The University of Alabama

The University of Alabama's department of art and art history presents the master of arts thesis exhibition of Nasrin Iravani, "I'm a Woman Here Standing in the Mist." The exhibition will be through April 30 at the UA Gallery in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, in downtown Tuscaloosa. Nasrin Iravani is a graduate student in ceramics and serves as a teaching assistant in ceramics. Iravani received the MA in Handicrafts (ceramics) from Tehran University of Art. Her work is inspired by Persian art and she is particularly interested in figurative forms. She presents a critical view of ethical, social and cultural issues in her art work and is currently working on a collection of pieces titled Femininity, which refers to women's rights and concerns. "The history and culture of Iran, my home country, gives me a sense of identity, tranquility and confidence," she said. "I use symbols and signs of traditional Iranian art to showcase some of that history and culture. In my work, I explore feminine narratives in aesthetics, politics, history and personal experiences, and I use the concept of art as a tool to address contemporary women's rights and concerns." Iravani uses elements such as asymmetry, color contrast and the simultaneous presentation of the inside and the outside of some of her pieces to convey her own conflicts with Iran's traditional ways, especially regarding women. The title of her exhibition is taken from a poem, written by her husband the Iranian poet Saeid Ranjbar, which she feels expresses her relationship to the culture she loves but struggles with. "While incorporating signs of traditional and contemporary art, I strive to reflect the view that the relationship between tradition and modernity needs to be continuously reconsidered." Nasrin Iravani's selected international, national and juried exhibitions include L'artigiano in Fiera 2016, Milan; Fitur 2016, Feria de Madrid, Spain; International Handicraft Exhibition; Tehran; 46th International Art Show, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art (Texas); The Millennial Show (juried), TEJAS Gallery, Dayton, OH; Clay: A Southern Census (juried), New Orleans; 33rd Annual Alabama Clay Conference, Montgomery, AL; The Ritual Table: A Place of Memory, A State of Mind, Corning, NY; and Vitreous (juried), Clay Center of New Orleans.

The University of Alabama's Career Center announces that staff members Chris McGee and Jarrod Stisher have received the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award from UA's Division of Student Life, recognizing students' exceptional service to constituents. McGee and Stisher were recognized at the division's meeting May 3. https://career.sa.ua.edu/2018/05/career-centers-mcgee-stisher-get-division-of-student-life-honor/

University of Alabama students participated in the UA Washington, D.C. Policy and Advocacy Fly-In, a unique crash course in policy research, strategy and advocacy created in 2017. The students met with 40 federal legislators in the nation's capital March 20-21 to explain how proposed legislation would improve the lives of foster youth, human-trafficking victims and people struggling with opioid addictions.

The National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program's Foundation recently selected Kenya G. Bledsoe, a UA doctoral student in the counselor education and supervision program, for its Minority Fellowship Program.

The founders of Food Drop, a web-based grocery delivery system, finished in second place and won $3,000 to advance their business at the Edward K. Aldag, Jr. Business Plan Competition on March 31 at The University of Alabama.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is proud to announce the recipients of a 2016 Love of Learning Award from Session A of the program. The awards help fund post-baccalaureate studies and career development for active Phi Kappa Phi members.