UCSB Student Artists Showcase Their Creations at 2025 Alumni Awards Gala

On April 25, 2025 alumni mingled with aspiring artists, highlighting their one-of-kind art works

“We really appreciate Luanne Raznick Andreotti and the Alumni Association for the invitation for our student artists to share their creations with our prominent UCSB Alumni and friends. These opportunities enrich the personal and professional wellbeing of our students who soon will be part of the broader community of alumni creators, doers, and leaders.”

—Timothy Sherwood, Dean, College of Creative Studies

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) student artists from the College of Creative Studies (CCS) Art program and the College of Letters & Science Department of Art networked and mingled with UCSB alumni at the 2025 Annual Alumni Awards Gala on April 22 at Corwin Pavilion. This annual tradition honors the achievements of distinguished alumni and community leaders and friends, hosted by the UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association Board of Directors. This year, among the awardees were Chancellor Henry T. Yang and Dilling Yang, receiving the 2025 Legacy Award in recognition of their outstanding and enduring impact on UC Santa Barbara.

This is the second year that artists were invited and selected to participate, thanks to Luanne Raznick ‘81 (L&S History) Andreotti, UCSB Alumni Association board director. Students who participated in the 2024 Alumni Awards Gala voiced their enthusiasm to participate in this unique opportunity. Again this year, the student artists mingled during the reception and showcased their creations during the evening festivities. Along with Alumni Association Executive Director Samantha Putnam, alumni, and our art students, CCS Dean Timothy Sherwood was in attendance with other UCSB faculty to celebrate the UCSB community spirit and the amazing awardees.

Meet Student Artists at 2025 Alumni Awards Gala

Kylee Cochran

‘25 (L&S Art Studio, Painting emphasis and Communication)

Name of Art creation: Open Air

Hometown: San Diego, CA

"My work explores human connection, memory, and emotion through vibrant color, intricate detail, and dynamic composition. I focus on moments of intimacy, joy, and shared experiences, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the raw emotion that defines these moments. By using personal and family photographs, I aim to reimagine not just the visual aspects of these memories, but the feelings that accompany them."

—Kylee Cochran ‘25 (L&S Art Studio, Painting emphasis and Communication)

Read Kylee's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Colby Condon

‘24 (CCS Art)

Name of Art creation: The City That Sees All

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

"As I’ve curated my body of work, I’ve been focusing on ways to tie my pieces together. One way I’ve accomplished this is through the symbol of eyes. Throughout my life, I’ve seen this symbol in many places, such as the trunks of trees, in the shadows of mountains, or in the headlights of cars... My most recent project, The City That Sees All, has eyes featured throughout the landscape. I enjoy the idea of giving a bit of life and personality to nature and inanimate objects."

—Colby Condon ‘24 (CCS Art)

Read Colby's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Akela Craig

‘25 (L&S Art; Museum Studies minor)

Name of Art creation: Dead of Knight

Hometown: San Clemente, CA

"I'm inspired by the dark, dramatic, and macabre elements found in Baroque art. The technique of chiaroscuro, the dynamic movement, and the religious and mythological scenes resonate with my own aesthetic and artistic interests."

—Akela Craig ‘25 (L&S Art; Museum Studies minor)

Read Akela's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Lily Habas

‘25 (CCS Art, Book Arts emphasis)

Name of Art creation: Headlock

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

"As we enter the age of AI and artists reckon with machinery trying (and failing) to replace human-illustrated art, Heap's lyrics are strikingly poignant. Juxtaposed with a dying tree and falling leaves, "Headlock" asks viewers to question what it means to be human. Is humanity the absence of machinery? As machinery gains human traits, how do we distinguish between humanity and technology?"

—Lily Habas ‘25 (CCS Art, Book Arts emphasis)

Read Lily's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Miriam MacMillan

‘25 (L&S Fine Art)

Name of Art creation: We’re All The Same / Souls Dancing On Water

Hometown: Fairfax, CA

"This artwork revolves around the representations of identity, queer culture, and community through imagery and narratives historically seen in media portraying surf and beach culture, and queering those heteronormative landscapes."

—Miriam MacMillan '25 (L&S Fine Art)

Read Miriam's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Montserrat Rubio

‘25 (L&S Art, Printmaking and Sculptural emphasis)

Name of Art creation: Mi Corazón Sagrado // En Tus Manos Lo Deje

My Sacred Heart // I Left it in Your Hands

Hometown: Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico

"My Sacred Heart is both a nod to the sacred heart of Jesus as well as referencing my own heart and how I view it. The sacred heart of Jesus is said to be His endless and passionate love for mankind; I named it “my sacred heart” as I am presenting my heart to the viewer, this viewer could be considered my lover, as I am bearing my heart to them within my own hands."

—Montserrat Rubio '25 (L&S Art, Printmaking and Sculptural emphasis)

Read Montserrat's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Grace Sauter

‘26 (L&S Art and Communication)

Name of Art creation: Smiling Through It

Hometown: Santa Monica, CA

"This acrylic painting, titled Smiling Through It, is based on an old photograph of me, my two brothers, and my dad when we were toddlers. In this piece, I’ve cut out the faces of all the figures, leaving empty spaces that cast shadows on the wall when the painting is displayed. These empty spaces represent the loss of innocence and the complex process of growing up—where identities shift and childhood bliss fades into the struggles of adult life."

—Grace Sauter ‘26 (L&S Art and Communication)

Read Grace's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Sonny Lata Yiu

‘25 (CCS Art, Painting emphasis)

Name of Art creation: What Garden Do You Come From?

Hometown: Cupertino, CA

"In this painting, I draw on recognizable motifs from Alice in Wonderland to illustrate my experience as someone who identifies and is labeled as an Asian American. Transforming my personal stories into storybook pictures reminiscent of childhood media makes the mature themes digestible for a general audience. Whether it is a child or adult who encounters my work, the power to reimagine is possible for anyone."

—Sonny Lata Yiu ‘25 (CCS Art, Painting emphasis)

Read Sonny's artist statement from the 2025 UC Santa Barbara Alumni Awards Banquet.

Opportunities like this one that connect the broader UCSB community are always welcome as they allow students to interact in ways that open doors for their professional wellbeing and for alumni to connect with students. CCS and L&S are grateful to the UCSB Alumni Association and look forward to future mutually beneficial collaborations focused on building connectivity and community.