The Russell Lecture is presented by UC San Diego's Department of Visual Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. We are happy to announce that next year's Russell Lecture will highlight the work of mixed-media artist Shizu Saldamando. Saldamando's work functions as celebration and homage to peers and loved ones. Her mother’s family is Japanese American, by way of Boyle Heights/Sawtelle areas of L.A., and a survivor of the Japanese American Internment camps. Her father is Chicano (Mexican American) from Nogales, AZ. Her work is primarily concerned with portraiture, craft and drawing. She experiments with a broad range of surfaces and materials from wood panels to bed sheets. Her practice also employs tattooing, video, painting and drawing on canvas, wood, paper, and cloth. The Russell Foundation was established in the will of Betty Russell, one of MCASD's founding docents and a long-time supporter of UC San Diego. She specified that funds from the foundation should help "foster the appreciation and study of the modern visual arts and creativity of young artists" through support for the Museum and the University.
