Wizards of the Coast held a press summit earlier this month to announce plans for the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game for the next six months, which includes a revival of the Planescape campaign setting, as well as its efforts toward outreach, diversity, inclusion, regaining fans’ trust, and growing its audience.

The company held the summit at the Hyatt Regency in Renton, Wash., across the street from the building that will host its new corporate headquarters later this year.

The event featured panels from the internal D&D team, meant to discuss where D&D stands in 2023 and where it’s going in the near future, as the game approaches its 50th anniversary in 2024. Wizards also revealed data about its player population and talked about the hit film “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.”

Speakers included game design architects Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins; executive producer Kyle Brink; senior brand manager and Dragon Talk co-host Shelly Mazzanoble; product managers Chris Lindsay, Natalie Egan, and Hilary Ross; VP of marketing Nathan Stewart; and Wizards’ diversity, equity, and inclusion manager Jontelle Leyson-Smith. Greg Tito, senior communications manager at Wizards of the Coast and the other co-host of Dragon Talk, served as an informal MC for the event.

Read on for a recap of all the announcements and discussion at the summit.

Call it a comeback

Naturally, much of the summit was spent on a discussion of the upcoming rules updates to D&D, which were initially announced in August as part of an initiative called “One D&D.”

Crawford clarified at the summit that that term “One D&D” was always meant as a marketing placeholder, and instead, Wizards now simply calls the same initiative the 2024 Rules Update. It still empathically isn’t a sixth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, however.

“One of the reasons why this word ‘edition’ is loaded for D&D is partly because it has two different meanings,” Crawford said. “In broader publishing, ‘edition’ is a neutral term. It simply means ‘a new version of a book.’”

He added: “In D&D, over the years, the term has gained much greater weight because it also came to mean a revision of the game. We are releasing new editions of the books. We are not releasing a new edition of the game.”

Under this initiative, the three base books for 5th-edition D&D, the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual, are being revamped and rereleased with new rules, better glossaries, and changes that result from a “decade of feedback.”

Crawford and Perkins both worked on D&D 5e in 2014, and according to Perkins, “started building [5e] 2024 as soon as [5e] 2014 went to the printer.” The original version of fifth-edition D&D was done on a comparative shoestring, with fewer resources and contributors than modern D&D has to offer.

Now, the team has used player feedback, constant content testing via methods such as Unearthed Arcana, and their own experiences with D&D to make a new, better-organized version of the game.

Many of the 2024 changes are aimed at new players, by virtue of making D&D as a game easier to learn. “Past books were more like the Dungeon Master’s Warehouse,” Perkins said. “This one’s a guide.”

The 2024 DMG features multiple sections that are meant to help teach a total novice how to run a game of Dungeons & Dragons. This includes terminology; how to prepare for a session; what to do about disruptive players; and how to deal with what’s sometimes called Matthew Mercer Syndrome: the expectation that your game should be as good as what’s shown in professionally produced live-play shows.

Other mechanical changes in the 2024 books include reworks to how characters are created, where your character’s background and origins figure more heavily into their starting stats than their race or class; a new system called Weapon Mastery that gives more power and flexibility to non-magical characters; and more spells that make reference to iconic characters from throughout D&D’s history, such as the Circle of Eight.

Multiversal adaptor

Planescape has a legitimate claim to being one of the most influential campaign settings in D&D history. Originally published in 1994, it serves as a guide to setting adventures in D&D’s elaborate cosmology, including the elemental planes, the various realms that make up D&D’s afterlife, and Sigil, the twisted city that sits at the center of D&D’s multiverse.

Planescape’s most enduring contributions to D&D as a whole are arguably the introduction of the tiefling, as well as inspiring the 1999 cult-classic PC game Planescape: Torment.

The fifth-edition rework of Planescape, scheduled for release on Oct. 17, is a reintroduction and continuation of the setting from where it left off in the ‘90s. It consists of three books: one about the setting, one that serves as a bestiary for the sorts of monsters that players might encounter out in the planes, and one pre-made adventure, Turn of Fortune’s Wheel.

Like most of Wizards’ recent first-party releases for D&D, Planescape will ship in standard and “core hobby” editions, the latter of which will only be available at dedicated hobby shops. That edition will include brand-new art by original Planescape artist Tony DiTerlizzi.

Other upcoming releases for D&D include:

• The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons (Aug. 15) is an all-ages, rules-free bestiary about the various kinds of dragons and related creatures that you can meet, fight, and/or befriend in the worlds of D&D. It’s intended as a sequel and follow-up to Lisa Trumbauer’s 2006 book A Practical Guide to Dragons. While the Practically Complete Guide is vaguely linked to D&D via its narrator, kender wizard Sindri Suncatcher, it’s intended as more of a non-fiction book about a fictional subject.
• Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants (Aug. 15) revisits the various kinds of giants of D&D with an eye towards broadening their mythology and ecology. It includes new magic items, monsters, character subclasses, and details about giants’ society, in an attempt to, in producer Natalie Egan’s words, “re-mystify them.”
• Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk (Sept. 19) is intended for fans of traditional dungeon crawls. It revisits the setting from the popular introductory adventure Lost Mine of Phandelver, but expands it into a full campaign that could take characters from 1st to 12th level.
• The Deck of Many Things (Nov. 14) takes its inspiration from the infamous campaign-wrecking magic item, which was originally introduced in 1975’s Greyhawk, the very first supplement for D&D; players can draw as many cards as they like from the Deck, each of which may provide a grand reward or sudden demise. The book has been designed as a “smorgasbord,” to quote product manager Chris Lindsay, where players can take as little or as much as they want from an assortment of adventure ideas and lore that surrounds the various versions of the Deck. When asked about the Deck’s notoriously destructive nature, Lindsay promised “we have not nerfed this on any level.”

