Founded by the Department of Art and Art History at UC Davis and underwritten by Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem, The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies is an academic program that hosts a group of artists annually in residencies focused on studio art education.
BACKGROUND
The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies brings a group of internationally renowned artists annually to the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program at UC Davis. The residencies are focused on teaching. Visiting artists engage with students at the undergraduate and graduate levels through seminars, critiques, and public lectures. The program is supported by the generosity of longtime UC Davis arts education benefactors Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem and builds on UC Davis Art Studio's legacy as a top-ranked art studio program that, since its founding in 1958, has trained individuals that inspire communities and culture.
The Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program at UC Davis challenges students to cultivate curiosity and sustain the courage to embrace the unknown through art. Arts students at the undergraduate and graduate level are encouraged to explore a broad range of disciplines and to participate in opportunities outside the classroom, including The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies, Betty Jean and Wayne Thiebaud Endowed Lecture Series, and Visiting Artist Lecture Series, the professional practice seminars, student exhibitions, competitions and internships. The department supports 16 fully funded M.F.A. students and attracts students from all over the United States and the world.
OUR BENEFACTORS
Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem live life at the intersection of arts, culture and commerce. Maria was the principal force behind Gucci’s integration into American department stores, and Jan was the founder of an international book publishing firm and the Clos Pegase winery. Jan and Maria’s support of visual arts education at UC Davis is multifaceted. Jan and Maria have supported four residences annually at London’s Royal Drawing School for UC Davis undergraduate students. In 2011, Jan and Maria pledged the lead gift to build the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis and are lifetime honorary board members of the museum. Most recently, they established The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies in the Department of Art and Art History. These programs and institutions enrich student and campus life by expanding access to art, its histories and the living artists who continue to create and innovate.
Beyond UC Davis, Jan and Maria support the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, Festival Napa Valley, KQED and Metropolitan Opera in New York. They have worked to expand Italian language, music and visual arts education in secondary schools by supporting programs such as ArtSmart, the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra and Comites SF at the Italian Consulate in San Francisco. Jan and Maria gave the lead gift for the UCSF Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Neurology Clinic and support the California Pacific Medical Center.
DEPARTMENT OF ART & ART HISTORY, ART STUDIO FACULTY
Shiva Ahmadi, Associate Professor of Art
Beatriz Cortez, Associate Professor of Art
Fidencio Fifield-Perez, Assistant Professor of Art
Robin Hill, Professor of Art
Timothy Hyde, Assistant Professor of Art
Darrin Martin, Professor of Art, Co-Chair Department of Art and Art History
Annabeth Rosen, Distinguished Professor of Art
Young Suh, Professor of Art
THE CALIFORNIA STUDIO STAFF
Katie Grube, Curator and Program Manager
californiastudio@ucdavis.edu