Health, Technology, Art, and Design Intersect at UC Davis Graduate Showcase
On view at the Manetti Shrem Museum through June 20, the multidisciplinary exhibition features projects by 20 arts graduate students.
From digital data and technology to the environment, healthcare, and the body, graduate students from across the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis, are pushing boundaries with their experimental research and creative expression. The results, varied in medium and discipline, are on display at the Arts & Humanities 2026 Graduate Exhibition.
20 Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, and PhD students in Art History, Art Studio, Design, and Performance Studies are taking part in this year’s presentation, on view through June 20 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.
“Our graduate students are on the cutting edge of technology, design, and the arts,” said Estella Atekwana, Dean of the College of Letters and Science. “They create their own techniques and technologies while thinking deeply and critically about everything they do. Now more than ever, we need future leaders like these, who engage across disciplines and media to meet the challenges of our rapidly changing world.”
Multimedia installations, sculpture, paintings, drawings, and collage encourage visitors to engage with art and design in new ways. Award recipients were announced at the June 4 public opening:
- LeShelle & Gary May Art Purchase Prize: Levi Keatts
- Keister & Allen Art Purchase Prize: Tara K. Daly
- The Letters & Science Prize for Excellence: Sean Olmstead
- The Savageau Award for Design: Rafael Bertacini
The first three prizes enable the Manetti Shrem Museum to purchase graduate student work for the university’s Fine Arts Collection, and the Savageau Award furthers the career of a graduate in design.
Arts & Humanities 2026 Graduate Exhibition is on view through June 20.
To learn more, visit manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu.