Recovery mode

Both Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of the Coast began 2023 at a disadvantage. In January, a leak that Wizards was considering plans to rework the rules surrounding third-party content for D&D caused a major controversy, which only came a few months after the last major controversy.

A few weeks later, that ended with Wizards publicly walking back any plans to change those rules, as well as releasing the basic rules for fifth-edition D&D for free, under a Creative Commons license. That didn’t do anything to mitigate the real anger that had arisen in the D&D community, some of which was directly unleashed on Wizards during a content creators’ summit in early April.

More recently, Wizards came under fire for another incident in April that saw the company hiring the Pinkertons, a private security firm that’s historically associated with anti-union activity, to retrieve a set of unreleased Magic: The Gathering cards that were mistakenly sent to a YouTube content creator. To quote a friend of mine, Wizards hired the guys who are the villains in every Western, including Red Dead Redemption II, to go get some cards back.

“We want this to be an ‘everyone game,’” Stewart said at the media summit. “Along the way, we’ve accomplished so many things, but we’ve also made mistakes.”

In addition to the January controversy, Stewart also cited Wizards “not listening to fans” for the entirety of D&D’s fourth edition, which ran roughly between 2008 and 2013.

“We took the negative feedback and we changed course,” Stewart said. “We learned, we adapted, we changed. We continued to create and steward this brand. We’re going to continue to learn and adapt.”

The ongoing reaction at Wizards includes an update to its cultural sensitivity reviews, with all future products from Wizards having at least two outside cultural consultants attached to them; creating more frequent opportunities for direct communication between contributors, creators, and Wizards (“we didn’t understand how much of an open dialogue had to happen,” said Brink); and “specific infrastructure” that’s being put in place at Wizards to help independent creators who’ve been subjected to harassment.

Other interesting reveals from the D&D media summit included:

• Mazzanoble discussed a series of new initiatives from Wizards that are aimed at providing official support for educational initiatives that support D&D, which includes after-school club kits. According to Mazzanoble, the resources focus on teaching collaborative storytelling and social-emotional learning, and were downloaded over 120,000 times between September 2022 and May.
• The upcoming D&D Beyond Educator Licenses were “on the verge of launching” during the media summit. Educators can apply for no cost to receive a free bundle that includes the three core rulebooks, the Dragons of Stormwreck Isle starter adventure, and 2021’s adventure anthology Candlekeep Mysteries.
• Due to rising print costs, the standard MSRP on physical editions of core 1st-party D&D books will go up to $59.95, beginning with Bigby’s Book of Giants. Books’ digital editions will remain at the same current price.
• A very early pre-alpha of Wizards’ official virtual tabletop (VTT) system was available at the event, where members of the media got to play brief hour-long adventures run by Wizards staff. Built in Unreal, the VTT is meant to allow players to construct virtual maps, mazes, and combat encounters for online play, but the project is at least two years away from completion at time of writing. The plan, according to Wizards VP Chris Cao, is to see how players use the official VTT before they figure out what they might do to monetize it.
• According to Wizards’ internal studies of the player population, 60% of D&D players are male, 39% are female, and 1% identify otherwise; 60% are “hybrid” players, who switch between playing the game physically or online; and 58% play D&D on a weekly basis.
• The player population for D&D is cross-generational, with the bulk of respondents (48%) identifying as millennials, vs. 19% from Generation X and 33% from Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012).
• According to Wizards’ surveys, the player population recently crossed a point where the majority of current D&D plans are those who started playing the game with the fifth edition. Previously, the most popular version of D&D was still the second edition, published in 1989. (“We actually built fifth edition as a follow-up to second edition,” Crawford said at the panel.)
• D&D will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024, with what Stewart calls a “year-long celebration of the brand,” but no one was willing to discuss any specific plans thereof.
• Perkins said when he and Crawford finished making D&D 5e in 2014, he said it would be the last edition of D&D he’d ever work on. Since the 2024 update isn’t intended as a new edition of the game, Perkins said “I’m glad that’s still true.”
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves made $200 million at the international box office this year, and was briefly the No. 1 movie in the world.
• Fans have noticed that neither of D&D’s original creators, Gary Gygax or Dave Arneson, were given any sort of acknowledgement in HAT, such as being listed under “special thanks” in the film’s credits. According to Stewart, this was an omission by the film’s production team at Paramount.
• “If you can imagine a way to play D&D, somebody plays it that way,” said Kale Stutzman, one of the lead designers on Wizards’ virtual tabletop system.

How does it feel to inhabit an irreversibly damaged planet? An exhibition opening at the Design Museum of Chicago this summer brings together works by ten artists and collectives that answer this question through data, color, tactility, and material.

Curated by Colossal, At the Precipice: Responses to the Climate Crisis considers physical and emotional reactions in the era of environmental disaster and emphasizes how art can offer an accessible entry point into such an overwhelming and dire emergency. Varying in medium and methodology, the works included explore several of the most urgent issues affecting the world today.

