Margaret Hawkins Reimagines Her Memoir
Catwalk Institute proudly celebrates writer and educator Margaret Hawkins (Catwalk 2012) whose acclaimed memoir How We Got Barb Back is being reissued by Lived Places Publishing as a textbook for disability studies and a new bookstore edition titled At Home With Schizophrenia.
Hawkins also writes for The Democracy Chain and Visual Art Source, with recent work in The Missouri Review, Brevity, Bridge, Minerva Rising Press, and Lover’s Eye Press. She teaches creative writing at Loyola University and art writing at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Read more of her work at www.margarethawkins.com
Huang Ruo at Beijing Music Festival
Huang Ruo
We proudly recognize composer Huang Ruo (Catwalk 2011, 2013), whose interactive work City of Floating Sounds is featured at the Beijing Music Festival on Oct 20 (BBC Philharmonic / NCPA Concert Hall), expanding his ongoing international season.
Kelsey Shwetz at Coulisse Gallery
Kelsey Shwetz
Catwalk celebrates painter Kelsey Shwetz (Catwalk 2018, 2021), whose solo exhibition is currently on view at Coulisse Gallery in Stockholm from Oct 2 through Nov 1. The show opened with special preview events and remains on view throughout the month.
Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me
We’re proud to see Wafaa Bilal commanding the galleries at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. His exhibition Indulge Me pushes boundaries with interactive works that wrestle with politics, conflict, and human resilience.
MCA Chicago
Feb 01, 2025 - Oct 19, 2025
Catwalk Institute proudly congratulates alum Bryan VanDyke
The publication of his debut novel, In Our Likeness (Little A, September 2024). The book follows a tech worker whose discovery about an AI truth-detecting algorithm spirals into questions of reality, identity, and what it means to be human in the digital age. In Our Likeness has earned nearly 4,000 Amazon ratings, praise from outlets including Gizmodo, The Millions, and Bookshop.org, and endorsements from writers such as Fareed Zakaria, Max Ludington, and Aaron Hamburger. VanDyke’s nonfiction has also appeared in Time, LitHub, and Pacific Standard, further cementing his voice as a powerful cultural commentator.
Catwalk Institute proudly celebrates Anne Elizabeth Moore
Anne Elizabeth Moore
Accomplishments of alum Anne Elizabeth Moore, who has made remarkable strides since her residency. Her memoir Gentrifier (Catapult, 2022) was named an NPR Best Book, and her expanded essay collection Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Misogyny, Jokes was released with Feminist Press in 2023. Her first novel, completed while writer-in-residence at Colby College, is now heading out on submission. Beyond the literary world, Moore also founded Tinkertown Provisions, a Catskills-based craft hot sauce company that channels the same bold creativity found in her writing.
Catwalk Institute proudly congratulates : Jean Zimmerman
We are thrilled to celebrate Catwalk alum Jean Zimmerman on the upcoming publication of her memoir Heartwood, Woundwood, and Ladytrees: An Accidental Arborist Finds Joy and Courage in the Tree World (Broadleaf, Fall 2026).
In this powerful work, Jean shares how she discovered serenity and hope through the world of trees after facing two life-transforming challenges: first, reinventing her livelihood under difficult circumstances, and later, navigating the profound trials of ALS. Her writing intertwines resilience, nature, and human courage, offering readers a deeply moving exploration of healing and transformation.
Congratulations to Jean on this remarkable achievement—we are honored to celebrate this milestone with our Catwalk community!
James Kao; Upcoming Exhibition: Animal Nature, University of Connecticut
Catwalk Institute proudly celebrates James Kao, Catwalk alum from 2012, on his upcoming participation in Animal Nature, a curated exhibition by Jeanne Ciravolo at the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT. The show runs from September 11 – October 12, 2025, and presents dynamic work exploring the intersections between the animal and human experience in contemporary art.
Nathan Hall: From a new album to Denver Art Museum and more
Catwalk Institute proudly congratulates Nathan Hall on an incredible series of accomplishments since his residency with us. Nathan has earned his doctorate, gotten married, and is now teaching music composition at the University of Denver.
We’re thrilled to share that Nathan recently released his first album in almost a decade, Greenland Diary. This fall, he will create ambient soundscapes for the major Impressionism exhibition at the Denver Art Museum. Nathan is also a Resident Artist at RedLine Center for Contemporary Art and will present a solo show at Joshua Tree National Park featuring graphic scores inspired by his desert residency.
Congratulations, Nathan! We are excited for your new adventures and wish you continued success!
Stephanie Wambugu "Lonely"
Her debut novel, Lonely Crowds, will be published by Little, Brown in July 2025 and is now available for preorder [here]. Stephanie was also a resident at Catwalk Institute during Summer Session, 2024), where she developed her short-story collection Women Without Children and her novella No Use.
Catwalk Institute proudly celebrates alum Jackie Thomas-Kennedy
We are thrilled to share that Catwalk alum Jackie Thomas-Kennedy (resident September 2012) has published her debut novel, The Other Wife with Riverhead Books on July 15, 2025.
Already gaining wide recognition, The Other Wife has been featured on:
The New York Times Summer Beach Reads List
The New York Times Best New Fiction List
Oprah Daily’s “Queer Joy” Summer Books List
We are proud to celebrate Jackie’s remarkable achievement and invite you to explore her work!
Train with a Legend: Cha Ramos at Summer Sling NYC!
Don’t miss your chance to meet and train with Cha Ramos at Summer Sling NYC!
