Assistant Professor of Art Danielle Mysliwiec and her Brainstormers collective are making waves—politely—in a New York City exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, regarded as the birth of the gay rights movement.

Check out a welcome letter from Dean Kurt Daw, sent Aug. 13 to new SF State Creative Arts students. “No matter your major, creativity is an integral part of the university experience, giving you and edge in the classroom, in the studio or on stage and in the professional realm,” Daw writes. “It seems that not a day goes by without SF State alumni contributions to arts and popular culture coming to our attention. So many Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony nominees attended SF State—people like Danny Glover, Annette Bening, Kent Nagano, Jeffrey Tambor, Delroy Lindo, Alex Borstein and Paul Gemignani. Will you be the next?“

Check out the August 2009 edition of the Creative Arts E-Lert, the official e-mail newsletter of the SF State College of Creative Arts. This issue highlights the upcoming exhibition “ComuniCarte: Art, Education, Environment and Community in Central America.” The newsletter also includes news on a student documentary traveling to Africa with the U.S. Department of State, alumnus and Pixar film producer Jonas Rivera, reflections from notable alumni on their SF State experience and more.

Thousands in the the Bay Area know Peter Finch’s voice as the longtime news director at KFOG-FM. Now they are getting to know the Radio and Television alum’s voice in a much different way, through his plays. Finch wrote “Aaron Trotter and the Incident at Bikini Beach,” now playing at the Exit Theatre in San Francisco.

SF State now has at least two connections to Sarah Palin. One of her last acts as Alaska governor was appointing Design and Industry alumnus Mark Vinsel to the Alaska Board of Forestry.

The Generations Band, the SF State-created all-star jazz group, keeps on moving this summer with gigs from coast to coast. The group plays the Stanford Jazz Festival on Aug. 3, following a recent two-night bill in New York.

Erin Persley is already packing her bags for Africa. The graduate student in Cinema will travel to Kenya and Uganda in August to screen a film she made in an SF State class, as part of the U.S. Department of State’s American Documentary Showcase.

As an award-winning filmmaker, author, teacher and feminist, Britta Sjogren found a need to explore why she adores 1940s films that are full of sexism and stereotypes. The Cinema associate professor’s research has resulted in a book and new film series, both titled “Into the Vortex: Female Voice in Film.”

Must be undergraduate or graduate, enrolled students at SF State. This is an elective and may not fulfill a degree requirement. Each student must work weekly with his/her mentor, and meet with the Dean twice per semester for analysis and review. Additionally, the entire team will gather for a monthly lunch/class meeting (we’ll supply food and drink!).

1-3 class credit(s) available, depending upon your availability

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The San Francisco Silent Film Festival takes viewers back to a bygone era of visual storytelling. The festival's executive director, Stacey Wisnia, is an SF State alumna.