March 28 marks the beginning of this year’s annual Arts Madness celebration. There will be several exciting and hands-on arts events for everyone in both the University and greater Charlottesville community to take part in this Friday through Sunday.
Fourth-year College student Stephanie Lebolt, a co-chair of the Student Council Student Arts Committee, which is sponsoring the event, said the committee aims to increase student engagement with the arts community.
“Our focus this year has really been on trying to amp up the fun factor by condensing a bunch of different events into the Arts Madness Festival,” Lebolt said. “This combination of performing arts — varying from the belly dance club to stand-up comedians — and visual arts — from student artists selling handmade crafts, to our own graffiti wall — seeks to invite in the entire student body and expose them to a variety of different art forms.”
The Festival will feature a full array of events, aiming to display the wide diversity of the artistic talent the University community has to offer.
“Oftentimes, we think of the arts as being contained to Arts Grounds and Old Cabell Hall,” Lebolt said. ”The girl beside you in Bio lecture might also be an extremely talented salsa dancer. The guy in the cubicle beside you in Clemons might also be an accomplished violinist. Arts Madness seeks to celebrate the artistic talent U.Va. students seem to have so much of in a very public and festive environment.”
In the future, Lebolt said she hopes to see Arts Madness develop as a true University phenomenon.
“I hope to see it grow into a real institutionalized event that everyone knows about,” she said. “March rolls around, and people think of two things: March Madness and Arts Madness.”
Student Arts Committee member Ty Vanover also expressed his high hopes for the upcoming event.
“I’m extremely excited for the poetry slam at 5:30 on Friday night,” Vanover said. “Creative writing, and poetry in particular, is something that doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. I’m very excited to hear the work that our poets have come up with, and even more excited that they get the opportunity to share their work with other students.”
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