Congratulations to AEPG Awardees for 2026-2027

  line drawing of aepg logo.

Congratulations to all of the faculty awardees for an Artistic Excellence Programming Grant for 2026-2027 -- our 10th year anniversary! Check out the AEPG 2026-2027 upcoming event descriptions to learn about Barbara Kingsolver's Steinbeck award, sanctuary for dreamers, human dialogue in an age of generative AI, street culture and ancestral tradition art exhibit, Sweeney Todd, Dido & Aeneas opera, film series, Steinbeck film adaptation, scholars on comics, Romeo & Juliet, Monteverdi's Vespers, and the 100th anniversary of SJSU's marching band! 

What is AEPG?

Since this initiative began in 2018, it's grown into the H&A in Action college-wide initiative that focuses on melding teaching, research, and public programming to involve students and our surrounding San Jose community in the engaging public programming our college offers. These grants allow us to maximize students’ exposure to and interaction with high-quality, diversified programming in the performing, visual, literary, and culinary arts. The Hammer Theatre and other performing venues on campus offer an opportunity for SJSU to create a coherent arts and culture programming series that invites students to have hands-on experiences with world-class professionals.

For 2026-2027, we have initiated new themes that reflect the moment that we are currently living through: Belonging and Freedom of Expression.

Bring Students into the Collaboration

While AEPG faculty are planning next year's events, we encourage as many other faculty as possible to read the descriptions, to get involved, to engage their students in the event's ground-floor creation (instead of only as passive viewers later in the audience.) Read the descriptions all of these exciting events here.

As event details are finalized, they will be entered into the SJSU Events Calendar, publicized on H&A in Action, and then publicized in the Dean's weekly Monday Mailers. But, don't wait for that last minute notice! If you're interested in integrating one of these events into your courses for AY 2026-2027, please contact the coordinator now. We have a bank of teaching materials and assignments that you could easily adapt into your curriculum.

Watch for all of these AEPG events in upcoming classes, on stages, across campus, and throughout the San José area next year starting in August 2026.

Full Descriptions Available

Awardees

  •     Alena Sauzade, Exhibiting Dual Belonging: Street Culture and Ancestral Tradition (Art & Art History)
  • Barnaby Dallas & Fred Cohen, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Film, Theatre & Dance)
  • Belen Moreno Albarracin, Belonging Studio: A live campus campaign (Journalism & Mass Communications)
  • Corie Brown, Commission of original work by Philippine composer (School of Music)
  • David Vickerman & Grant Knox, Armando Bayolo Symphony Commission (School of Music)
  • David Vickerman & Grant Knox, SJSU Bands 100th Anniversary Concert at Hammer Theater (School of Music)
  • Erik Johnson, Humanities Honors Cultural Connections Film Series (Humanities)
  • Francisco De la Calle & Alesya Petty, Casa Feliz: A Play on Belonging Beyond Papers (World Languages and Literatures)
  • Fred Cohen & Jeffrey Benson, Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers of the Blessed Virgin, School of Music
  • Fred Cohen & Jeffrey Benson, Kaleidoscope 2027 (School of Music)
  • J. Michael Martinez, CLA Reading Series 26/27 (English & Comparative Literature)
  • Janet Stemwedel & Sukanya Chakrabarti, Talking it out: dialogue, monologue, and finding our humanity in a world of ChatGPT (Philosophy)
  • Jo Kreiter, Safe Harbor: Where Risk Meets Belonging (Film, Theatre & Dance)
  • Kathleen Normington, How to Defend Yourself By Liliana Padilla (Film, Theatre & Dance)
  • Leila Ensaniat & Kohar Scott, Surface as Voice and Patterns that Bind (Design)
  • Luis Orozco & Fred Cohen, Spring 2027 Opera - Dido & Aeneas (School of Music)
  • Maite Urcaregui, Drawn Together: Comics on National Identity and Belonging (English & Comparative Literature)
  • Michael Hernandez, Parzival & Feirefiz (School of Music)
  • Nick Martinez & Nick Taylor, Film Adaption of John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums (Film, Theatre & Dance)
  • Sukanya Chakrabarti & Barnaby Dallas, "Sanctuary City" by Martyna Majok (Film, Theatre & Dance)
  • Will Detlefsen & Barnaby Dallas, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Film, Theatre & Dance)

Thank you to the Awards Committee for their dedicated work in considering all proposals: Dean Shannon Miller (Chair), Cheyla Samuelson, Mary Anderson, Alena Sauzade, Eleanor Pries, J. Michael Martinez, Chafin Seymour, Kathleen Normington, Luis Orozco, and Nikole Abrego. 

Previous AEPG Projects & Awardees

To read about the more than 500 wonderful AEPG-supported events and programming since 2018, check out our previous awardees and program reports. For articles and information on Public Humanities & the Arts, check out our resources. 

Apply Next Year!

If you're interested in applying for AEPG funding for 2027-2028, watch this space for the release of the new request for proposals in November and announcement of mandatory informational sessions and consultive open office hours to brainstorm about creating a robust, collaborative project. 

-Author: Katherine D. Harris (updated August 13, 2026)