SAN FRANCISCO – Concluding another school year loaded with creativity and innovation, Academy of Art University proudly displayed its students' best work from the 2022-23 academic year for the annual Spring Show. A fascinating and interactive in-person setup combined with the virtual version (a concept that emerged in 2020) to provide a live look at the 40+ areas of art and design which included a showcase of talents and portfolios from more than 30 current and former ART U student-athletes.

Multiple honorees from 2023 NXTUP Fest, an awards show recognizing the Schools of Entertainment (Acting, Motion Pictures & Television, Writing for Film, TV & Digital Media), could be found including men's track & field and the School of Acting's Elijah Roberts who earned Best Actor in a Drama for his work in "The Way It Used To" which was directed by former teammate Elliot Slade. Also from track & field, Hava Turner's directorial work out of the School of Motion Pictures & Television, "In Darkness Are Stars," which also costarred women's soccer alumni Lara Pflicke, was up for numerous awards and won Best Picture: Under 12 Minutes.

A pair of graduate students shined in the School of Advertising as Joy Krupa from women's basketball and baseball's Travis Turney each had projects featured. Krupa focused on elevating one's style and confidence with her "Demand Attention" campaign for Oliver Peoples, a luxury eyewear brand, while Turney's work on a marketing series for the Rivian R1T electric truck called "Don't Be A Monster" promoted "the truck's unique qualities by drawing a comparison between the driver's character and the truck's characteristics."

Volleyball's Jillian Wheaton, who shared the ARTY for Best Female Student-Athlete GPA in 2023, had her demo reel from the School of Animation & Visual Effects on display. Her 3D animations ranged from human interactions to that of creatures such as horses and dragons.

Garnering praise with a B. Arch Design Excellence Award was the work of women's soccer alumni Sydney Cooke from the School of Architecture. Her "Veil House" thesis project presented thoughtful design for a cultural center and performance space in the Transgender District within San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood which followed her focus "to not only create dignified spaces for marginalized people but to also give power to people through space and design." That concept was further examined in her portfolio which featured detailed layouts for a "Western Addition Women's Library" among others.

"For me the Spring Show was a really great experience not only to gain exposure for my work, but to also be recognized for my hard work alongside so many other amazing projects and talented people," Cooke said. "For all of my art and design, I need to have a personal connection to what I'm creating otherwise the emotion and meaning behind my work often falls flat. In my junior year, I really found my lane and started to explore femininity through architecture and the different connections formally and spatially between women and privacy. I am still interested in exploring these themes further and working to better my understanding of how architecture can help shape our urban fabric in ways that impact women and the LGBTQ+ community in meaningful ways."

Side by side with Cooke's work were other featured pieces from the School of Architecture including those of women's soccer's Hannah Moore, softball's Elle Edeker and women's track & field's Erine Collard, as well as Breki Einarsson of men's soccer. Moore promoted circulation and conversation in her settings, Edeker and Collard were part of a team that delved into the modern technology of artificial intelligence in their exploration of intriguing futuristic spaces, and Einarsson's portfolio followed inspiration from his own student-athlete experience when carefully designing his "Athletic Library in the Western Addition" or his collaboration with Katie Williams from women's soccer on their "fika project."

"My experience at the Spring Show was awesome," Einarsson said. "I think it's so great to celebrate all the amazing work that the students produce at the end of the semester as you don't often get to see other majors' projects. The work from all departments was truly inspiring and it was fun to see the variety of creativity and talent from my fellow classmates. It is also very cool that we are able to showcase our work to industry professionals to get good feedback from them and hopefully spark some connections for the future. Having my friends come to see my work meant a lot to me, making all the hard work a lot more worth it. I would recommend to everyone to participate in the Spring Show and have a fun day at the end of the school year."

