Artists Pat Ward Williams and Constance Samaras...

Artists Pat Ward Williams and Constance Samaras have joined the UC Irvine faculty as assistant professors of studio art, the university has announced. Williams, a former instructor at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia who uses photographic images to explore political and social aspects of African-American experience, will teach art and photographic installation. Samaras uses photography, video and texts to deal with issues of feminism, sexuality and cultural politics. She will teach photography and a graduate seminar on mass media in art. Formerly a member of the UCLA art faculty, Samaras recently showed her photo-text series “Paranoid Delusions” at the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies.

Two artists from Orange County, Mary-Linn Hughes and Reginald Zachary, have been commissioned to paint a mural addressing AIDS at the Minority AIDS Project, a clinic in Los Angeles. The artists, who have begun work on the mural, were commissioned by the Social and Public Arts Resource Center (SPARC), which produces murals throughout the city.

The Fullerton Museum Center raised $3,500 with its “Third Annual Downtown Dinner and Art Walk” benefit Sunday. The money will be used for museum center exhibits and programs.

The Cypress Pops Orchestra has received $5,000 from Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. to help underwrite its current season.