(Billboard) Ever wonder if those Spotify playlists you listen to are created by AI? Turns out they're not made by AI but rather a team of editors. “A big tenet of editorial is this idea of reflecting culture and also being able to propel culture forward,” says J.J. Italiano, head of global music curation and discovery. J.J. Italiano is an alum of CU Denver’s College of Arts & Media, where he studied music business.

CAM hosted its first Alumni Day & Awards Ceremony in March. Five alumni, representing a diverse range of industries, were honored at the ceremony. The day included networking sessions, tours, and a chance for alumni to reconnect with the people who made their CAM experience special.

Renée Albiston used her classes at CU Denver to transition from a career in medical sales to art history, driven by a desire to work in a more fulfilling field. “What motivates me is the fact that I have the potential to right a wrong of the past and to leave behind some kind of positive mark on the world.”

(The Metropolitan Museum of Art)—Watch an interview with prolific Tibetan artist and alum, Tenzing Rigdol.

The city of Everett, Washington has installed a public art piece called “Affirmation Station,” designed by visual arts alum Timothy C. Flood '05. This interactive sculpture, located downtown, features positive messages and audio affirmations aimed at uplifting the community, encouraging engagement, and enhancing the city’s atmosphere for both locals and visitors.

Tenzing Rigdol '05, renowned for his powerful works that bridge Tibetan culture with contemporary art, has been commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) for a groundbreaking series of contemporary pieces.

Museum of Outdoor Art (MOA) presented their annual Design and Build internship program this summer in partnership with CU Denver’s College of Arts & Media. Visual Arts student Josephine Clark and recent alumnus Christian Smith were among the eight artists selected for this year’s eight-week internship.

Coming to CU Denver as an art practices student allowed David Younglove '19 to enroll in painting and drawing courses to hone his craft and art history courses that expanded his understanding of the art world.

Denverite—Denver has a vibrant local music scene. The city is also home to CU Denver’s Music and Entertainment Studies program, which won Billboard Magazine’s "Top Music Business School" award in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

A handful of CU Denver students studying in MEIS participated in Youth on Record's podcasting internship. Recent graduate Sreeja Chakrabarty and current students Sydney Yllanes and Genevieve Glimp helped bring about some of the episodes that are now available on Spotify and other streaming platforms.

For spring 2023 CU Denver graduate Jaylen Dunbar, communicating through visuals and sounds is second nature. “I feel like I am a really empathetic person,” Dunbar said. “I have always wanted to use animation as a medium to tell meaningful and impactful stories.”

CAM's 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient is Courtney Ozaki ('06). Courtney founded the Japanese Arts Network in Denver in 2019 and is an integral part of the Japanese community in Colorado.

This Spring, CU Denver's Emmanuel Art Gallery has a handful of calls for entry out for artists of all mediums. Read about the upcoming exhibitions and their deadlines.

This year's Guitar Night will welcome Christie Lenée, "one of the brightest lights in contemporary fingerstyle acoustic guitar today," according to MEIS chair and guitar performance professor Sean McGowan.

(Denverite) - Union Hall's Rough Gems: The Ultimate Boon was co-curated by CAM alum Florence Blackwell. Blackwell and co-curator Nadiya Jackson recruited five emerging artists they knew well to curate what will be one of the first major gallery exhibitions in their art careers.

“The premise of the film is that you are never too famous to escape racism and racial profiling,” says filmmaker Michelle Bauer Carpenter. Awadagin Pratt: Black in America will premiere on Rocky Mountain PBS on February 9, 2023.

(Westword) - CAM alum Bradlie Jones (Jelie) was named among Westword's list of Colorado rappers to watch out for in 2023. Jelie is highlighted for being a "jack of all trades" thanks to her degree in recording arts, which enabled her to act as producer and sound engineer on her tracks.

The Alumni-in-Residence program connects CU Denver students with accomplished CU Denver Alumni for one-on-one or small group career and industry advice. In an office hours model, students can sign up for a 30-minute in-person meeting at a working space within LynxConnect - to ask specific career questions or to solicit general advice from someone who has walked in their shoes.

The touchscreen walks visitors through the impact Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's counter-culture art had on a whole host of artists and creators. The influence of Roth's Rat Fink character can be seen across genres as diverse as custom car design, graphic t-shirts, animation, and even fine art.

"The most exciting aspect of working in the music industry for me is being around the energy that comes from live performance and art," says Katelynn Eckles '20, MSRA '22. As a faculty member, Katelynn teaches audio production classes in MEIS in addition to working at the Levitt Pavilion as a Business Operations Manager.