The Tempestry Project returns to the Paleolithic era to visualize how rapidly our climate has changed in the last few centuries alone, while Luftwerk and Zaria Forman consider the impacts of a warming world on glaciers and arctic regions. Morel Doucet, Nathalie Miebach, and Migwa Nthiga are concerned with the increasing intensity of weather events and subsequent forced migration, and Jean Shin and Chris Pappan look to shifts in rivers and access to water sources. Selva Aparicio questions loss, remains, and acts of remembrance, while Redemptive Plastics offers a localized and scalable solution to waste.

At the Precipice runs from July 14 to October 30.  We’ll be announcing talks, workshops, and other programming in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for details.

Help Us Knit a Century of Chicago Weather!

As part of the exhibition, the Design Museum of Chicago has generously kickstarted a Chicago Tempestry Collection, which will use twelve knitted works to highlight changes in the local weather patterns during the last 120 years. Anyone interested in creating a tempestry—a tapestry depicting daily temperatures—to be added to the collection and displayed at the museum can purchase a kit on the project’s site.

Morel Doucet, “Black Maiden in Veil of Midnight” (left) and “Olokun” (right)

Zaria Forman, still from “Overview: 12 Miles of Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean, North of Greenland”

Migwa Nthiga, “The Warriors Of The North”

Selva Aparicio, “Our Garden Remains”

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article ‘At the Precipice’ Emphasizes the Role of Emotion, Tactility, and the Senses in Understanding the Climate Crisis appeared first on Colossal.

In his most recent paintings in acrylic, Kpe Innocent reduces the human body to its rudimentary forms. The Accra, Ghana-based artist translates arms, bellies, and heads into cylinders and geometric shapes rendered in minimal palettes of black, white, and pastel colors. Occupying vast swaths of negative space, the figures have “room to pause and breathe,” and the paired-down settings draw greater attention to the engineered anatomy.

In a note to Colossal, Innocent shares that he’s been interested in stories of creation and how those connect to his faith and practice. “I am convinced by looking at how systems operate and the evidence of design in the natural world that an intelligent mind is behind the natural things we see (where there is design, there is a designer),” he says, “and this fact can be seen in how we humans interpret and mimic nature in design processes even.” DNA codes and the building blocks of digital interfaces continue to inform his paintings, and after working in earth tones and more dense environments, he’s now gravitating toward clean lines and minimal brushstrokes that limit the markings of the artist’s hand.

Innocent currently has a limited-edition print available through Moosey Art, where he will soon release a new sculpture, as well. His works will be on view at Volta Art Fair with African Arty and Maison Ozmen in Paris in the coming months, and you can find more of his paintings and glimpses into his process on Instagram. (via Juxtapoz)

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Invoking Design Principles, Kpe Innocent Builds Minimal Human Figures with Geometric Shapes appeared first on Colossal.

Gregg Farrington didn’t plan on coming back to Full Sail University after graduating more than ten years earlier – especially in the middle of a global pandemic.

“While working remotely, I was bored as ever. So yes, I did have work to do, but just like everyone else during the pandemic, we just didn’t know what was going on. I just took it upon myself to go back to school,” explains Gregg.

When Gregg first started his Full Sail journey back in 2008, he was trying to choose between getting his bachelor’s and joining the United States Air Force. Eventually, he decided to dedicate all of his time to his education and graduated with a Digital Arts & Design bachelor’s in 2010.

Shortly after, Gregg moved to New York City to work as a graphic design intern for ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein before returning to Florida to work in an ad agency focused on luxury real estate as a senior graphic designer. This was Gregg’s first of many senior positions, and he received it just months after graduating.

“I was art directing a couple of different projects for a luxury beauty hair company as well and dealt with different launches of products. In addition to that, I also attended hair shows. And let me tell you, hair/beauty shows, it’s a thing,” laughs Gregg. “It’s kind of like if you go to a convention for MegaCon or Comic-Con or anything like that. It’s basically the same thing, except for beauty and cosmetics.”

After working for a senior living company for a couple of years and leading its rebrand and launch with an external branding agency, Gregg found a role at ION Television.

“I just decided to evolve into something that was a little bit out of my comfort zone, and it was television,” he says. 

Gregg started as a Multimedia Designer and was promoted to Marketing Design Manager around the same time that he received his Media Design MFA degree. He says Full Sail prepared him for how fast-paced working in television can be. “Full Sail is a great school. It allows you to think on your toes really fast.”

His current position is multi-faceted, and he works on projects using a wide range of tools. “I mainly work with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Microsoft PowerPoint. And yes, we do PowerPoints,” he laughs.

He also designs graphics for paid media, leads teams to design static graphics for upcoming original network shows, and works closely with the art director and associate art director to ensure the show’s aesthetic is consistent and tells the same story in all the media he produces.

“The art directors don’t tell me how to design. It’s more like I have the vision, I have the layout, but there are certain things that I may not catch.”

Gregg has designed media for multiple television shows, including Someone They Knew with Tamron Hall for Court TV, and Act Your Age and Johnson on Bounce TV.

“As a manager, I’m not just designing something and making it look pretty, but also creating different versions of that. You have to create a Premiere dated version, a Sunday version, a Tonight version, and so forth.”

He also encourages aspiring designers to take chances when looking for the perfect job or dream job – as long as they keep evolving throughout the process.

“Changing companies has to be done in a way that you know will benefit you as a creative for any type of growth, whether it’s growth in the way you talk to clients, growth in how you work with other designers, or even to the point where you need more experience to get to that managerial position.”

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Media Contact:
Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | egosney@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University lost a member of its Cowboy family over the weekend with
the death of prominent Oklahoma artist Benjamin Harjo Jr.

Referred to by many as the “Picasso of Native American art,” Harjo died on Saturday
at the age of 77. 

