Shayla Brown

Federico Frum, BA Art and Visual Technology ’05, believes in the power of art to bring people together. Known professionally as MasPaz—Spanish for “more peace”—Frum has spent his career fusing activism and creativity, using bold street murals, community engagement, and cultural storytelling to spread a message of unity.

George Mason music professor June Huang sees connections between musical collaboration and peacebuilding, and she and her students demonstrate those connections with The Spheres Project, a strings faculty and student collaborative space established in 2021.

Historical dramas may be nothing new to the theater, but an original opera based on a landmark Supreme Court Civil Rights case? Rick Davis knew this was something different. After learning that Virginia Opera was planning to stage their new opera, Loving v. Virgina—based on the historic Supreme Court case striking down a Virginia law that banned interracial marriage—Davis seized the unique opportunity for his students. 

At the 2024 Best of Film at George Mason showcase, film and video studies major James Bah screened his music video, The Show, which he directed for rapper Bobby Feeno, also known as former NFL running back Arian Foster.

Only five years after graduating from George Mason University, alumna Rhyan Elliott, Film and Video Studies ’20, was recently a production supervisor for the five-time Oscar-winning film Anora (2024), directed by Sean Baker.

The new College of Visual and Performing Arts special topics course AVT 496 focuses on furniture design and is offered through the university’s School of Art. As a part of the course, the students will tour the National Gallery of Art and put what they’ve learned to practice by identifying and recommending ways to create a more welcoming environment for people to experience the art.

George Mason University alumna Rebecca Wahls’ directorial debut film Him centers on the last five contestants of a reality dating show, who discover that their potential “soulmate” isn’t what he seems to be.

Students from George Mason University’s Film and Video Studies Program collaborated in the classroom to create films that earned them their first Capital Emmy Student Production Awards. These awards, sponsored by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, recognize outstanding achievement in video production in the region.

Since graduating from George Mason University, alum Alex Plank, BA Film and Video Studies ’10, has worked professionally on films and television series as an associate producer and actor. Plank is also an autism activist who works toward more authentic neurodiverse representation in media.

Lake Rusch’s passion for acting was ignited in seventh grade when they first joined George Mason University’s Acting for Young People (AFYP) showcase program. They continued to attend the program throughout high school.