw, sitting next to me, and  I wanted to make friends with her, so I started picking up the pen. After practicing for a while,  I realized how bad I was […]

Printmaker, Gallery Assistant at Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art, Charlotte

Hometown: Charlotte, NC BFA in Print Media 2025 How did you first get interested in art?I began sketching at an early age but what drew me into the world of art was the Frida Kahlo biopic. After watching, I couldn’t help but say to myself that I’m going to become an artist! A successful black […]

This is the second December in a row that a member of Valentina Varela’s family has graduated from UNC Charlotte. Last year, her brother, Juan, received a B.S.B.A. in Finance and a B.A. in Spanish. This December, it’s Valentina’s turn. Valentina was 15 when her family moved from her native Colombia to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. […]

Several faculty and alumni in the College of Arts + Architecture have been recognized in the 2023 “Best in the Nest” Awards presented by Charlotte independent weekly newspaper Queen City Nerve. Covering a wide range of categories, the annual awards include both Critics’ and Readers’ Picks. In the “City Life” Category, professors Heather Freeman and […]

In collaboration with The Nicholson Project, alumnus Antoine Williams ‘03 has created four multimedia public artworks located in different quadrants of Washington, DC. Each Afrofuturist mural of the series Mythic Futures features a different mythical being that is portrayed in a way that represents contemporary Black life. Williams has said that this project serves as […]

A new podcast by Professor of Digital Media Heather Freeman, published by public media organization PRX, launches on Tuesday, October 24. Over three seasons, Magic in the United States will unveil the secrets of magical and spiritual America by exploring enchanted beliefs, practices, and cultural conflicts past and present. The podcast is available free on-demand […]

Just five years after Carmen Neely ’12 completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting at UNC Charlotte, she was giving solo gallery exhibitions in major U.S. cities like New York and Miami. Since then, she has added Chicago (where she currently lives), Paris and Düsseldorf, Germany, to the growing list. But among her many […]

Hometowns: born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in Pune, Maharashtra in India BFA in Graphic Design and Minors in Human Computer Interaction and Marketing 2026 How did you first get interested in art?I was born in the U.S. but moved to India at a very young age and was raised there! Having been raised […]

Professional Artist