“The passing of Benjamin Harjo Jr., a beloved member of the Oklahoma State community
and a renowned Native American artist, marks the loss of a significant treasure for
our university and state,” OSU President Kayse Shrum said.  

“Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends as we join together
to mourn his loss and celebrate his life. Ben’s unique artistic skills, dedication
to his beloved Native American heritage and service to our country have profoundly
impacted our world, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations.” 

Harjo graduated from OSU in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in fine art, having begun his studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New
Mexico. He went on produce sought-after artworks for more than five decades, with
his pieces now part of the Oklahoma State Art Collection, the First Americans Museum,
Red Earth Art Center, Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Wheelwright Museum of the American
Indian in Santa Fe and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American
Indian. 

“We were fortunate to exhibit Benjamin Harjo Jr.’s artwork in 2018, exploring his
connection to heritage and indigenous communities in ‘Benjamin Harjo Jr.: We are a
Landscape of All We Know,’” said Vicky Berry, director and chief curator at the OSU
Museum of Art.  

“During the exhibition, I remember a child sketching while Harjo was present. He approached
her, introduced himself and encouraged her art with gentle guidance. His generous
spirit and passion for art inspired everyone he met, leaving an indelible mark on
our memories.”

In addition to his 2018 OSU exhibition, Harjo and his wife Barbara served on the Art
Advisory Council that worked to establish the OSU Museum of Art in 2011-2012. The
museum is now working with the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City to produce
a book about Harjo, which is slated for release in 2024.

“We will continue with Barbara and an extensive community of many friends, scholars
and artists to assemble a publication that will celebrate the life and art of Benjamin
Harjo Jr,” Berry said.

In his artworks, Harjo pulled from his Seminole and Absentee Shawnee heritage while
adding contemporary elements that resulted in an artistic style all his own.   

“He came out of the Institute of American Indian Arts at a time when contemporary
Native art was being redefined. And I think he contributed to that redefinition,”
First Americans Museum Director of Curatorial Affairs heather ahtone told The Oklahoman.  “He didn’t follow a path that was laid before him. He really forged something that
was new, drew upon the palette of his Seminole cultural aesthetics but really danced
with a line across the page and allowed that line to bring joy to all of us who have
seen his work and appreciated it.” 

Among his many honors, Harjo received the 2002 OSU Distinguished Alumni Award, was
named the 2003 Red Earth Festival Honored One, was recognized by the OU Health Center
foundation in 2009 as an Oklahoma Living Treasure and was inducted into the OSU Alumni
Hall of Fame in 2012. 

“As one of only 199 members of the OSU Hall of Fame, the impacts Benjamin Harjo Jr.
made on our alma mater and the art world are as numerous as the bright colors in his
paintings and prints,” OSU Alumni Association President Ann Caine said. “He was one
of the nation’s leading American Indian artists, and he never lost sight of his roots
and the education he received at Oklahoma State.” 

To learn more about Benjamin Harjo Jr., visit his website and watch his 2012 OSU Alumni Hall of Fame video.

Whether you’re part of a  startup ready to enter the market or working at an established business ready to launch a new product, it’s critical to understand how to approach your target audience. But simply sending out a few press releases isn’t enough –– you need a strategy to reach customers and prospects.

Sprig CMO Elizabeth Walton Egan believes that simply putting your product out there won’t attract customers: “If you build it, they will come does not work. It really is how you go find the right people, how you get that message out there, and start those conversations to get them to understand your product and buy your product.”

In a fascinating session from SaaStr Annual, Walton Egan shares her playbook for a winning multi-channel marketing plan. 

Ready to network, learn, and level up? Join 12,500 Cloud and SaaS Founders, VCs, and Execs at SaaStr Annual for three full days of workshops, sessions, and networking — all to help you scale faster. Get your tickets.

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1. Get Familiar with the Paid, Owned, Earned Media Model

As you build your marketing strategy, you’ll notice that different initiatives, collaterals, and campaigns fall into three main buckets.

Paid Media: This can be thought of as advertising. It includes things like display ads, affiliate marketing, and digital signage.

Earned Media: Consider this your partner networks. It includes things like publisher editorial, influencer outreach, word-of-mouth, and social networks.

Owned Media: This type of media comprises your digital properties. So it includes things like your website, blogs, mobile apps, and your social media presence.

From the diagram below, you can see how these different buckets may overlap. Begin to experiment and iterate on how these buckets can intersect to accomplish a cohesive multi-channel marketing plan. 

2. Leverage Your Relationships

The relationships you build can mean the difference between your company’s success or failure. And this starts with personal relationships. As Walton Egan explains, “When you launch a company, when you have a product, the people that you know personally are going to be your biggest cheerleaders from day one.” 

There are three types of relationships you can use to propel your company forward:

• Personal Relationships: These connections can give support at any time, but they are especially beneficial when you are launching or promoting a startup or an early-stage company.
• Customer Base: If you are already an established company about to launch a new product, your loyal customers will be great advocates.
  
• Influencers: If you can, find influencers in the industry to help promote your product to the market. 

Remember, if you don’t have these relationships, spend some effort building them.

3. Anchor Your Marketing

Instead of simply creating your brand messaging and releasing it to the market, leverage someone else’s moment or audience to raise awareness. For example, perhaps your company sponsors or presents at a high-profile conference relevant to your business niche with press and many potential customers in attendance. This anchoring strategy propels you in front of a much larger audience and opens opportunities.

