Arts Leap

Join the movement.

At Stanford University, we believe that art fundamentally enriches human experience and encourages students, faculty, and the broader community to experience the world in new ways. It is our hope that alumni, parents, and friends will take a leap with us and help move the arts even further forward on campus.

With support for more programs, fellowships, and collaborations, the university has the capacity to define what it means to make, experience, and study art in the 21st century. An investment in the arts at Stanford is also an investment in the future of art—and in tomorrow’s leaders.

Arts Leap encompasses three strategic goals:

Every Stanford Student

Ensure that every undergraduate and graduate student has opportunities for frequent and meaningful experiences in the arts.

Only at Stanford

Generate pioneering programs in the arts.

Moving Stanford Forward

Engage the top creators, leaders, and scholars in the arts.

I'm interested in:

I want to support:

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Exhibitions and Publications at Cantor Arts Center

The museum seeks to build $10 million of endowment support for the reinstallation of the permanent galleries and for curricular exhibitions developed with faculty in support of their teaching. Funding will also go to special exhibition programs and publications as well as student involvement in those projects. Endowed gifts of $100,000 and above are welcome. Gifts at all levels are welcome to help the museum reach its $500,000 annual goal.

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Digital Dark Room

The Department of Art and Art History’s photography facilities currently lack the equipment needed to process digital photos professionally. Support totaling $210,000 will go toward purchasing the hardware required for state-of-the-art digital photography editing. Gifts of any size are welcome for this purpose.

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Arts Institute Fellowship Program

Support is needed to bring up to three postdocs and other emerging arts scholars to the Arts Institute for a new fellowship program devoted to Creative Cities. Fellows will anchor the working group on Creative Cities, teach one course each, and foster public dialogues about art and cities. Gifts of $375,000 will support three fellows and help ensure that the best fellows can receive a second year of funding. In total, Stanford plans to raise $1.5 million for this fellowship program.

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Music Graduate Fellowships

Three or more graduate fellowships for the Department of Music are desired to increase the current cohort size, which is only six students. Additional fellowships will foster a more robust community for the department and also create a more appealing environment for prospective students. A gift of $800,000 will be matched with $400,000 to endow a named graduate fellowship.

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Student Internships and Assistantships at Cantor Arts Center

Endowed support is needed for undergraduate internships and graduate curatorial assistantships. Internships allow students to gain invaluable firsthand experience and knowledge about the many facets of the museum, while curatorial assistantships offer graduate scholars an opportunity to curate exhibits that integrate their research. The annual goal to support this student experience is $150,000. Gifts of $10,000 and above are welcome.

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Student and Recent Graduate Art-Making

This support will help students in any major access the equipment, space, and technical assistance needed for their own artistic projects. Funds are also needed for Young Alumni Arts Grants, which help launch the careers of recent graduates as they produce original work for public productions, exhibitions, or publications. A total of $75,000 is needed on an annual basis, and gifts of $5,000 or more are welcome to help meet this goal.

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Creative Expression Courses

All Stanford students must take at least two units in Creative Expression courses that offer them the opportunity to engage firsthand in arts practice or design and also better understand the importance of creative thinking. Gifts of $25,000 will support the development of curricula and the costs of these courses, which range from product design and sculpture to the graphic novel and dramatic performances.

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Student Activities and Programming

Funding is needed for student activities and programming in the Department of Art and Art History. This could include inviting visiting artists, hosting open houses, mounting student art exhibitions, and organizing other events that would help build community and increase student engagement. The annual goal is $50,000. Gifts of any size are welcome.

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Arts Experience Grants

From the opera to a new SFMOMA exhibit, these grants support subsidized tickets and other expenses for students to attend off-campus arts events and exhibitions. These outings are enriched by an educational component, such as workshops with faculty and discussions with invited artists. A gift of $25,000 will provide opportunities over an entire school year, and gifts of any size are welcome.

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Additional Sections of Intro and Intermediate Film-Making

In order to meet rising student demand, funds are needed to offer additional sections of undergraduate filmmaking courses such as Introduction to Film and Video Production and Advanced Video Production. Gifts of any size would contribute to the annual goal of $22,000.

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Residential Arts Innovation Fund

Funding is needed for arts programs and pilots run by the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, including visits by guest artists, student productions or exhibitions, and undergraduates’ creative research. Gifts of any size would contribute to the annual funding goal of $10,000.

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Residential Arts Spaces Upgrade

From pianos to performance spaces, Stanford provides special opportunities for students to create and experience art where they live on campus. Gifts of $5,000 or more are needed for renovations, equipment, and other capital improvements for arts spaces in student residences.

