Boston University College of Fine Arts

CREATIVES IN PRACTICE: Musician, writer, teacher, scholar, and podcaster Dan DiPiero specializes in cultural studies and popular music. This past spring, DiPiero, assistant professor of music in musicology & ethnomusicology at Boston University School of Music, presented new research at highly respected conferences and at ✨the✨ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! 🤘

At the Rock Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, DiPiero spoke about research conducted for his second book, "Big Feelings: Q***r and Feminist Indie Rock After Riot Grrrl." 📖

“The talk centered on the wave of contemporary q***r and feminist indie rock bands who have been remaking the genre in the past decade, including groups like Soccer Mommy, Indigo De Souza, and the Ophelias,” explained DiPiero, whose book situates these musicians in essential socio-cultural contexts, and shows how indie rock feminisms have shifted since the 1990s, rejecting overt political messages in favor of sonic catharsis, and reflecting the complex, ambivalent feeling of being young while the world burns.

In CFA’s Creatives in Practice series, DiPiero shares forthcoming projects he’s working on, including his third book, tentatively called Crush: Essays on Love and Music, and how he applies what he learns on the road and as a musician to the courses he teaches at Boston University. Fairly new to the New England region, DiPiero also highlights how exciting it has been to live in an arts-rich city like Boston. 🎶 🌆

Read Q&A in CFA News ➡️ http://spr.ly/6180BDjexA

LOOK: High-fashion garments. Intricate surface motifs. This past spring, Boston University Art Galleries presented “Labor of Luxury: Embroidery from India to the World,” celebrating the artistry of Indian artisans and featuring over 20 exquisite designs by renowned Indian and Euro-American fashion luminaries such as ASHISH, Oscar de la Renta, Naeem Khan, Mary McFadden, Todd Oldham, Dries Van Noten, and Vera Wang. 👗✨

The exhibition, curated by Annette Becker, drew from the Texas Fashion Collection, an archive of nearly 20,000 historic and designer garments and accessories. For Becker, the exhibition invited viewers to explore the creativity, craftsmanship, and labor behind these luxurious creations, encouraging guests to see beyond the beautiful hand beading and embroidery, "but thinking about who executed that work, where they’re based, and how those systems and productions came to be." 🧵

Missed the exhibition earlier this year? Take a virtual tour! ➡️ http://spr.ly/6180BDOhz8

DESIGN: Boston University CFA School of Theatre takes over Romania! ✈️ 🇷🇴 🎭 A day after final exams ended in early May, four CFA students—Gus Kim (CFA’28), Benny Dietz (CFA’28), Ella Harris (CFA’28), and Kara Zacharewicz (CFA’27)—headed to Europe where they spent the next 10 days designing sets and costumes for three Shakespeare plays being presented by the York-based theatre company Parrabbola at the world’s largest Shakespeare festival in Romania: the 2026 Craiova International Shakespeare Festival, which ran from May 21 to 31.

The four students worked under the tutelage of Jon Savage, Boston University assistant professor of scene design, who connected with Parrabbola’s artistic director, Philip Parr, last year when they were both teaching at the Prague Shakespeare Company’s Summer Intensive program. Savage and Parr began to explore what opportunities there might be for BU design students to engage in and experience a European style of theatre-making.

The students embraced the chance to move beyond their respective areas of expertise—costume design, scenic design, lighting, and sound—and develop new skills. For Zacharewicz, who is majoring in scene design, that meant pivoting to making costumes. “It was nice to sew again for a production, since I don’t typically do that anymore,” she says. “I love giving actors costumes and seeing how they react to them.”

Read more on the students' experience and find out where they are taking their design talents next! ➡️ http://spr.ly/6189BDz2p1

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT: Shortly before graduating from Boston University in 2024, Sarah Coleman was getting nervous. In a few months, the acting major would step into her career in professional theater—a notoriously difficult industry to crack. And yet, she was determined not to let fear paralyze her. 🙌 🎭

In under a year, Coleman landed roles in productions throughout New York and New Jersey, ultimately spending much of 2025 on the road with the national tour of The Addams Family as the saloon girl and an understudy for Wednesday Addams. 🖤🪦🕷️🥀

Coleman also runs a photography business, which she started as a teenager, and posts viral content for her 300,000 TikTok followers, with recent posts including dispatches from the Addams tour and updates on a family-owned Brooklyn brownstone she’s restoring.

