absolute alternatives — Opening Reception

The Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture presents the Opening Reception for absolute alternatives, the 2026 Arts+ UMBC Faculty Exhibition, on display from January 30 to February 28. This event has been rescheduled from Thursday, January 29.

The reception will feature a performance of Dream Feed, composed by Zosha Di Castri, by flutist Lisa Cella and violinist Airi Yoshioka. Opening remarks and the performance will begin at 6:10 p.m.

Dream Feed takes its title from evening infant feeding practices, often occurring between 10:00 p.m. and midnight, intended to support a baby's peaceful rest through the night. The composition draws poetic resonance from this intimate, cyclical act of care. In the context of interdisciplinary work, Dream Feed brings forward roles that often remain invisible within creative and professional spheres, such as parenthood, inviting them into artistic discourse. Di Castri shares:

As a composer/pianist, I see motherhood as one of the final 'taboos' in the professional music world, with women often still believing they must choose between family and career, or keep quiet about their desire for both. Though having a child alters one's life irreversibly and may create logistical challenges, it can also be a profoundly creative experience, encouraging new ways of thinking and doing.

Organized by guest curator Maleke Glee, absolute alternatives presents faculty from across UMBC whose interdisciplinary research is a form of creative practice, including Jude Agboada, Fiona Bell, Kelley Bell and the Cheeky Magpie Collective, Lynn Cazabon, Lisa Cella, Mayank Chugh, Cathy Cook, Arit Emmanuela Etukudo, Eva Grandoni, Tahira Chloe Mahdi, Phillip Mann, Steven McAlpine, Lisa Moren, Edgar Reyes, Julie Sayo, Sarah G. Sharp, and Airi Yoshioka.

Inspired by the boundary-pushing spirit of the Arts+ Initiative, the exhibition proposes alternatives to defining research through absolute disciplinary categories. According to Glee:

These scholar-artists meet the present moment directly with innovative tools, materials, and methods that explore, upend or resolve unsatisfactory conditions. Here, creativity means intervening, excavating, and expanding the possibilities of practice and production inside the classroom, studio, laboratory, and beyond. These projects demonstrate what can happen when research and imagination work hand in hand, highlighting individual creative curiosities as well as collaborations connecting the University, the broader Baltimore community, and global networks.

absolute alternatives brings together faculty from across the university, as well as their UMBC student, staff, and outside collaborators, with offerings from Visual Arts, Music, Biology, the Individualized Study Program, and other disciplines.

Visitor Information

Admission to the exhibition and all public programs is free. The CADVC is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Parking is free during evening and weekend hours, and metered parking is available other times. Please visit here for directions and parking information.

Visitors who need any specific accommodations should contact CADVC at cadvc@umbc.edu or 410-455-3188 as soon as possible.

This event is supported in part by the Arts+ initiative.