Armed with nothing but a broom and his voice, graduating
fourth-year theater student Nathaniel Meek performed June 1 as part
of Project A.R.T.S., or Art Realized Through Students.
Meek, who performed a piece by Shel Silverstein titled
“The Devil and Billy Markham,” was able to experiment
with the work because of Project A.R.T.S.’ creative
freedom.
“Project A.R.T.S. was an opportunity to try out if this
(kind of performance) would work or not,” Meek said.
The year-end event, which was put on by the Student Committee
for the Arts and ran May 31 and June 1, proved to be a useful forum
for first-time exhibitors and veteran artists alike.
Emika Abe, the education liaison for the SCA and a graduating
fourth-year theater student, feels programs such as Project
A.R.T.S. are valuable experiences for students preparing for arts
careers.
“I am planning on going into a career in some sort of
producing or theater management, so it’s been really
beneficial to have firsthand experience with producing
shows,” Abe said.
As part of that experience, SCA committee members went through a
year-long process to select artists and performers for this
year’s event.
“We make a call at the beginning of the year for any type
of student artwork,” said Alisha Flecky, visual arts
coordinator for Project A.R.T.S. and a third-year global studies
and art history student. “It’s meant to show the rest
of the UCLA campus what our artists are producing.”
Part of the funding SCA receives is allocated to pay the student
artists who participate in the event.
As a member of the UCLA a cappella group Scattertones, which
performed at the event, Abe says opportunities for artists to get
paid for their work is what makes Project A.R.T.S. unique.
“It’s rare that (artists) actually get paid gigs on
campus, and that’s what really sets Project A.R.T.S. apart
““ the ability to actually pay the student artists to do what
they do,” she said.
In addition to theatrical and musical performances, the festival
also included various visual arts exhibits.
Angelica Hernandez, a graduate student in social science and
comparative education, presented an eight-piece exhibit
illustrating male sexual predators.
“What I’m presenting is an autobiographical piece of
sexual assault and child abuse,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez has also exhibited her artwork at other colleges and
events. However, she says Project A.R.T.S. was an important venue
in which to display her work and her message.
“This is an opportunity (for me) to give voice to the
issue of abuse,” Hernandez said.
According to Hernandez, it is important to take advantage of
student-run activities such as Project A.R.T.S. because future
opportunities to present work will not be as available.
“Once you get outside of UCLA, sending out proposals is
more tedious, and when you don’t have a foundation it’s
harder to break in,” Hernandez said.
For attendees, this year’s Project A.R.T.S. will be
remembered as a venue for free-thinking student work.
“Project A.R.T.S. demonstrates the diversity and eclectic
artwork that the student body produces at UCLA,” Flecky
said.