Among the highlights from the School of Communications & Media Technologies were women's track & field alumni Alice Coisne and baseball's Cannon Secrist's respective "BiNGE" video features on Molinari Delicatessen in San Francisco's Little Italy and fitness trainer Duncan Kennedy. Secrist's teammates Chris Fung and Tyson Wallace also saw their video work in the rotation with the former having three episodes of his web series outlining baseball fundamentals called "Infield 101" and the latter exploring the origin of his middle name "Ashad." During Spring Show's opening night, two other student-athletes were bestowed departmental honors as Jossart Jodito (men's soccer) and two-time Best Female Student-Athlete GPA ARTY winner Yun "Nicole" Shiau (women's tennis) earned Best Undergraduate Producer awards.

Crossing over to different spaces within Spring Show, softball's Bethany Mitchell had her graduate portfolio showcased in the School of Graphic Design and her podcast "Just Be" among the Elective Projects. Mitchell's expression of her uniqueness as a designer, athlete, and weightlifter could be found throughout her work and led her to earn a Portfolio Honorable Mention Scholarship Award while her podcast aimed to "inspire healing and self-improvement in people who not only care about their health and fitness but also about their emotional and mental well-being."

Others to be found in the "Elective Projects" section were a trio within the School of Fashion in Mitchell's softball teammate Nina Vallejos, Audrey Rosencrans of women's cross country/track & field, and Napat "Plern" Rattanaprakarn of women's golf. Vallejos' video feature "Who I Am" compellingly told the story of how her Mexican culture has influenced her as an artist, Rosencrans' "inspiration from color, nature, and the balance of natural and unnatural elements" came through as she modeled her own machine-knit swatches combined with 3D-printed textiles, and Rattanaprakarn pursued her childhood fascination with hand-crafted materials while shaping a "Moon Hare" from brass for a class from the School of Jewelry & Metal Arts.

Making his second career appearance at Spring Show, Hudson Lockette of men's cross country/track & field had his artwork shown inside the School of Illustration as well as "Elective Projects." This time it was a quote from English artist, illustrator, musician, author, and poet Edward Lear about an "Old Man of Leghorn" that was visually represented in Hudson's animated piece and his own oil self-portrait as a "Pyromancer."

More artwork came from baseball's Brian Kraft as part of the show's "Foundations" section which focuses on the core skills of drawing, painting, and sculpture from various majors. The author of the second no-hitter in program history was responsible for "Comic Book," a three-panel sequence of a driver speeding through a city at night.

For the fourth consecutive year, the School of Photography chose to feature men's soccer alumni Mykal Mason whose innovative "Personified Fits" and collage faces added yet another element of intrigue to his collection. In addition to Mason, two other men's track & field student-athletes had photographs selected in four-time All-Region honoree Daniel Cortes Gonzalez and newly minted five-time All-American Shareez Hamm. Cortes Gonzalez collaborated with teammate Ajani Ince on "Power" while youth was the centerpiece of "Hope" by Hamm.

Twice spotlighted by the School of Industrial Design, Fannar Omarsson of men's soccer delivered a wooden table with simple assembly and an integrated campaign for Camelbak. Sporting the tagline "Hydrate & Have Fun," the project titled "clink" emphasized the social aspect of drinking water complete with a distinctively designed bottle and application for mapping and intake tracking.

Gilly Miller, D2CCA All-West Region Second Team honoree and men's soccer teammate of Omarsson, represented the School of Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media with two different musical scores carrying his athletic inspiration. "Sokito" was a commercial demonstrating the versatility of soccer cleats and "Broke" was a gripping short film about a soccer athlete coming to terms with career-ending injury.

Seeking to improve the functionality and connections within the digital music service of Spotify, Aitana Comas Adam of women's tennis developed a new concept, "Memories Made to be Shared," while standing out in the School of Interaction & UI/UX Design. Through research and user feedback, the end goals of creating a social inbox, logging memories from events, and sharing natively within the Spotify application was achieved.

Her work living on even after her graduation last year, softball All-American alumni Lauryn Henderson's role as a concept art lead for "Brawler," a 2D cooperative game inspired by Streets of Rage 4, was recognized as part of a larger collaboration in the School of Game Development. It marked her record sixth straight year having her creativity highlighted in Spring Show.

Whether entering their respective design industries as 2023 graduates or continuing to build their portfolios in the coming years, these 30+ student-athlete Spring Show honorees represent some of the best and brightest artists Academy of Art has to offer.