Pre-visualizations for architectural projection, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, a meditation on isolation in the time of COVID by CalArts student Kathleen Fox. Image: Kathleen Fox, Courtesy of CalArts.
On Friday, May 15 at noon, the annual CalArts Expo kicks off—this year, in a virtual space.
Featuring 120 projects by 484 participating artists, the event showcases the Institute’s tradition of experimentation through works of visual art, short films, music, documentation of live and in-progress work, and more. Audiences can experience the expo through the Virtual Gallery; social media; and playlists on Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, and Vimeo.
“During these trying times our community has joined together to come up with new ways to showcase the creative work our community has to offer,” said Associate Provost for Creative Technologies, Ajay Kapur. “The new techniques and technologies we have built and experimented with will aid us now while keeping safe under social distancing, but also we will use these platforms to showcase CalArts virtually to the world in the future. This is forcing us to get even more connected than ever.”
Such new techniques and technologies are evident in Kathleen Fox’s (Art MFA 21) Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, an architectural projection exploring loneliness at CalArts, both during and before the campus shuttered due to COVID-19. The meditative work was inspired by poet Claudia Rankine’s book of the same name, in which she offers a singular definition of loneliness: “What we cannot do for each other.”
Other Expo highlights include Colin Yeo’s I am the Sun, a “virtual walk through play about a bear’s journey to self fulfillment”; and Carla Lopez’s Kaleidoscoping, a short film about motel pools, and water as a “cleansing, invigorating, distortional, and transitional space.”
“The excitement around Expo this year is palpable; curators and artists alike are supporting Expo as a creative beacon to showcase work thought to potentially become forgotten amidst recent chaos,” said alumni curator Annais Linares (Music BFA 18). “Our community is standing together expressing resilient hope through what we do best—creating art against all odds.”
CalArts Expo 2020 is followed by CalArts’ Virtual Graduation Ceremony, which begins at 6 pm PDT on the official graduation site.
Event Details
CalArts Expo 2020
Friday, May 15, 12 pm
All virtual platforms accessible through Expo website