Arts

Art of the Matter Artists from USC and the community perform as part of Classical KUSC and Classical KDFC Kids Discovery Days. The events introduce children to the arts, including live music. (Photo/Peter Howard) Igniting Imagination

The Trojans Bringing Arts Education Back to Kids and Schools

If you think arts education has vanished from schools and neighborhoods, these Trojans have some news for you.

11 min readAlumni Life, Arts, Arts for Social Change, Community, Community Outreach, Dance, Education, Fine Arts, Music
Scholarship Woodwind Quintet members Scholarship Woodwind Quintet members (from left) Anna Lenhart, Sergio Coelho GCRT ’16, Stephanie Bell MM ’16, Sarah Minneman MM ’15 and Emily Schoendorf MM ’15 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. | PHOTOS BY NOÉ MONTES Music Scene

For USC Musicians on the Rise, Los Angeles is Their Place to Play

USC Thornton gives students opportunities as precious as their dreams. (Check out our story in photos, and you’ll see what we mean.)

3 min readArts, Student Life, Los Angeles, Music
Director Erica Muhl, left, and music industry giants Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre (Andre Young) with USC President C. L. Max Nikias. Photo by Steve Cohn President's Page

Art, Industry and Entrepreneurship: A Landmark USC Moment

We will prepare stellar artists to be effective entrepreneurs and singular businesspersons to be great artists.

3 min readArts, Business, President's Page, University, Campaign for USC, Design, Donors, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Iovine and Young Academy, Robotics
Hunter playing piano at Playa in Summer Lake, Oregon In a Landscape concerts have taken place largely in Oregon and the West, but Noack hopes to expand his geographic boundaries. “I get so excited and want to go everywhere,” he says. (Photo/ Ed Schmidt) MOVING TO A DIFFERENT BEAT

Getting in Tune With Nature Around the West

USC alum and classical pianist Hunter Noack performs BYOS—bring your own Steinway—concerts at some of the most stunning outdoor sites in the U.S. The results? Pure magic.

3 min readAlumni Life, Arts, University
a large - scale tuna sculpture on a chopping board, composed out of recyclable, unrecyclable, and combustible mat erials: paper, cardboard, and plastics. It is being prepared, chopped, and consumed by anonymous, grey human hands coming off from the floor: one hand holding chopsticks, another holding forks Untitled (2021) by Listy Gao ’25 portrays her concern over the dismal state of today’s oceans: overfishing, microplastics and waste pollution. The large-scale tuna is composed of recyclable, unrecyclable, and combustible materials: paper, cardboard, and plastics. (Photo courtesy of Listy Gao) Envisioning the Future

Art Reflects Two Worlds: One of Peril, One of Possibilities

Students from USC Roski School of Art and Design use their creative talents to reflect on nature, how it has endured, how it struggles, and most important, how humankind has used—and misused—it. 

2 min readArts, Student Life
School of Dramatic Arts alumnus and voice actor JP Karliak poses for a photograph outside USC’s Widney Alumni House, where he worked for several years after earning a bachelor's degree in theater from the School of Dramatic Arts at USC, May 4, 2022. (Photo/Gus Ruelas) Loud and Proud

Raising Voices

Actor JP Karliak ’03 founded nonprofit Queer Vox to train LGBTQ+ voiceover actors and help them network and find mainstream roles in animation and video games.

10 min readAlumni Life, Arts, LGBTQ
USC alumni films collage (Illustration/Max-O-Matic) (Copyright By A.M.P.A.S. (Douglas Fairbanks); Twentieth Century Fox (Star Wars); Columbia Pictures Corp./Photofest (Boyz N The Hood); Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive (Merrell Gage);Morningside Productions (Jason And The Argonauts); United Artists (Charlie Chaplin); Nbc/Photofest (Johnny Carson); Milestone Film & Video (Mary Pickford); Paramount Pictures (Titanic).) Screen Legends

Top Hollywood Blockbusters With Trojan Ties

From Star Wars to The Avengers, USC alumni have created some of the most successful movies in history.

1 min readAlumni Life, Arts, Alumni, Cinema, Cinematic Arts
virtual art museum tour of USC Pacific Asia Museum Users can step into the USC Pacific Asia Museum’s galleries with this 3D immersive experience. (Video/USC Pacific Asia Museum) State of the Art

How the Pandemic Changed Museums Forever (or Did It?)

They had to rethink how to connect with the public. Turns out “Botticelli on Zoom” and art talks from the couch might change the way Americans get their culture fix.

12 min readAlumni Life, Arts, Alumni, Alumni Life, COVID-19 Heroes, Digital Arts, Fine Arts, Media Arts, Museums, Visual Arts
Photo of a man sitting on top of a bench at USC. It all started at USC: Michael Ausiello recalls how his days at Annenberg informed his work as a TV journalist. He is portrayed by actor Jim Parsons in the feature film "Spoiler Alert" based on his 2017 memoir. (Photo/Gus Ruelas) Reel Life

From Daily Trojan to Spoiler Alert

Michael Ausiello wrote a heartbreaking — yet darkly funny — memoir after his husband’s death. It’s now a movie starring Jim Parsons.