4. 1 + 1 = 3

Yes, you read that right: 1+1=3. This mathematically incorrect equation is used to illustrate that when you combine lots of events, initiatives, and tactics together over a condensed period of time, often you will see a more significant impact.

For example, say your company is presenting at a trade show or conference. Over that same week, you may publish a press release, host a smaller event for conference attendees, or release a paid sponsor newsletter. All these things together may create more awareness and drive more prospects down the funnel. 

5. Have a Constant Drumbeat

After a big conference, company announcement, or product launch, you still want to keep the momentum going. Aim to have a compelling reason to reach out to prospects every two weeks. Walton Egan says, “We get tired of what we’re doing before our prospects do, before our customers do. So try to think about how you can repackage it, reframe it, or chop it up in different ways so you can share it over a period of time.”

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to continue sharing with your audience, just reuse your content and collateral in a lot of different ways and continue to distribute it over a period of time.

6. Announce It Multiple Times

Remember, not everyone will be paying close attention to all your product launches and campaign, so be prepared to revisit and announce more than once. People need to hear things again and again, and marketers must be ready to repeat themselves.

Pro Tip: If you’re launching a new product, try starting with  beta launch and a general availability launch.

Key Takeaways

• Forget the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. You need to strategize how to get your product in front of your target market.
• Familiarize yourself with the Paid, Owned, Earned model, and experiment with how different media strategies intersect to help meet your goals.
• Anchor your marketing by leveraging someone else’s audience.
• Keep your momentum going with constant news and information to share. 

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WHISTLER, BC, May 23, 2023 /CNW/ – Opening on June 24, 2023, Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage features Ikeda’s meticulously detailed pen-and-ink drawings that are filled with astonishing images. Through his everyday observations, this Japanese artist renders entangled fragments to create a spectacular whole that prompts viewers to look deeply into his visual expression.

Curated by Kiriko Watanabe, the Audain Art Museum’s Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator, this is Ikeda’s first solo retrospective in North America showcasing over sixty works from national and international collections. Flowers from the Wreckage includes Foretoken (2008), Meltdown (2013) and Rebirth (2013-16), a selection of Ikeda’s large-scale drawings that relate to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake; the most devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power disaster in the country’s recorded history.  

“Ikeda’s composition expresses the vastness of nature on a paper surface. At first glance, viewers see natural beauty depicted in his work. Upon stepping closer, viewers will recognize thousands of tiny details, layers of visual messages, actions and playfulness culminated in his expression,” explains Watanabe. Within each work, Ikeda starts by drawing something small, like a flower or a tree, that builds towards his overall vision. “Viewers are often mesmerized by the tremendous amount of work that goes into his creations. It is an earthshattering visual experience that takes us on a journey of ambiguous times and places,” says Watanabe.

Ikeda’s symbolically rich images evoke both familiarity and foreboding of potential disaster. Central to this artist’s practice is a metaphor of human resilience and the ability to rise above devastating situations when it appears impossible. “As long as our planet continues to revolve, Ikeda’s works are bound to make people question and think,” says the Museum’s founder, Yoshiko Karasawa.

As a special feature from June 15 to August 30, 2023, Manabu Ikeda will be the AAM’s first-ever artist in residence. A studio will be set up in the AAM’s architecturally stunning Upper Galleries, where visitors will have an opportunity to observe the process of Ikeda making drawings and interact with him during open studio hours.

Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage is presented by the Audain Foundation with the assistance of major sponsor, April 1 Foundation and supporting sponsor, the Michael & Inna O’Brian Family Foundation. This exhibition is also generously supported by Susan I. Roop and the Japan Foundation, as well as Fairmont Chateau Whistler, hotel partner; Hemlock Printers, printing partner; and Total Transport, transportation partner.

Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage will be on display in the AAM’s Tom and Teresa Gautreau Galleries from June 24 to October 9, 2023. A full colour exhibition catalogue featuring essays by Kiriko Watanabe and comments by Manabu Ikeda will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop.

For more information on the exhibition, related engagement activities and to purchase special exhibition items, visit audainartmuseum.com.

About the Audain Art Museum
Established in 2016, the Museum was founded via a major philanthropic gift of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa. The Permanent Collection is focused on the art of British Columbia, exemplifying the richness of cultural difference in Canada. Highlights include hereditary Haida Chief James Hart’s The Dance Screen, an exceptional collection of historical and contemporary Indigenous art, a comprehensive selection of paintings by Emily Carr and a brilliant range of works by Vancouver’s photo-conceptualists. The Museum hosts three special exhibitions per year that feature artists and collections of national as well as international significance. 

About Manabu Ikeda
Born in Saga, Japan, Manabu Ikeda currently lives and works in Madison, Wisconsin. Ikeda is renowned for his highly detailed pen-and-ink drawings and complex imagery. Ikeda has exhibited his work internationally, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Russia, and the United States. It took Ikeda over three years to draw Rebirth, which is widely recognized as his masterpiece referencing the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and a collision between nature and humankind. Organized by the Audain Art Museum, Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage is Ikeda’s first solo exhibition in North America.

SOURCE Audain Art Museum

For further information: Media Interviews, Press Kit & Images: Kendra Mazur, Marketing Manager, Audain Art Museum, T: 604.962.0413 ext. 103, [email protected]

PRINCETON, N.J., May 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — ETS CEO Amit Sevak named Michelle Froah as Global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of ETS. Froah joins at an exciting time as ETS continues its global transformation to expand how it serves learners with solutions that leverage today’s technologies and deliver real time insights that move people forward.

