When a holiday that usually entails either a sappy or
self-empowering celebration falls in the middle of midterms on a
Monday, the idea of indulging in festivities is most likely limited
or eliminated altogether.
This year, unfortunately or not, Valentine’s Day falls at
a time that is not entirely conducive to merrymaking. But the
Student Committee for the Arts will provide students with a way to
celebrate Valentine’s Day without trying to schedule a
nighttime outing with a sweetheart or other solo pals.
Love Day, hosted at the Kerckhoff Coffeehouse patio and stage
area, is the first of four theme days designed with the intention
of showcasing the hidden and vast artistic talents of UCLA
students.
The program, officially named Project A.R.T.S.: Arts Realized
Through Students, will focus on four motifs: love, competition,
tradition and innovation, with Love Day kicking off the program on
Feb. 14 at noon.
As a compliment to the “Year of the Arts” theme UCLA
has been assigned by the School of Arts and Architecture, Project
A.R.T.S. provides multiple opportunities for the school to showcase
its status as a place teeming with artistic talent. For committee
co-chair Michael Young, the idea of Love Day offered not only a
chance for unknown talent of UCLA students to be presented, but
also a way for students to have access to art without having to
make a large effort to seek it out.
“As students, we often don’t have time to plan to go
to a concert at night or some other outing that would take up a lot
of time,” he said. “With this program, we are able to
bring art directly to the students in a place where you
wouldn’t normally find exhibitions.”
Throughout the day, the coffeehouse will be hosting a variety of
artistic performances, all of them from students. From noon to 1
p.m., classical saxophonist Luis Zuniga will perform with a piano
accompaniment before Yuming Chiu takes over as the leader of a
string quintet at 1:30 p.m. Along with the quintet, artist Dean
Gransar will be sketching in response to the flow of the music.
“We basically want there to be art in every corner,
everywhere you look,” Young said. “The sketching during
the playing of the quintet will add an extra element of artistry to
the day. It will be art responding to art.”
The notion of the four theme days was conceived with the
intention of promoting the artistic endeavors of students
throughout campus. The remaining three days will be held once each
month following Love Day and will feature comedic stand-offs and
cultural dancing for Competition Day, classical pieces focusing on
more time-honored practices for Tradition Day, and progressive, new
age forms of art for Innovation Day. Although the Love Day
itinerary has been solidified, the committee is still accepting
student proposals for performance spaces in the remaining three
theme days.
“The whole idea is to showcase UCLA as one of the flagship
art schools in the country,” Young said.
“There is some amazing talent here to be
offered.”
For the Student Committee for the Arts, Love Day and the
remaining three theme days exemplify the essential role art plays
in the UCLA community.
“Art should be a part of everyday life,” Young said.
“And in a place like UCLA, it is everywhere, as long as you
know where to look for it.”