Singing sopranos, Bulgarian folk music and a mix of European
Renaissance music are just a few of the performances the UCLA
Fowler Museum is featuring to spice up its image.
“Fowler Out Loud,” a new performance series, kicks
off its yearlong program on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. with
performances by Scattertones, Random Voices, Superdevoiche and
Musica Humana, all campus a cappella singing groups. The night,
filled with everything from reverberating music to revitalizing
refreshments, is the first of a weekly event to be held in the
Fowler’s Davis Courtyard.
“We started this program to attract more students so we
would see more students in the museum,” said Marla Berns,
director of the Fowler Museum.
“We want them to discover the museum and to see that what
we are doing in the museum is different and exciting.”
By incorporating student groups into the performances,
“Fowler Out Loud” coordinators hope that it will both
attract more students to the performances as well as give campus
groups a chance to perform at a different venue.
“There are numerous student groups that perform in
Westwood plaza and Royce, but performing at the Fowler will give
them a different atmosphere to exhibit their talents,” said
Jonathan Ritter, Ph.D. student and campus outreach coordinator at
the Fowler.
While showcasing a cappella groups this week, future
performances will range from Taiko drumming to classical Indian
dancing. Together, all of these performances highlight the numerous
talents and diversity that mirror the campus, according to Olivia
McManus, a second-year musical theater student.
Fowler also hopes to have performances that further enhance the
museum’s exhibitions. During winter quarter, as the Fowler
exhibits “MATSURI! Japanese Festival Arts,” it will
also host the Kyono Taiko drumming group to add to the
experience.
Fowler wants to attract not only college students, but
elementary school students who might otherwise only visit the
museum for a class requirement.
“Usually, when we walk past the Fowler, we see a lot of
elementary school students running in and out of it,” McManus
said. “I’ve never really thought of it as a museum, but
more as a lecture hall or another building on campus.”
Berns said that this was exactly the frame of mind she wanted to
change with the Fowler’s new performance schedule. She hopes
that by attracting the students to the museum for a performance,
they will see the whole museum and become interested in it,
eventually visiting it more frequently.
“We just need people to walk through the door,”
Ritter said. “As long as people are actually coming into the
museum, they will see how it is one of the premier cultural
institutions in Los Angeles.”
According to McManus, the performances will also give student
groups experience performing in an open courtyard in front of an
audience, in addition to changing the Fowler’s image as being
a stodgy campus museum to a fun hang-out for students.
“These performances will help mold our image, but will
also help students relate to the museum on a more personal
level,” Berns said. “After this, hopefully they will
come to the museum not only to see the exhibits, but will also come
to relax and hang out with friends.”
“Fowler Out Loud” begins this Thursday from 6-8
p.m. at the Davis Courtyard. Performances are free and refreshments
will be served. For more information call (310) 825-4361.