The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Scott Carlson wrote a feature titled “In an Old School Building, Carleton College and Its Community Enjoy New Lessons” for the publication’s Jan. 21 edition. Carlson tells the history of the building, how the College purchased and planned the renovation, shows how many of the old spaces morphed into the new and how Carleton used many of the old parts of the building in interesting and creative ways. The article includes an online slide show as well.

Laurel Bradley, director and curator in the Perlman Teaching Museum and senior lecturer in art and art History, gives us a tour of the Weitz Center for Creativity’s museum space. She talks about exactly what it means for Carleton to have such a facility and gives us a sneak preview of the two winter term exhibits. “A Complex Weave: Women and Identity in Contemporary Art” is on display in the museum’s Braucher Gallery through March 11, while the Kaemmer Family Gallery hosts “Running the Numbers: Portraits of Mass Consumption” at the same time.

This past Friday, Carleton presented the Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater performance as 2012’s first event in the Weitz Center for Creativity.

Aparna Ramaswamy, Carleton Class of 1997, and her mother, Ranee Ramaswamy, have been named the 2011 Artist of the Year by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The mother and daughter are the artistic directors, choreographers, and principal dancers of the internationally renowned Ragamala Dance Company and School. The 1/1/12 edition of the Star Tribune honors “Ragamala artistic directors Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy in a year that included the creation of substantial new work, national touring, a showcase at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and rave reviews from all over.”

“The artistic directors of Ragamala Dance use their art form as a prism to refract both the ancient and the modern,” writes reporter Caroline Palmer. “The choreographers, ages 59 and 35, continued to advance their dance form into the 21st century, winning kudos for a vibrant modern-day vision born out of ancient Indian tradition. This is why the Star Tribune has selected these impressive women as Artists of the Year.” The complete article can be found here.

Aparna Ramaswamy is a 1997 graduate of Carleton College, where she earned a BA in international relations and political economy.

The Sherman Fairchild Foundation has awarded a grant to Carleton College for the project Collaborative Directions in Art and Technology. The $300,000, three-year project will support Carleton arts and technology faculty in developing new class modules, courses, collaborative courses, and curricular models for multi-disciplinary student projects. The project will enable Carleton faculty members to make full use of the new Weitz Center for Creativity, which will be providing staff, technological resources, and facilities in support of project efforts.

The Dec. 3 edition of the Star Tribune covered the Carleton Singers’ White House appearance. Higher education reporter Jenna Ross spoke with Lawrence Burnett, Carleton professor of music and choral director via phone from Washington, D.C., and he told Ross  the group will perform a wide-ranging program that “includes as many traditions, as many cultures as possible.” A student with a Ukrainian background will sing “Carol of the Bells” in Ukrainian. In honor of President Obama, a student from Hawaii will sing a verse of “Silent Night” in Hawaiian. Then there are carols from Africa, Spain and Finland. And one from Nat King Cole.

The Carleton Singers have been selected to perform at the White House during its annual holiday tours. The performance will take place on Saturday, December 3, from 3:30-6 p.m. EST. The Carleton Singers, under the direction of Lawrence Burnett, Carleton professor of music and choral director, is a highly select, mixed choral ensemble of 16 voices that presents annual concerts of short and extended works from classical, ethnic, and cultural repertories, including works for mixed, women’s, and men’s voices. Under Burnett’s direction, the ensemble has been lauded for energetic and emotional performances while sustaining high degrees of excellence in choral singing.

Actor and 1981 Carleton graduate J.C. Cutler, who is currently starring as Scrooge in the Guthrie Theater’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” is the subject of a Star Tribune feature in the Sunday, Nov. 20 edition. The article talks about how Cutler feel in love with acting during a junior-year study abroad experience in England and how he pursued that passion with his father’s support. Cutler is married to his college sweetheart, Judy (Bongs) Cutler ’82, and they have three children.

Carleton christened the new Weitz Center for Creativity’s theater this week with the Carleton Players’ presentation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”

Gao Hong Dice, performance activities coordinator in music and lecturer in Chinese musical instruments at Carleton College, will be featured on an upcoming episode of Twin Cities Public Television’s (TPT) “Minnesota Original.” The episode, entitled “Gao Hong and Butterfly,” is slated to air on TPT 2 on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. CDT. The episode also airs on TPT’s Minnesota channel on Sunday at 10 p.m. CDT and on TPT’s Life channel on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.