Drama Desk Awarded Fight Choreographer, Broadway Intimacy Director and Vixen en Garde, Cha is Summer Sling family and we’re ecstatic to share her with you! summerslingnyc.com
Marion Spencer Premieres Bold New Works This Summer
Catwalk Institute proudly celebrates alumna Marion Spencer for a rich season of creative exploration and performance. This summer, Marion premiered ALONE TOGETHER, her MFA thesis at NYU Tisch—a poignant, multidisciplinary ensemble work delving into memory, longing, and connection through movement, music, text, and projection. She also presented SYMPHONY, a solo piece developed with support from Catwalk Institute, Turkeyland Cove Foundation, and NYU Tisch Dance. This deeply personal work draws on ancestral memory and climate grief, weaving text and embodied movement into a compelling reflection on resilience and transformation.
Earlier this year, Marion continued to develop h o r i z o n in-development, an ensemble work examining shared experience and interconnection, performed at venues including Judson Memorial Church and NYU Tisch. Her thoughtful, rigorous practice continues to inspire and evolve—and we are honored to be part of her artistic journey.
Read more in her full summer update: https://mailchi.mp/700a2d96e11e/early-summer-update?e=d1a8ad2121
C.C. Ann Chen: Whereabouts at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Chicago
Image: C.C. Ann Chen, Whereabouts, pen and tape on paper, 2025
We’re thrilled to share exciting news from Catwalk alum C. C. Ann Chen!
Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago presents Whereabouts, a solo exhibition of Chen’s expansive and precarious assemblages. This cross-disciplinary body of work responds to local bodies of water in the Chicago area, continuing her long-term exploration of landscape and place.
Congratulations, C. C. Ann Chen—we look forward to more audiences experiencing your powerful and immersive work!
Exhibition Dates: May 24 - July 5, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 24, 1 - 4 pm
Exhibition Walk-Through & Conversation: Saturday, June 14, 1-2 pm
Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago
located in Mana Contemporary
2233 S. Throop St., Unit 419
Chicago, IL 60608
IG: @tsa_chi
Anna Jastrzembski New England Review’s Staff Reader
Congratulations to Anna Jastrzembski on her recent feature in the New England Review’s Staff Reader Profiles!
We’re thrilled to see Anna’s thoughtful perspective and deep commitment to new work and dramatic writing recognized by NER. Her reflections on humility, collaboration, and the purpose of art echo the spirit of Catwalk’s own mission.
"Salomania" Created by Meg Araneo
Join us in the Hudson Valley on May 16th and 17th for a work-in-progress showing of Salomania—a new work by our Co-Artistic Director Meg Araneo.
Salomania takes as its starting point the figure of Salome—a dancing girl who in exchange for a dance before a lustful king asks for (and gets) the head of a prophet. A simple story that has twisted and turned over centuries.
This production is a carnivalesque exploration of the precarity of this life and the “cruel optimism” we cling to in our journey to survive it.
Created by Meg Araneo
Featuring Tony Torn, David Skeist, Michael Mullen, and Meg Araneo
Dramaturgy by Jess Applebaum
MAY 16 & 17, 2025
AT 8 P.M.
Thomas Cole Historic Site
218 Spring St
Catskill, NY 12414
Presented with support from The Catwalk Institute and The Thomas Cole National Historical Site.
John Singer Sargent: Jean Zimmerman in conversation with Carl Raymond
We’re excited to announce that Catwalk Institute alum Jean Zimmerman will appear alongside the Gilded Gentleman, Carl Raymond, on Wednesday, April 16 at 6:30pm, to explore the story behind John Singer Sargent’s bold double portrait Mr. and Mrs. I.N. Phelps Stokes.
What began as a traditional wedding portrait—with a Great Dane—turned into a daring depiction of love, spontaneity, and social change in the Gilded Age.
Exhibition Announcement: Emily Janowick at Kate Werble Gallery
We’re thrilled to share that Emily Janowick, an alumna of the Catwalk Institute, is featured in the new group exhibition Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright, opening tonight, Thursday, April 10, from 6–8pm at Kate Werble Gallery in New York.
Curated by Kate Werble and Thalassa Balanis, the exhibition draws inspiration from William Blake’s poem “The Tyger,” exploring the duality between innocence and experience. Each artist brings an intuitive, almost hypnotic approach to material and memory, gesturing toward the supernatural.
Emily presents work from her poignant collection Swan Song, a series she began in 2022, preserving remnants of dinners shared with her son, Jaden. The project reflects her ongoing effort to capture and hold the sensory, fleeting moments of everyday life—the smells, the textures, the nearly-forgotten details we all try to keep.
📍 Kate Werble Gallery
474 Broadway, Third Floor
New York, NY
🗓️ Opening Reception: April 10, 6–8pm
Join us in celebrating Emily and this powerful exhibition. 🔥✨
Performances by Alumna Marion Spencer
We are thrilled to celebrate Marion Spencer, a Catwalk Institute alumna, as she brings two powerful new dance works to the stage this spring in New York City.
First, experience Marion's solo performance SYMPHONY at the renowned La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, running April 18–20, 2025. This evocative piece explores nostalgia, memory, and climate anxiety through a rich blend of movement, voice, projection, and installation. It is a deeply personal meditation on what we choose to preserve when the world feels uncertain.
Location: La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York, NY
Dates: April 18 at 8:00 PM, April 19 at 7:30 PM, April 20 at 5:00 PM
Tickets and Information: lamama.org
Following that, don’t miss ALONE TOGETHER, Marion’s NYU Tisch MFA Thesis Performance. This group piece is a moving exploration of longing, connection, and the complexity of shared memory. Featuring an ensemble of dynamic performers, original music, text, and visual projection, the work speaks to our need for community and presence.
Location: Jack Crystal Theater, NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Dates: May 9 and 10 at 7:30 PM, May 11 at 2:00 PM
Marion Spencer continues to shape a vital and resonant voice in contemporary dance. We are proud to support her work and encourage our community to witness these bold, thoughtful performances.
