Building an Empire Columbia alumni perform critical behind-the-scenes roles on Fox’s hit show. By William Meiners MFA ’96 In Fox’s hit show Empire, hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard)
Live Wire Act From working festival circuits to touring with pop stars, these six alumni bring live music experience to life. By Audrey Michelle Mast ’00 While record labels experience dec
Alumni Shorts Welcome to Alumni Shorts, a new addition to DEMO. Think of Shorts as a collection of snapshots: quick glances at alumni projects, victories, updates and even some expert advice. E
Just Bead It Stephan Wanger ’94 recycles thousands of Mardi Gras beads into gigantic, detailed mosaics—and teaches others to do the same through his nonprofit, Bead Town. NOLA’s Resilience,
Monster Mash Whether she’s creating bright, drippy monsters or graphics for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Heidi Unkefer ’13 uses her art to escape the everyday. In 2015, Unkefer won t
Jennifer Farrington, President of Play As president of Chicago Children’s Museum, Jennifer Farrington ’93 encourages young visitors to explore, invent, learn and play. The shelves in the Tinkering Lab at Chicago Chil
Sarah Schlieder, Life on Mars Sarah Schlieder ’16 discovered a cave on Mars as part of a Columbia astrobiology class. Now, she works full time at NASA. Schlieder smiles through the reflected light of NASA’s
Thelonious Martin, Late-Night Beats Hip-hop producer Thelonious Martin finds his inspiration surfing late-night television channels. Martin finds inspiration in late-night television and Chicago’s hip-hop communi
Jen Beeman, What’s the Stitch? Jen Beeman ’09 dishes on her popular blog and pattern company, Grainline Studio. Beeman runs Grainline Studio, located in Chicago’s Garfield Park. Jen Beeman ’09 began Grain
Scot O’Hara and Dale Boyer, By The Books Scot O’Hara MFA ’95 and Dale Boyer honored their late friend Judith Handschuh MFA ’96 by publishing her novel. Boyer (left) and O’Hara (right) combined their last names to crea