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Undergraduate Arts Internships

For students considering a career in the arts, summer internships provide invaluable experience in the many facets of arts administration, production, and management. Support will give more students opportunities to gain practical skills for their future careers as artists or arts leaders and to build their professional networks. Interns are supported with a living stipend of up to $7,000 depending on need. Gifts of $1,000 or more are welcome.

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Arts + Science Learning Lab at Cantor Arts Center

In this interdisciplinary lab, students from across campus explore art objects from the museum’s collections using advanced tools such as X-ray fluorescence in search of discoveries that benefit art and science. A gift of $3 million will endow the directorship of the lab and will enable the position to be named in recognition of the donor’s support.

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Student Use of Bing Concert Hall

As a world-class professional performance space, Bing Concert Hall has operating costs that are significant for student arts groups. Endowment gifts of $250,000 or more will allow more student ensembles to have access to this magnificent hall for productions. Stanford seeks to raise a total of $2.5 million for this purpose.

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Visiting Artists

Bringing acclaimed and emerging artists to campus is key to Stanford’s multipronged, experiential arts initiative. Visiting artists engage with faculty and students, give back to the community through public presentations, and benefit from the university’s academic resources and collaborative culture. Gifts of $100,000 or more are welcome. A gift of $2 million will fully endow the visiting artists program, which can be named in the donor’s honor.

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ITALIC Residential Learning Program

The Immersion in the Arts: Living in Culture program is a yearlong residential freshman learning experience that provides students a space for analytical and practical artistic exploration and showcases the arts as an essential part of scholarly and public life. Initially supported by pilot funding from the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, this successful program now requires more stable support and will benefit from gifts of $5,000 or more. Annually, Stanford seeks to raise $340,000 to support this program.

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Creative Writing Director's Discretionary Fund

About 800 students a year take workshop courses in Stanford’s vibrant Creative Writing Program. The program is a strong part of the English major and also offers one of the most popular minors on campus. Support is needed for developing additional interdisciplinary classes such as The Graphic Novel and also for designing more collaborative projects campuswide. Endowment gifts of $100,000 and more are welcome, and a $1.3 million gift will fully endow this fund.

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Stanford in New York

In this immersive, quarter-long program, undergraduates live, work, and study in NYC and pair coursework with internships in fields ranging from architecture and theater to journalism and local government. Initially supported by pilot funding, gifts of any size will provide this successful program with stable support. A gift of $90,000 will fully fund culturally immersive experiences and trips for the entire student cohort throughout the city and neighboring boroughs over the course of 2016–18.

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Theater and Performance Studies Artistic Residency and Media Studio

Students need greater exposure to working artists and new forms of theater, performance, and dance. The creation of a $1 million endowment will support one-to-two-year artistic residencies and the hiring of a lecturer and a technician focused on camera-acting training and motion-capture technology. Gifts of $25,000 or more are welcome.

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Visiting playwright Inua Ellems meets with students at Ujama House.

Stanford Live Performance Sponsorships and Artist Residencies

Stanford Live presents performances in many genres including music, dance, theater, spoken word and multimedia at venues across campus and beyond. Sponsors can support an individual performance or an extended artist residency. Sponsorships support artist fees and production costs, and fund artist participation in related education and engagement programs on campus and in the larger community. Performance sponsorships range from $35,000 to $75,000, and artist residency sponsorships range from $75,000 to $250,000.

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Hip hop artist Masego entertains the crowd in the Bing Studio, presented by Stanford Concert Network.

Stanford Live Student Access and Engagement

Stanford Live is committed to ensuring that every Stanford student has the opportunity to meaningfully engage with the arts. Through discounted performance tickets, campus residencies for visiting artists, curatorial opportunities, partnerships with student organizations, and performance opportunities for student ensembles, Stanford Live seeks to connect students, artists, and audiences in discovering, participating in, and enjoying the performing arts. Stanford Live welcomes both expendable and endowment gifts to support student access and engagement, with a preference for multi-year expendable gifts of $25,000 or more.

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Yang Liping: The Rite of Spring

Stanford Live Commissions and Programming Fund

The Stanford Live Commissions and Programming Fund supports the commission and presentation of new works by some of the most exciting artists of our time across genres including music, dance, theater, spoken word, and multimedia. It also supports participation by commissioned artists in our educational and engagement programming. Stanford Live welcomes both expendable and endowment gifts to the Commissions and Programming Fund, with a preference for multi-year expendable gifts of $25,000 or more per year.

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Students enjoy a K–12 matinee performance by Gamelan Çudamani.]

