In collaboration with the Cuesta College Student Art Circle, the Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery is launching its Alumni Series, a new bi-monthly Zoom webinar series that will feature graduates of both Cuesta College's and Allan Hancock College's art programs. The first entry of the series, slated to take place over Zoom on Thursday, Nov. 12, from noon to 1 p.m., will feature two guest speakers, photographer Cristal Tappan and sculptor Joshua Solis.

Tappan grew up in San Luis Obispo and currently resides in Portland, Oregon, where she received her BFA in photography from the Pacific Northwest College of Art earlier this year. Among her local exhibitions was Cowardice, an art show at Wicked Step Gallery in SLO. Solis grew up in Santa Maria and received an MFA in sculpture from San Francisco State University in 2017.

"My parents imparted their cultural values to me," Solis, a Hispanic second-generation American, said in an artist statement. "I can now say with pride, I embrace my past, which has guided me, step by step, into the artist I am today."

According to press materials, the intent of the Alumni Series is to celebrate the work of Cuesta and Hancock graduates and inspire and inform current students on various career paths and practices. The program will be moderated by two hosts, Brittany Mojo, ceramics lead at Cuesta, and Emma Saperstein, curator at Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery.

For more info on the Alumni Series and the Zoom link to join the program's first meeting, call (805) 546-3202 or email [email protected]. Δ