CFA asked Coleman about her entrepreneurial spirit, her experiences on the road, and her advice for any young Broadway hopeful. ⭐ More in CFA Magazine ➡️ http://spr.ly/6188BDy2WK

APPLY: CFA-ers, are you interested in supporting health & wellness on campus? 🧘‍♀️🍃 Do you enjoy making social media or written form content? 📱👩‍💻

Boston University Student Health Services is looking for a Boston University student to support the Marketing & Communication team as a program assistant! 🧑‍⚕️🩺

As a program assistant, you'll create plain language health communications, support SHS social media accounts, and create engaging content to promote health & wellness resources and events.

To learn more and apply (‼️Priority application deadline: June 15) ➡️ http://spr.ly/6185BDGdHl

MAGIC: We're looking back at Boston University CFA School of Theatre's fall 2025 mainstage show at Boston University's Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre, Flowers for Mrs. Harris 🌷🌷🌷

For Ada Harris, day-to-day life is spent cleaning houses. But when she happens to stumble upon something that takes her breath away, she sets off on a journey that will change her life. Ada transforms the lives of everyone she meets along the way, but can she let go of her past and finally let her own life blossom?

BU's production of Flowers for Mrs. Harris was directed by BU alum Shamus (CFA’23) and with music direction by Harry Castle, assistant professor of musical theatre. "Flowers begs us not to wait for permission and instead to pursue what will make us happy," says Shamus. "It proposes that the journey and the people from the road are as important as the destination." ❤️

The musical by Richard Taylor and Rachel Wagstaff is based on the novel by Paul Gallico.

Join Mrs. Harris as she goes from the cobbled streets of post-war London to the magical avenues of Paris and beyond ✨ Revisit the show in CFA's Featured Works ➡️ http://spr.ly/6184B87NBQ

ATTEND: Our friends at Boston University Tanglewood Institute - BUTI are celebrating their 60th anniversary this summer, and everyone is invited! 🎉

BUTI, the premier summer music program for the next generation of musicians, will honor six decades of artistic excellence and transformative music education with memorable celebrations of legacy and community in the Berkshires. 🎶

Join BUTI in marking this historic milestone by attending or performing in side-by-side performance opportunities, an alumni mixer at Tanglewood, or the BUTI Benefit featuring world-renowned violinist and BUTI parent Joshua Bell! 🎻

📅 August 1 - 4, 2026
Learn more and register ➡️ http://spr.ly/6188B8f5l6

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: After noticing a large bulletin board that had become damaged over time in a South Boston elementary school hallway, Yaming Jiang (CFA’23’26) decided it was time to do something about it. 🙌 🍎📚

Yaming, a recent graduate of Boston University’s Master of Arts in Art Education program and student teacher at Tynan Elementary, took on the task of transforming the board into a fun, engaging mural, inspired by the children’s picture book Over and Under, turning the board into a snowy forest scene, with animals hibernating underground. 🖼️❄️🌲🦉🦌🦊🦝

“On the morning I finished the mural, a student walked by and excitedly told me that it was Groundhog Day—and that the groundhog had predicted six more weeks of winter. That moment felt like a meaningful coincidence,” says Yaming. “I am very glad to be able to leave my paint marks on the walls of the school where I am student teaching, and that the students and teachers love the mural I made for them.” ❤️

In CFA’s Beyond the Classroom series, Yaming shares how heartwarming it is to see her students fall in love with art, how BU School of Visual Arts‘ curriculum and faculty helped her obtain this teaching opportunity, and what she’s learned about herself as she navigated being both a college student and student teacher.

Read Q&A ➡️ http://spr.ly/6185B8N6ff

LOOK: The painting before you, "Mosaic Excavation with Carpets," depicts two artifacts emerging from the mists of antiquity: a woven tapestry and a ceramic mosaic. Both objects meticulously rendered. No archaeological detail too small. No attribute left out. The painting? Real. The artifacts it depicts? Not real.

Inspired by objects unearthed on archaeological digs, James Gold (CFA'24) paints artifacts of his own invention, from papyrus scrolls to woven tapestries to stone mosaics. “My work has to do with transformation, taking something real and then using intuition and imagination to transform it into something else,” says Gold, a BU School of Visual Arts MFA painting alum. 🖌️ “These objects have a past, even though they’re entirely fictional.”

Welcome to the museum of the mind. 🧠 Dive into Gold's research, method, and art in CFA Magazine ➡️ http://spr.ly/6189B8LpZH

Theatre for your family. All year long! This year, season memberships are designed with families in mind! Offering early access, ticket flexibility, and meaningful savings throughout the 2026/2027 season! Head to our website https://www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org/performances/membership/ and get your membership today! AND, now when you get a 3-show premium package, you can get a discounted price on your season membership!