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The University of Central Arkansas Artists in Residence (AiR) program is a dynamic initiative that brings nationally and internationally recognized artists to campus each year. Funded by the Fine and Performing Arts Fee paid by all students, the program is rooted in a vision established by the 每日大赛网站 Board of Trustees on February 18, 2000: to 鈥渆xpand artistic opportunities and supplement and enhance university life and academic programs.鈥�

Since its founding, the AiR program has hosted more than 750 artists鈥攊ncluding actors, choreographers, composers, creative writers, dancers, designers, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, and others. These residencies have provided thousands of enriching experiences, including art exhibits, master classes, performances, readings, film screenings, workshops, and other student-centered learning opportunities.

Artist residencies have become an essential and vibrant component of the curriculum at 每日大赛网站, contributing meaningfully to both academic and cultural life on campus and to the Central Arkansas community.

The program is supported by the 每日大赛网站 Arts Fee, with additional sponsorship from Engage Management and Pyramid Art, Books, & Custom Framing. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and take place on the 每日大赛网站 campus at 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway, AR 72035.

 

FALL 2026 BROCHURE

 

COOPER JUSTUS |听film production management

Film Producer Cooper Justus offers students an inside look at the rapidly evolving entertainment industry, from major studio consolidation to the future of global streaming and content distribution. Drawing on recent industry developments, including discussions surrounding potential consolidation involving Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, this residency explores how shifting media landscapes are reshaping storytelling, production, and audience engagement worldwide. Justus will also discuss his path from studying journalism at the University of Missouri to building a career in mainstream film and television. Through a practical, step-by-step discussion, he will explain how he secured opportunities within major studios, outline the skills and qualifications currently in demand, and identify what emerging professionals should begin developing now to enter the industry successfully. The residency concludes with a behind-the-scenes examination of studio-level postproduction workflows, using a current HBO or Warner Bros. project as a case study to illustrate how productions move from offline editing through final delivery.

For more information, contact Professor Kyusik Gam, assistant professor film, Department of Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing, kgam@uca.edu.

Oct. 1

12:15-1:25 p.m.
Student Event: 鈥淭he Next Chapter of the Global Media Landscape,鈥� Stanley Russ Hall 109

1:40-2:50 p.m.
Public Event: 鈥淕etting Hired in Hollywood,鈥� Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts 167

5-6:30 p.m.
Student Event: 鈥淚nside Studio Postproduction Workflow: HBO and Warner Bros.,鈥� Stanley Russ Hall 103

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DAVID LITT | author and speechwriter

David Litt is a New York Times bestselling author, political speechwriter, and humorist whose work bridges politics, storytelling, and comedy. A former senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, he was described as 鈥渢he comic muse for the president鈥� for his contributions to the White House Correspondents鈥� Dinner. Since leaving the White House, Litt has written for major publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, and The Guardian, while continuing to advise political leaders, chief executive officers, philanthropists, and public figures on speechwriting and communications. 听He is the author of Thanks, Obama, Democracy in One Book or Less (2020), and It鈥檚 Only Drowning (2025).

For more information, contact Dr. Nelle Bedner, professor of communication, School of Communication, nelleb@uca.edu.

Oct. 6

9:25-10:40 a.m.听
Student Event: Class Visit with Advanced Public Speaking, Win Thompson Hall 206

10:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m.听
Student Event: Class Visit with Advanced Public Speaking, Win Thompson Hall 206

2:30-4 p.m.听
Student Workshop: The Craft of Speech Writing with David Litt, Windgate 119

7-8 p.m.听
Public Event: 鈥淭alking Across Differences: An Evening with David Litt,鈥� College of Business Auditorium 106

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SINA GRACE | graphic novel writing and illustration

Sina Grace is an acclaimed author and illustrator for autobiographic storytelling and innovative independent comics. He is the creator of the autobiographical comic Self-Obsessed (2014; expanded 2015) and the semi-autobiographic graphic novel Not My Bag (2012), a candid exploration of life in high-end retail. Grace also served as illustrator for S. Steven Struble’s cult-favorite indie series The Li’l Depressed Boy and as artist and cowriter for the Image Comics series Burn the Orphanage. His additional projects include Among the Ghosts, The Wishing Box, Books with Pictures and Cedric Hollows in Dial M for Magic. Grace previously served as editorial director for Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint at Image Comics and has worked with Marvel Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, and Valiant Entertainment. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

For more information, contact Dr. Tha茂s Miller, assistant professor of creative writing, Department of Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing, tmiller34@uca.edu.

Oct. 20

3:15-3:50 p.m.
Student Event: Interview with Editors of Arkana, 每日大赛网站鈥檚 National Literary Magazine, Win Thompson Hall 331

4-5 p.m.
Student Event: Master Class on Writing for Comics, Graphic Novels, and Sequential Art, Win Thompson Hall 206

7-8 p.m.
Public Event: Artist Talk and/or Reading with Books Signing by Sina Grace, Art Lecture Hall, McCastlain 143

Oct. 21

3-4:14 p.m.
Student Event: Craft Talk with Students | Win Thompson Hall 211

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EMET EZELL | poetry and visual art

emet ezell听is a visual artist and writer based in Berlin. Trained under Polish typographer Robert Sawa and fiber artist Sylwia Wo藕niak-S臋czawa, ezell remains committed to handmade paper and print practices. Their work explores themes of devotion, dispossession, ruin, and return. ezell鈥檚 work and research have been supported by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the European Commission for Culture and Creativity, the Berlin Senatsverwaltung, Pedv膩le Open Air Art Museum, the Vermont Studio Center, the Bread Loaf Writers鈥� Conference, and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. Winner of the 2021 Gloria E. Anzald煤a Poetry Prize, ezell鈥檚 writing has appeared in听The American Poetry Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Poetry Daily, and听Hand Papermaking Magazine. Their poems have been translated into Latvian, German, Hebrew, and Polish. Ezell鈥檚 solo exhibition Destruction Is and Is Not Forever debuted last summer in Latvia. They are currently an artist fellow in the 2026 New Jewish Culture Fellowship and will perform in the opening of the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Beinnale as part of Bound with the Living, an installation by artist Hagar Ophir.

For more information, contact, Clayton Crockett, professor and director of religious studies, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, claytonc@uca.edu.

CURTIS CHIN | writing and filmmaking

Curtis Chin is the author of the award-winning memoir Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. A co-founder of the Asian American Writers鈥� Workshop in New York City, Chin served as the nonprofit’s first executive director before writing comedy for network and cable television and later transitioning to social-justice documentaries. His films have screened at more than 600 venues in twenty countries. He has written for CNN, Bon App茅tit, the Detroit Free Press, and The Emancipator. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Chin has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. His essay in Bon App茅tit was selected for Best Food Writing in America 2023, and his short documentary Dear Corky premiered on American Masters (PBS). He is currently working on a new Chinese restaurant project.

For more information, contact. Dr. Zack Smith, associate professor, Department of History, zsmith@uca.edu.

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