Froah will lead a global team focused on end-to-end innovation and elevating ETS’s position in the global learning and solution space. Reporting to the CEO, Froah has responsibility for building ETS’s marketing and innovation globally across enterprise functions, product innovation, business marketing and community engagement.

“Michelle’s impressive track record of launching and building worldwide brands across industries will be a great addition to our team,” said Sevak. “I’m thrilled to have Michelle on board taking on this critical global leadership role at ETS and ensuring the voice of the customer is at the center of all that we do.”

Froah most recently served as Senior Vice President of Global Brand and Marketing at MetLife^® and previous to that led marketing, sales, and operations functions across the globe for Samsung^® Electronics America, Kimberly-Clark™, and Procter & Gamble. She is an accomplished C-suite executive whose deep roots in growing brands and driving growth has expanded the global reach of products and brands across industries.

“This is an exciting time to join ETS and set the direction for product innovation, brand stewardship, and customer and community impact in an increasingly digital world,” said Froah. “The ETS mission requires us to move with urgency and passion for learners worldwide, and I’m delighted to be leading a team with such purpose.”  

Froah serves on The Marketing Society NY Regional Board as Co-Chair, Brand Innovators Advisory Board, ANA CMO Growth Council and Rye Art Center board. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from the Henry B. Tippe School of Business at the University of Iowa.

About ETS

We believe in the life-changing power of learning. For the last 75 years, we’ve been driven by a vision of what’s possible when all people can improve their lives through education. It’s why our uncompromising commitment to equity and fairness is behind everything we do. ETS serves learners, educators and government agencies by providing measurement solutions, and conducting research, analysis and policy studies. ETS develops, administers and scores tens of millions of tests annually — including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC^® tests, the GRE^® tests and The Praxis Series^® — in more than 200 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

SOURCE ETS

Norman Public Schools on Monday night recognized more than 300 students for achievements in arts, academics and athletics during a special school board meeting at the Nancy O’Brian Center for the Performing Arts.

With the 2022-23 school year winding down, Superintendent Nick Migliorino thanked parents and guardians who attended the district’s annul awards presentation,

“Your encouragement and sacrifices have played a pivotal role in shaping these students and helping them to believe in their abilities and provide a solid foundation upon which their accomplishments stand today,” Migliorino said.

Norman High School Athletic Director T.D. O’Hara handed out athletic awards. O’Hara expressed his appreciation to parents and coaches for working with student-athletes.

“A good coach can change the outcome of a game, but a great coach can change the outcome of a life,” he said.

Fine Arts Awards

Norman North High School

Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association/group awards: Wind Ensemble, 6A State Sweepstakes Award; Symphonic Band, 6A-E State Sweepstakes Award; Jazz Band, First Runner Up at 6A Jazz State Championships; Symphonic Orchestra, 6A State Sweepstakes Award with Accent; and Concert Choirs, 6A-E State Sweepstakes Award.

Irving Middle School

Music Award honorees: Ely Gonzalez, Sphinx Performance Academy Summer Program, Julliard School of Music and Ely Gonzalez, Second Place, Junior Cello Division, Oklahoma City Philharmonic Young Artist Competition.

Longfellow Middle School

Music Award honorees from Oklahoma Music Educators Association: Cooper Christiansen, Jr. High All-State Mixed Choir and Chloe Hamm, Jr. High All-State Treble Choir. Junior Young Talent in Oklahoma, Oklahoma Art Education Association awardees include Amina Eppler, Ollie Kinast, Nekko Rogers, Jill Wienke, and Link Witt.

Whittier Middle School

Senior Jamie Kang was honored with first place award for the state of Oklahoma Doodle for Google design contest and a third place award for Oklahoma Department of Transportation trash poster contest.

Oklahoma Student Art Exhibit at the Oklahoma State Fair Merit Award winners: James Gibson, Samuel Gomboc, Bella Haag and Akshara Sakthivel.

Norman High School

Art Award honorees: Mololuwa Adebusoye, Promotional Poster of the Year from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Leah Crowson, 2023 Winner for the Congressional ART Competition.

Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute honorees: Finn Madden, Clarinet; Kyah Selin (Kallan) McKinney, Creative Writing; Gwyneth Carter, Dance; Madelyn Ward, Dance; and Adrian Joseph Clements, Cello; Penelope L Cline, Viola.

OSSAA Speech and Debate honorees: Josh Cheng, Fifth Place State Tournament, Public Forum Debate; Sullivan Ho, Fifth Place State Tournament, Public Forum Debate; Sydney Janda, Second Place State Tournament, Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking; Sydney Janda, Fifth Place State Tournament, Lincoln Douglas Debate; and Joe Johnson, Sixth Place State Tournament, Extemporaneous Speaking.

Innovations Visual Art honorees: Ben Anttila, Judges Choice; Leah Crowson, Merit Award; Parker Dew, Merit Award; Bryan Hernandez, Merit Award; Ariana Jaffery, Merit Award and Athena Lowery, Merit Award;

Oklahoma Art Education Association honorees: Leah Crowson, Bookmark Winner; Ben Anttila, Oklahoma Award for Art Excellence; Holden Anyong, Oklahoma Award for Art Excellence; Parker Dew, Oklahoma Award for Art Excellence; Ben Anttila, Young Talent in Oklahoma; Holden Anyong, Young Talent in Oklahoma; Leah Crowson, Young Talent in Oklahoma; Ariana Jaffery, Young Talent in Oklahoma; Molly Neary, Young Talent in Oklahoma; Raven Toney, and Young Talent in Oklahoma; Harouna Saho, Young Talent in Oklahoma, Judges’ Choice.