Stanford Live K–12 Programs Fund

Stanford Live introduces the magic of live performance and expands opportunities for arts education to students and teachers at schools throughout Silicon Valley. Through student matinee performances, teacher workshops, and visiting artists in classrooms, more than 4,000 K–12 students and their teachers participate in the arts through a Stanford Live program each year. Stanford Live welcomes both expendable and endowment gifts to the K–12 Programs Fund, with a preference for multi-year expendable gifts of $25,000 or more per year.

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Curatorships at Cantor Arts Center

Support is needed to endow two existing curatorial and collections positions, with a priority for chief curator/associate director and curator of European art, as well as to endow two new positions: a curator of photography and an adjunct curator of South and Southeast Asian art. Named curatorship opportunities range from $2.5 million to $3 million.

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Art and Art History MFA and PhD Fellowships

From pushing the boundaries of knowledge to mentoring undergraduates, graduate students are an essential part of a department. A gift of $800,000 will be matched with $400,000 to endow a named graduate fellowship. These funds allow the Department of Art and Art History to attract and support talented students as they pursue world-class scholarship, art making, and research.

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Theater and Performance Studies Graduate Fellowships

Stanford’s program is among the top theater and performance studies doctoral programs in the nation. Three additional fellowships will build on this strength and also create a more robust and appealing community for prospective students. A gift of $800,000 will be matched with $400,000 to endow a named graduate fellowship.

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Diversity and Equity Student Fellowships

Support is needed for Stanford's innovative student fellows program run by the Institute for Diversity in the Arts. Each year, student fellows are trained in arts management, event and program design, and community arts leadership, with special attention to questions of diversity and cultural equity. Select fellows conduct summer work in community arts organizations around the world. The annual goal is $100,000. Gifts of $1,000 or more are welcome.

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Directorship of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University

Support is needed to endow the existing director position of the Anderson Collection at Stanford University—a museum with a world-class collection of modern and contemporary American art. The director plays an integral role in running the museum and overseeing all aspects of its collection and operations: exhibition planning, staffing, programming, supervising loans to and from the collection, and managing the budget. A gift of $3 million is needed to endow this position.

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Endowed Lecture Series in Art History

Inviting leading art historians from diverse concentrations to speak and engage with graduate students will help educate the next generation of arts scholars—and enrich the culture of the art history community at Stanford. A gift of $200,000 would endow an annual lecture series, which can be named in the donor’s honor.

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Art History Faculty Research and Publications Fund

With enhanced support for research and publications, faculty in the Department of Art and Art History can take their leading scholarship to new levels. Funds will enable new research opportunities and help reduce the high cost of scholarly publications. Gifts of $100,000 or more are welcome in order to reach this goal, and a gift of $400,000 will endow the fund.

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Documentary Film Equipment

State-of-the-art equipment for video production needs to be updated frequently. Support will ensure that students in the Masters of Fine Arts documentary film program can produce work at the highest level. Gifts of $5,000 or more will help fund the annual goal of $50,000 needed over the next three years to purchase the equipment.

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Music Touring Fund

Endowment is needed to support the annual international touring costs for the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, Stanford Chamber Chorale, Stanford Wind Symphony, Stanford Jazz Ensemble, and Stanford Taiko. By touring everywhere—from Beijing to Cardiff—these groups collaborate with some of the best performers worldwide and also gain recognition in the international music community. Gifts of $25,000 or more are welcome. A gift of $10 million will fully endow the department’s touring program.

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Gifts of Art to the Cantor Arts Center

Endowment support for the acquisition of art, or in-kind donations of works of art, will enhance the museum’s collection for future generations. Endowed gifts of $100,000 and above are welcome.

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Arts Intensive

This three-week program in September allows undergraduates from all disciplines to immerse themselves in the rigorous practice of an arts discipline before the regular academic year. Gifts of $10,000 or more will go toward the many aspects of this lively experience, such as field trips, guest artist workshops, and arts mentorships, which require a total of $60,000 in funding yearly.

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Professional Development for Arts Careers

Resources are needed to create a professional development program for undergraduates interested in creative careers, one that would include new courses, a mentorship program, and capstone projects. Gifts of any size are welcome to meet the program’s annual $150,000 funding goal.

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Theater and Performance Studies Production Fund

With the reconstruction of Roble Gym, TAPS has several new studio spaces for acting and dance classes, as well as new performance space. This improvement of facilities allows the department to expand its offerings and diversify its productions. Whether the department produces a full-scale musical or a more intimate, new work, the Production Fund will accommodate fluctuations in production expenses year-to-year. Gifts of any size will contribute to the annual funding goal of $5,000.

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