Winter Performing Arts Festival
After pitching the idea to Stanford Arts, I spearheaded Stanford’s very first multi-day festival bringing various parts of the arts community together in workshops, performance, and social gathering. The festival became an annual well-attended campus wide event. I organized and led the core team the first two years. In 2021, due to the pandemic, we adapted this to a virtual event that was well-received by the over 120 participants.
IDEATE
After conducting need-finding within the arts community at Stanford, speaking to students, staff, and faculty, I discovered that while incredible artistic activities were happening across different student groups in dance, music, theatre, poetry, and more, there was a need to foster a more unified art community. To address this, I conceived a solution—a multi-day festival featuring student-led workshops and performances. This festival would provide an opportunity for students to share their own artistic expertise while also learning from their peers in a diverse range of disciplines.
THE PROCESS
Working with Stanford Arts throughout, we formed a student committee to carry out all the tasks. We decided on a four day festival beginning with a performance by various groups, three days of workshops held in Roble Gym: a drop-in art studio and rehearsal space for students, culminating with a social for various members of the community to get to know each other.
THE RESULT
In the end, more than 39 various art groups on Stanford’s campus participated including but not limited to comedy (Stanford Women in Comedy), jump rope (Stanford Jump Rope), songwriting workshops, and all types of dance. Whether it was a student who tried bellydancing for the first time, a workshop host who had the space to share their talent for songwriting, or a performer who shared a powerful message through spoken word, this festival celebrated the love of art-making and practice.