Norman Oklahoma State Fair Juried Art Show

Exceptional Merit Award winner is Miranda Wrobel, and Merit Award winners are Ashley Cole, Molly Neary Isabel Reed, Jocelyn Schoenbaum, Ruth Shcolnik, Macy Yandell, and Tomas Zarkhin.

Norman Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute honorees: Cole Thomas Eberle, Film & Video and Patrick Stevens Thai, Photography.

Scholastic Art and Writing: Parker Drew, honorable mention

Norman North High School

Superior Ratings for OSSAA Choir for Vocal Solo: Ellie Bieler, Baylee Collett, Bethany Fielding, Madelyn Huntington, Maitreya LaMoreaux, Aubrey Leidner, Meg Loy, Bennett Lyda, and Brandon Nicholson. Superior ratings for Vocal Ensemble are Taylyn Kindel, Addison Fields, Rebekah Godwin, Zenon Hendrix, Tyler Deisering, Isabella Clark, Carter Chase, Trisdon Metseff, Abby Osburn, and Mason Smith, Alaura Swenson.

Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute honorees: Aubrey Leidner, Soprano; Serena Cai, Dance; Charlotte Andrea Johnson, Dance; Mackenzie Caddell, Orchestra (Flute); Melody Chen, Violin; Leina Cheng, Orchestra; Evelyn Combs, Viola; Miranda Huang, Viola; Ethan Li, Orchestra; Riley Robinson, and Cello.

OSSAA Speech and Debate honorees: Emilie Adcock, Sixth Place State Tournament, Dramatic Interpretation; Tuqa Alibadi, Fourth Place State Tournament, Extemporaneous Speaking and State Champion, Lincoln Douglas Debate; Nicole Gilkey, Fifth Place State Tournament, Poetry Interpretation; Elianna Huang, Fourth Place State Tournament, Lincoln Douglas Debate;

Setayesh Kazempoor, Eigth Place State Tournament, Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking and State Champions, Public Forum Debate; Alexander Papavassiliou, State Champions State Tournament, Public Forum Debate; and Elias Sikavitsas, Third Place State Tournament, Lincoln Douglas Debate.

Mabee-Gerber Museum of Art HS Juried Art Exhibition: Enya Apanasova and Natalie Newbury, honorable mention.

Oklahoma Art Education Association Young Talent in Oklahoma Art Show honorees: Kathleen Martin and Mya Uribe-Portillo.

Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute honorees: Addison Clinton, Film & Video; Will Ingels, Photography; Kathleen Martin, Dance; Charlie Metcalf, Film & Video; and Mya Uribe-Portillo, Photography.

Scholastic Art and Writing: Lillian Dai, honorable mention, two entries.

Academic Awards

Language Arts Awards went to Mila Steiger of Alcott Middle School, OKCTE Young Writers Anthology-Chosen for Publication, Oklahoma Council of Teachers of English; Brogan Jones of Irving, Winner Middle School Poetry for Oklahoma Writing Project; and Adora Zhang of Whittier, Site, Region, and County Winner and State Level Participant in Thunder State Spelling Bee.

From Norman High, Kallan McKinney won the Gold Medal National Award for Poetry. Gold Key Regional Award honorees are Yunsu Kim, Poetry and Writing Portfolio and Kallan McKinney, Poetry. Silver Key Regional Award honorees are Katie Kirkpatrick, Poetry, and Miranda Thai, Dramatic Script. Gold Key Recipients

From Norman North, Gold Key Award honorees are Alisa Burt, Photography; Dody Escoe, Personal Essay & Memoir; Bethany Fielding; Personal Essay & Memoir; Jocelyn Wheeling, Personal Essay & Memoir; and Madeleine Wheeling, Personal Essay & Memoir.

Silver Key Award honorees for Personal Essay & Memoir are Cordelia Amundson, Gage Anderson, Peyton Benson, Nicole Gilkey, Madelyn Huntington, Taylyn Kindel, Sam Millar, and Areli Serna. Lucy Sieck was honored with the Silver Key Award for Critical Essay.

Math Awards

Honorees from Whittier include Sophia Zhao, AMC 8: Young Women in Mathematics Certificate for Oklahoma/Arkansas Division; Adora Haque — Third Place, Divisions IV, Sixth grade OSSM Middle School Math Contest; Henry Zheng, Third Place, and MathCounts Competition and Oklahoma member of the Nationals team.

First Place in Regional Stock Market Game Fall Semester from Whittier are Ryan Zheng, Alexander Meeks, and Ian Barnes. First Place in Purple Comet! Math Meet, ranked top third of teams in the U.S. and globally, are Sophia Zhao, William Kempf, Anika Dehadrai, Bridget Liu, and Akshara Sakthivel.

Science Olympiad State Tournament Awards from Whittier go to Michaela Brown, Third Place in Rocks & Minerals; Anika Dehadrai, Second Place in Codebusters, Third Place in Crimebusters, and Third Place in Forestry; and Bridget Liu, Third Place: Forestry, Second Place in Codebusters, and Third Place in Crimebusters.

