Student Arts Grants: A Year in Photos 2021-22

This year’s VPA Student Arts Grants supported a wide range of virtual and remote student-initiated collaborative projects across the Stanford community. Projects ranged from photography, documentary and narrative film, zines, musical theater, dance, contemporary plays, and inviting renowned artists for exhibitions and artist talks serving the student community. Aligned with Stanford policies, the VPA continues…

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2021 Denning virtual visiting artists announced

Three artists representing varied disciplines will participate in virtual residencies during the winter and spring quarter.

During the fall quarter, in the face of extended restrictions of on-campus activities due to the pandemic, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts announced an expedited round of grants available to Stanford staff and faculty in any academic department or program to support three virtual visiting artists for the winter and spring…

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Keeping the Gaieties tradition alive, despite COVID-19

While there may not be a “bearial” of Cal’s mascot Oski at The Claw, or a train whistle blowing in White Plaza every hour for 121 hours before the Big Game this year, there will be three evening performances of Gaieties, plus two matinees.

With the exception of a handful of lost years between 1968 and 1976, Ram’s Head Theatrical Society’s annual Gaieties production – performed before Stanford’s Big Game against Cal – has been a Stanford tradition since 1911. While this year presented unprecedented challenges to the diaspora theater company working primarily with videotelephony, 17 cast members and 29 company…

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Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning call for proposals: 2020-21 Virtual Visiting Artists

All academic departments and programs at Stanford are invited to submit proposals; proposals that include two or more departments and/or programs working in collaboration are encouraged.

The Office of the Vice President for the Arts invites proposals for the Visiting Artist Fund in Honor of Roberta Bowman Denning, to support virtual visiting artists for the winter, spring, or summer quarters in 2021. All academic departments and programs at Stanford are invited to submit proposals; proposals that include two or more departments…

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Theater in Stanford’s Roble Gym to be named the Harry J. Elam, Jr. Theater in honor of the former professor and arts and education leader

The theater is housed in the historic Roble Gym, home of the Department of Theater and Performance Studies where Elam taught and directed for 30 years.

The black box theater in Roble Gym, home of the Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS), has been named the Harry J. Elam, Jr. Theater. Earlier this year, after a distinguished three-decade tenure at Stanford, the university announced that Elam had been named the 16th president of Occidental College. His career at Stanford left…

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Stanford alums again nominated for Emmy awards

Four alums earned two producing and four acting Emmy nominations.

Once again, the remarkable screen stars and Stanford alums STERLING K. BROWN, ’98, and  ISSA RAE, ’07, have earned Emmy nominations for their roles in television series. ANDRE BRAUGHER, ’84, joins their ranks this year and AMY ANIOBI, ’06, shares a series nomination with Rae. The four alums have earned multiple awards and nominations before for their work on the…

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artsCatalyst Grants 2019-20

This past academic year, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts awarded 33 artsCatalyst Grants to faculty members from across the University. These grants foster arts experiences that enhance classroom experiences for undergraduate students. Activities included field trips to Bay Area cultural organizations, workshops with visiting artists, and attending performances. 2019-20 artsCatalyst Grant Recipients Why is Climate Change…

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Student Arts Grants: A Year in Photos 2019-20

This year’s VPA Student Arts Grants supported a wide range of student-initiated collaborative projects across the Stanford campus. Projects ranged from photography, documentary and narrative film, zines, musical theater, dance, contemporary plays, and inviting renowned artists for exhibitions and artist talks serving the student community.  Students and their project teams represented a wide range of…

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Stanford Repertory Theater commemorates Juneteenth with livestreamed reading of Vincent Terrell Durham play

Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT) is one of three dozen theater companies co-presenting a Juneteenth reading of Vincent Terrell Durham’s play Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids. The reading will be livestreamed via Zoom at 7 p.m. PT on June 19 in recognition of Juneteenth, which commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. Polar Bears,…

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Honors in the Arts seniors present capstone projects to the public via video essays

Projects demonstrate that creativity exceeds disciplinary boundaries.

This year’s cohort of 16 Stanford Honors in the Arts (HIA) students presented their capstone projects by way of publicly accessible video essays, fulfilling the final requirement for the year-long interdisciplinary program. The projects employ a wide range of artistic media and genres, including creative writing, studio art, film and theater. They also demonstrate the inspiration…

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The Faculty Women’s Forum presented its Outstanding Leader Award to Jisha Menon

Jisha Menon is an associate professor of theater and performance studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences, director of the Center for South Asia and faculty director of the Stanford Arts Institute.

The Faculty Women’s Forum, which acts to enable women faculty members to thrive at Stanford, presented its inaugural awards – for outstanding leadership and outstanding sponsorship – to two faculty members on Monday at a virtual ceremony. The Faculty Women’s Forum presented its Outstanding Leader Award to Jisha Menon, an associate professor of theater and performance studies in…

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COVID-19’s impact on Stanford arts events

Stanford University has been closely monitoring the rapidly evolving events surrounding COVID-19, also known as novel coronavirus. The university is working to take steps that inhibit, rather than accelerate, the ability of infection to spread. Events that bring participants to campus have been canceled or postponed. This includes a range of arts performances, public lectures,…

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How two Stanford students turned mental health struggles into art

A psychotic break inspired Stanford students Zack Burton and Elisa Hofmeister to create a stage play in an effort to destigmatize mental illness.

One night in the spring of 2017, geology PhD student Zack Burton’s graduate career was derailed after a series of delusions led him to the top of a campus parking garage, where he seriously considered hurting himself. PhD student Zack Burton and Elisa Hofmeister, ’18, are the creators of The Manic Monologues. (Image credit: Dr. Matthew Malkowski)…

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Winter quarter 2020 guest artists

The roster of winter quarter guest artists includes talent from around the globe. Melbourne Australia’s Choir of Trinity College performs with the Stanford Chamber Chorale; Chinese dance legend and renowned choreographer Yang Liping presents her reimagined production of Rite of Spring to Memorial Auditorium; Maqueque, a collective of female artists from Cuba led by Canadian Jane Bunnett,…

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Stanford Live presents a genre-bending musical performance exploring beauty and aesthetics in Robert Mapplethorpe’s photography

"Triptych (Eyes of One on Another)" Oct. 3, 2019, in Memorial Auditorium

Marking 30 years since the death of groundbreaking photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) explores the origins and impact of Mapplethorpe’s controversial photography. This staged musical work produced by ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann combines orchestra, vocal ensembles, theater, poetry, and photography to re-examine notions of obscenity, race, and aesthetics that Mapplethorpe himself challenged…

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Stanford Repertory Theater and Planet Earth Arts tackle environmental and social justice issues

A strong collaboration motivated by the desire to address critical issues of the day compels Stanford’s professional theater company to mount its 21st summer festival.

The final three performances of Anna Considers Mars, the story of a young woman who dreams of being chosen for a one-way journey to Mars, take place in the Nitery Theater this Saturday and Sunday, and The Guardians, about the indigenous community in Mexico that is the guardian of imperiled monarch butterflies, screens at Cubberley Auditorium on Monday. Both the play and…

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