MCP GRAD STUDENTS

Karishma Bhagani

Advisor: Michael Rau

Bio

Karishma Bhagani is a PhD Candidate in the department of Theater and Performance Studies at Stanford University. Her research focuses on cultural production and the creation of sustainable creative economies in Nairobi, and more broadly across the African continent. An African feminist at heart, Karishma’s commitment to creative making and practice comes from a commitment of working from the everyday production realities to develop theories of the production. As a practicing producer and dramaturg, Bhagani is committed to bringing contemporary African stories to global stages. She is currently a Knight Hennessy Scholar and a recipient of the Stanford University RAISE Fellowship.

Maika Jones

MCP Certificate Awarded 2025-26
Advisor: Ariel Stilerman

Bio

Maika Jones graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a master’s degree in East Asian Studies. She has a deep interest in history, storytelling, and creative media, grounded in the belief that “building” forms the common thread among them. Her academic focus lies in how historical narratives can and are portrayed and reimagined through various forms of media, and how these adaptations shape public perception and cultural understanding. Her graduate thesis examined the speculative world-building of East Asian science fiction, arguing that deliberate creative choices made by SF authors generate valuable and prescient insights about human society.

MCP focus

The MCP courses I have taken have shown me that meaningful knowledge often emerges in unexpected places and through modes of engagement that extend beyond the textual. Understanding the world and our place within it is inseparable from the hand’s tactile encounter with materials and processes. During my graduate studies, this idea of “thinking through making” became central to my practice and ultimately drew me to the Making and Creative Praxis program.

Photo by Mathieu Tailards

Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi

Advisor: Ariel Stilerman

Bio

Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi is an Iranian composer and performer. She writes for hybrid instrumental/electronic ensembles, creates electroacoustic and audiovisual works, builds instruments, and performs electronic music. She explores the unfamiliar familiar while being motivated by how melodies unfold through time. Finding ways to play with various musical thresholds and exploring musical extremes is something that she is currently attracted to. Her work experiments with merging Iranian music with the more contemporary classical music aesthetics.

Being a cross-disciplinary artist, she has actively collaborated on projects evolving around dance, film, and theater. She is the co-founder and producer of Fashion x Electronics, a collective focused on creating interdisciplinary works based on fashion and electronic music.

Kimia’s work has been showcased by organizations across the globe and she has performed internationally. Kimia is currently based in San Francisco and is a doctorate candidate in Music Composition at Stanford University.

MCP focus

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Contact:

Stanford Arts Institute
artsinstitute@stanford.edu