The College of the Canyons Fine and Performing Arts Division will host the third annual ARTstART Festival Friday and Saturday, showcasing the aesthetic achievements of its students and the college’s ongoing dedication to arts education.
Offering community members a glimpse inside the daily activities of the college’s Fine and Performing Arts Division, ARTstART was first held in spring 2009. Since that first year the event has attracted thousands of community members eager to experience the arts through College of the Canyons.
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Throughout the weekend, ARTstART 2011 attendees will have the opportunity to view and experience samplings from the college’s music, dance, theatre, animation, media and entertainment arts (MEA), graphic design and studio arts departments, while touring the division’s state-of-the-art facilities.
“This event presents a unique opportunity for the community to interact with the creative energy of the fine and performing arts and see how integral they are to the college and to the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Michael McCaffrey, COC faculty member and chair of the ARTstART Steering Committee. “The deep and varied talents of our faculty, staff and, most of all, our students, will be on display in a rich and varied program of events.”
The festival will coincide with the 16th Annual COC Student Art Exhibition and annual Jazz Pops Concert, COC Dance Showcase, New Works Festival and theatre department “Solopalooza.”
ARTstART activities are also scheduled to include an array of music and student theatre performances, interactive lectures and workshops, in-class demonstrations and movie screenings.
Opportunities to take part in a unique open house and tour of the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center (PAC) and the recently expanded Media & Entertainment Arts building, Mentry Hall, will also be included.
A selection of Saugus Union School District (SUSD students from Charles Helmers, West Creek and Plum Canyon Elementary Schools will also have their work featured in the SUSD Student Art Show running both days of the festival.
The ARTstART Festival will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, May 13, and run throughout the day until approximately 10 p.m., continuing from 10 a.m. to approximately 10 p.m., Saturday, May 14.
For more information about the 2011 ARTstART Festival or to view a full schedule of activities and event descriptions please visit www.canyons.edu/artstart or call (661) 362-3651.