Laura Cloud, Emerita Associate Professor of Sculpture, will deliver the College of Arts & Letters’ 2025 Legacy Lecture on Friday, April 18, at 6 p.m. in the Lincoln Room of the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. The Legacy Lecture is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP by Friday, April 11, to attend by submitting this online RSVP form.
In her lecture, titled “Chasing Camels and Other Travel Stories,” Cloud will present her work from international residencies. She has attended residency programs in Ireland, Italy, Japan, and Morocco as well as Vermont. Cloud also will discuss two student projects during her lecture. One of those projects, titled “Suitcase,” involved graduate students traveling to Brazil to exhibit their work. The other project highlights a cross-cultural partnership in the arts and was done in collaboration with MSU Fisheries and Wildlife students and Ugandan artisans from the Snares to Wares initiative.
Cloud joined the Department of Art, Art History, and Design (AAHD) faculty at Michigan State University in Fall 1993 and dedicated her career to challenging students to push their ideas conceptually. She was known for her celebrated guidance in expanded media and installation, construction and fabrication, advanced sculpture, graduate seminar, and three-dimensional form.
One of her former students, Nathan Kukla, was recognized as the 2023-2024 Michigan Art Educator of the Year by the National Art Education Association and said that the coaches and friends who supported him and recognized what he was doing has been invaluable and that “it started at MSU with my professors Charlie Steel and Laura Cloud, people who recognized and encouraged me as a young student, and I truly appreciate and am grateful to them.”
Cloud is a national member of ARC Gallery, Chicago, and Soho 20 Gallery, New York City. She received an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the University of Hartford, Hartford Art School.
Travel has been at the center of her research for many years. She has traveled to Australia, Brazil, East and North Africa, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, and across the United States, documenting each trip in an ongoing series called “The Travel Journals,” which has been shown both nationally and internationally.
In 2024, Cloud exhibited a series of travel photos, titled “ Fragments of History: Turkey,” as part of the MSU Department of Art, Art History, and Design Triennial Exhibition at the MSU Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. The exhibition, which ran Jan. 20-July 21, 2024, offered a comprehensive sample of works from 22 AAHD faculty members that explored what it means to engage in imagination beyond the realm of fantasy. Through the photos that Cloud exhibited, she aimed to present new viewpoints and fragments of architecture from the ancient world to remind viewers that the historical past is still relevant to our present.
Cloud also has exhibited at the actuel’art/lagalerie in Paris; Museu Historico de Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil; Art Gallery Le Logge in Assisi, Italy; Liu Hai Su Art Museum in Shanghai; Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago; and the Sidney Yates Gallery in the Chicago Culture Center.
Legacy Lecture
Established in 2021 by the College of Arts & Letters Culture of Care Retirement Subcommittee, the Legacy Lecture Award recognizes one faculty member each year for their contributions to the College of Arts & Letters and the community. Honorees deliver a 60-minute lecture they have always wanted to give that focuses on their creative work and research.
Cloud was nominated for this award by Rob Roznowski, Professor in the Department of Theatre, who worked closely with Cloud on the inaugural Dean’s Art Advisory Committee.
“In our three years in creating the committee and weathering the pandemic, I found Laura to be an amazing arts advocate for student learning,” Roznowski wrote in his nomination letter. “The committee created several new initiatives and offered great insight into the long-delayed MSU Arts Strategy and how it might impact faculty and students at MSU. Laura was a vocal presence on the committee and offered great insights into the needs and wants of faculty and students from AAHD.”
“In our three years in creating the committee and weathering the pandemic, I found Laura to be an amazing arts advocate for student learning.”
Rob Roznowski, Professor in the Department of Theatre
Roznowski also wrote that Cloud’s international work was another reason for his nomination.
“Her use of mixed media has been recognized in Italy and Greece and other places across the globe,” Roznowski stated. “I find her artwork compelling and fascinating.”
By Kim Popiolek
