October 30, 2026

Ricardo Zapata, Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Art & Art History, is presenting the work of Puerto Rico-based artist Jotham Malavé at Pink Noise Projects, the gallery collective he co-runs and operates in Philadelphia. The exhibition, titled Manually Breathing, marks Malavé's first solo show in the United States. More information is available at https://pinknoiseprojects.com/2026/10/26/manually-breathing/. Zapata has artwork on display in "Living Networks," a juried alumni group show at the New World Gallery in Miami, Florida. For more information about the exhibition, visit https://calendar.mdc.edu/event/living-networks-9788.

Four students from the Fashion Industry & Merchandising program have been selected as a Top 10 Semifinalist team for the NRF Foundation University Challenge 2026–27 Scholarship. Simone Bollinger ('27), Rachel Burton ('27), Cate Hettinger ('27), and Braeden Myrick ('28) will advance to phase two of the competition, which includes a pitch, video, and meeting with top retail executives, for the chance to be named among the top three finalists competing for $30,000 in scholarships. The team will also attend the 2027 NRF Foundation NXT program in New York City, January 7–10, 2027, where they will connect with more than 1,400 college students and retail leaders across marketing, merchandising, talent, entrepreneurship, sustainability, supply chain, and technology. For more information, visit https://nrffoundation.org/retail-scholarships/university-retail-challenge.

Keyanna Wigglesworth, a master's student in Arts Administration, has been awarded the Emily Mulcahy Student Research Award for outstanding graduate research at the master's or Ph.D. level. The honor was presented at the 50th Annual Conference of Social Theory, Politics & the Arts (STP&A), the oldest and one of the most influential academic gatherings in the field of arts management and cultural policy. Wigglesworth, who recently completed her master's thesis, was recognized for her exceptional contributions to the discipline. Adding to Drexel's distinction, alumna Yifeng Zhang received the same award at the 2025 STP&A conference.

Dominic Moore-Dunson, Rankin Scholar-in-Residence, has announced that his production, The Remember Balloons, will air on PBS Western Reserve on November 20. The 90-minute dance-theatre work, created in collaboration with composer Theron Brown, is an adaptation of Jessie Oliveros' children's book exploring themes of memory, family, and loss. The production was previously featured on the Drexel stage as the 2026 Mandell Presents feature performance. Additional broadcast dates are available through PBS Western Reserve.

Houzz Pro recently recognized Drexel among the top 10 interior design programs in the United States worth applying to. The recognition highlights both the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree offerings within the program. For more information, visit the full Houzz Pro article: https://pro.houzz.com/pro-learn/blog/startup-guide-interior-design-best-schools-in-the-us?msockid=1ffcadf3b1df61b413d7baa9b08860d5

Tasha Singh (MS Interior Architecture ’24), has been named a 2026 Interior Design Magazine 30/30 inductee for the St. Louis, MO region. The 30/30 program recognizes promising early-career designers under 30, offering opportunities to develop leadership skills, build professional connections, and foster dialogue among creatives. Singh was nominated by Michelle Rotherham, Principal and Interior Practice Leader at Cannon Design. The recognition was shared by Frances Temple-West, Program Director of Interior Architecture & Design. For more information, visit the announcement on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7455447476075118592/

Robert Lloyd, Program Director of Game Design & Production, served as co-chair of the PHL Gaming Task Force for PHL Gaming 2026. The annual event, held October 24, 2026, at CYTOPHL in Philadelphia in partnership with 1Philadelphia's Innovation Weekend, brought together gamers, developers, educators, students, and industry leaders to celebrate Philadelphia's gaming community. Also on the task force was adjunct faculty member Adrian Sandoval. Professor Tony Rowe and student Emery Kaczmarek Johnson ('28) were among the event's featured speakers. PHL Gaming 2026 featured an indie game showcase, tournaments, panels, and the 2026 PHL Game Jam Awards.

Jayson Borenstein, Marketing Insights Manager at the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts and a Philadelphia-based arts administrator, producer, and actor, made his professional producing debut at the 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. A graduate of Drexel University's MS Arts Administration program, Borenstein produced a Mel Brooks’s overlooked musical archy & mehitabel. Borenstein also holds a BA in Communication from the University of Maryland and authored his thesis on the intersections between the non-profit and commercial sectors of theater in Philadelphia. He is a member of The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia's Young Professionals Council and was part of the Independence Foundation's 2025 Rising Leaders Cohort. More information about his Fringe production is available at https://phillyfringe.org/events/archy-mehitabel/.

Glen Muschio, Associate Professor of Digital Media program, has had a work-in-progress video included in the University of Pennsylvania Arthur Ross Gallery's exhibition, "At Liberty: Life in the City of Brotherly Love During the Early Republic" (August 28 – December 13, 2026). The 10-minute video, co-produced and directed by Muschio and Dave Mauriello, digitally reconstructs C.W. Peale's early 19th-century museum in Independence Hall, featuring 3D models and AI-assisted animations created by 12 Digital Media students, many of whom are STAR Scholar Awardees (2011–2025). Contributing students include Tyrone Bullock (‘22), Hani Pham (‘28), and Aaron Mosier (‘29).

Dr. Joseph H. Hancock II, Professor and Founding and Principal Editor of Fashion, Style & Popular Culture (FSPC), has announced that the journal has achieved Q1 rankings in both Cultural Studies and Visual & Performing Arts on Scopus. Established in 2014 and published by Intellect Books, FSPC is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to fashion scholarship and its intersections with popular culture. Dr. Hancock II credited the journal's success to its Associate Editors, Editorial and Advisory Boards, publishing partner Intellect, and the support of Drexel University's colleges and departments. The journal currently boasts over three years of backlogged content and more than 500 contributing scholars. For more information, visit https://www.intellectbooks.com/fashion-style-popular-culture.

Daniel E. Coslett, Assistant Professor of Architecture, has published a new research article in Fabrications, the journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand. The article, titled "Looking Backwards and Forwards: Archaeology and Agricultural Colonisation at Tunisia's 1889 Universal Exposition Pavilion (Paris)," examines Tunisia's pavilion at the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, situating it within the context of late nineteenth-century French colonial agricultural settlement policies and colonialist rhetoric. The work explores how the pavilion's structure and displays reflected both retrospective and opportunistic narratives of French imperialism in North Africa. The article is available online via Taylor & Francis: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10331867.2026.2682850

Antonio Martinez-Molina, Associate Professor of Architecture, was featured in a recent article examining rammed earth construction as a sustainable approach to affordable housing. Martinez-Molina's research evaluates the energy performance, thermal behavior, envelope performance, and life-cycle impacts of a rammed earth affordable housing prototype. The work highlights the potential of this ancient building technique to reduce long-term ownership costs while offering environmental benefits. For more information, read the full article: https://sanantonioreport.org/what-is-rammed-earth-and-could-it-make-affordable-housing-more-affordable-to-own/