In addition to the more than 50 events sponsored by the UGA Arts Council and its members during the 2015 Spotlight on the Arts festival, nearly two dozen events have been organized and produced by students, including a day filled with arts performances at Tate Plaza.
This year’s all-day Student Spotlight Main Event on Nov. 5 will include dance, drama, improv acts and music performances ranging from a percussion trio to a jazz quintet and an a cappella group of ecology students. The Hodgson Wind Ensemble will appear for the second consecutive year for a session allowing passing students to take the baton and “Conduct us!”
The day will end with the second annual “4 minutes, 33 seconds: Spotlight on Scholarship” competition, in which graduate students in the arts will have a chance to share their research with the community. The competition is inspired by John Cage’s 1952 composition”4’33,” which challenged audiences to reconsider the relationship between artistic practice and philosophy. Students will have 4 minutes, 33 seconds to explain their research, and two prizes of $433 will be awarded during the competition, fittingly scheduled for 4:33 p.m. on Nov. 5 in the Balcony Theatre at the Fine Arts Building.
UGA students also plan to shine a spotlight on the arts for tailgaters before the UGA vs. Kentucky football game Nov. 7, when the Graduate Theatrical Ensemble will deliver a family-friendly, improvisational theatrical experience at locations across campus.
Anna Pieri, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in acting from the theatre and film studies department, is coordinating the Student Spotlight events. For her, the events are a chance to share rewarding experiences with fellow UGA students as well as the community.
“Life doesn’t exist in a vacuum, so a holistic university experience depends on broadening our awareness of others,” Pieri said. “The Arts at UGA give every student, faculty member and employee on campus, as well as the community of Athens, the chance to tell their story, to hear and appreciate the stories of others and to go forth and share those stories with the world.”
The complete Spotlight on the Arts schedule is at arts.uga.edu.