Norman North honorees are Olivia Caudill, First Place, Codebusters; First Place, Green Generation, Second Place, Anatomy, and Second Place, Cell Biology; Catherine Dunsworth, Second Place Experimental Design and Second Place, Disease Detectives; Matthew Ha, First Place, Scrambler, First Place, Flight, and First Place, Codebusters; Sara Huang, First Place, Codebusters; First Place, Flight, First Place, Scrambler, Second Place, Experimental Design, and Second Place, Anatomy; Miranda Huang, Second Place, Detector Building; Bryan Joo, First Place, Forensics, Second Place, Detector Building, and Second Place, Cell Biology; Zejun Li, First Place, Forensics; Kiersten Navarro, First Place, Green Generation, Second Place, Trajectory, and Second Place, Environmental Chemistry; Victor Stoneman, Second Place, Environmental Chemistry; Kate Xue, Second Place, Disease Detectives and Second Place, Trajectory; and Norman North High School, Second Place Overall in State, Science Olympiad State Tournament.

STEM and DECA Awards from Oklahoma State Technology State Association Competition were awarded to Longfellow students Isaac Kraft and Gideon Lambert for Second Place Problem Solving Event and Cooper Christianson, Trooper Fried, Savanah Maddock, Crosby Maddock, and Hank Vann for Third Place for Goldberg Event.

The following Whittier students received the following honors: Jamie Kang, First Place, Essays on Technology. Alexander Bourne, Maggie Brown, Jaxon Dvoracek, Second Place System Control Technology; and Akshara Sakthivel and William Kempf, Third Place, Challenging Technology Issues.

Norman North students Arya Ramineedi and Anastasia Sikavitsas won First Place, Debating Technical Issues.

At Norman High, DECA Award honorees are Cori McKay, First Place, Principles of Marketing (National Qualifier); Irie Rogers, Second Place, Financial Consulting (National Qualifier); and Braden Breinholt, Second Place, Entrepreneurship Series (National Qualifier).

Norman High World Language Award honorees are Saif Al Hashimi, Ania Bagajewicz, Connor Barba, Owen Billingsley, Samara Bonner, Phineas Bonner, Lydia Bouchard, Avery Bozeman, Jocelyn Clark, Kael Cochran, Hannah Cordon, Drew Crowley, Parker Dew, Benjamin Edwards, Landon Gibbins, Magaly Gonzalez, Alix Grantham, Emma Henry, Jennifer Hernandez, Sullivan Ho, Jaycee Irwin, Riley Jewell, Theodore “Joe” Johnson, Nola McKee, Liam McKinney, Maryanne Neff, Kimberly Olivares, Aspen Osgood, Kaelyn Petroski, Lucy Pippins, Angel Porras, Harrison Powers, Philip “Trace” Redwine, Roman Roberts, Kaylyn Simmons, Jaelynn Spencer-Rodriguez, Blake Starling, Olivia Tedesco, MaKayla Thompson, Ava Watkins, and Connor Willis.

Norman High recipient of the Seal of Biliteracy – Oklahoma State Department of Education honorees are Phineas Bonner, Avery Bozeman, Landon Gibbins, Corin Lowe, Pamela Martinez-Avila, Liam McKinney, Daniela Nicholson, Aspen Osgood, Harrison Powers, Roman Roberts, Leah Tchatchoua, and Olivia Tedesco. Norman North honorees are Caroline Carter and Lizbeth Samayoa-Garcia.

Norman High Esports Awards, Oklahoma Scholastic Esports Super Smash Bros. Ultimate State Championship honorees are Drake Ford, Third Place and Takaki Mishima Fifth Place.

Athletic awards

Norman Athletic Award honorees are Girls Basketball Team, Class 6A State Runner-Up, OSSAA;

Kayla Jones, All-State Girls Basketball, OSSAA; Aaliyah Henderson, All-State Girls Basketball, Oklahoma Coaches Association; Kaida Bradley, State Runner-up Girls Swim, OSSAA; J.D. Thumann, State Champion (200 Free) Boys Swim, OSSAA; J.D. Thumann, State Champion (100 Fly) Boys Swim, OSSAA; Cheer, State Runner-Up (Stunt), USA CHEER; Olivia Tedesco, All-State Cheer, Oklahoma Coaches Association; Boys Golf, Class 6A Champions, OSSAA; Sabastian Salazar, Class 6A Individual State Champion Boys Golf, OSSAA; Chloe Soto, All-State Girls Soccer, Oklahoma Coaches Association; Kaylyn Simmons, All-State Girls Soccer, Oklahoma Coaches Association; Boys Soccer, Class 6A State Academic Champions, OSSAA; Diego Leal, All-State Boys Soccer, Oklahoma Coaches Association; Zach Lopez, All-State Boys Soccer, Oklahoma Coaches Association; and Boys Track (4×100 Relay Team) Class 6A State Runner-up, OSSAA.

Norman North Athletic Awards honorees are Devin Jansing, State Runner-Up Girls Wrestling – OSSAA; Devin Jansing, All-State Girls Wrestling, Oklahoma Coaches Association; Jadie Brister, All-State Girls Swimming, Oklahoma Coaches Association; Varsity Pom, State Runner-Up, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; JV Pom, State Champions, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; Pom Large Intermediate Ensemble, State Champions, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; Pom Small Intermediate Ensemble, State Champions, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; Meya Davis, Intermediate Solo State Champion Pom, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; Brylee Thompson, All-State Pom, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; Jaci Jackson, All-State Pom, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; Alyssa Seratte, All-State Pom, Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors Association; Girls Soccer, Class 6A Girls Soccer State Runner-up, OSSAA; Camden Pratcher, Class 6A State Champion Indoor and Outdoor Boys Track- Long Jump, OSSAA; and Landon Bruce, All-State Baseball, Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association.