Outrage Dance Group Fall Room Rentals
September 9th 2024
Libby Widlak, Outrage Dance
Arts Initiative provided the room rental for Outrage Dance, a student–led dance performance team that specializes in jazz and contemporary. They perform at U-M sporting events, Dance Marathon, and an annual end of year showcase. Outrage Dance serves as an outlet for the student members as they take a break from their day-to-day routine to care for themselves.
Amateur Hour Stand-Up Comedy Showcase
September 27th 2024
Sarah Shaw-Nichols, Amateur Hour Stand-Up Comedy
This grant facilitated a free comedy show with 6 student performers from Amateur Hour Stand-Up Comedy, titled “Five on the Clock.” The audience of Amateur Hour’s show got the opportunity to learn about new backgrounds, interests, identities, and the student performers were able to find humor in situations that used to bring them pain, such as their parents’ divorce or troubling policies that affect their identity.
Bloody Caps: Special Student Premiere
October 4th 2024
Porter Selfridge
This grant funded a screening of the short film "Bloody Caps" — the film's official student premiere. The film was shot in March using an all University of Michigan student crew and was worked on by a student editor over the summer. The event included a screening of the film, a small speech beforehand, and a short Q&A afterwards. Students involved were able to see their hard work on a big screen.
MISC’s Second Songwriter Retreat
October 18th 2024
Daniel Radner, Michigan Songwriters Collective
In the second ever Michigan Songwriters Collective (MISC) retreat, students were able to write, produce and record songs together and engage with the work of their peers. The retreat, open to all interested U-M students regardless of their musical background or membership in MISC, grouped up students to create their own song demos and compete with the other groups. Other activities included a “guess the song” competition, scavenger hunt, and karaoke, encouraging musical engagement and creativity.
Shakti: Michigan Sahana Fall Show
October 19th 2024
Reeva Bohra, Michigan Sahana
Michigan Sahana, a classical arts performance group at U-M, performed a fall show based on the theme Shakti, or power. All the performances are based around South Asian classical dance, singing or instruments, with underlying theme of how the students’ art form gives them power. The event showcased South Asian traditional dance forms such as Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi as well as classical singing forms and instruments such as the tabla and sitar.
Celebrasia
November 10th 2024
Anna Wang, Chinese Student Association
This grant funded “Celebrasia,” a cultural showcase hosted by the Chinese Student Association (CSA) that invites various Asian cultural organizations to present their culture to the rest of the U-M community. Celebrasia is composed of two parts, an Asian night-market-inspired festival and a series of performances from A/PIA various dance groups. This year, the theme was inspired by the Chinese guo hua, a style of traditional Chinese painting that simplistically captures the emotions and the spirit of the subject rather than emphasizing realism or detail. Titled “Night at the Museum: Asian Art,” the event’s theme encompassed various forms of traditional Asian art so attendees could learn more about their own culture, as well as many others.
*LIFTING VOICES*
NMDP Benefit Concert
November 13th 2024
Reese Leif
This grant supported a benefit concert for the National Marrow Donor Program, a non-profit organization that connects blood cancer patients with a matching donor for a life-saving blood stem cell transplant. This concert featured various vocal performers of all majors, accompanied by a student pianist. They performed a series of songs about hope, working in tandem with the organization’s mission to tell a story of hope against all odds. In addition to the performance itself, Leif hosted a NMDP donor drive in partnership with their outreach team.
Student Film Festival Project
November 14th 2024
Porter Selfridge, Student Film Festival Project
This student mini-grant supported the Student Film Festival Project, a 10 day short film festival held at University of Michigan. Each year, students sign up either individually or in teams for a filmmaking contest and receive a series of prompts and 10 days to write, direct, and edit a short film! Teams created their films and the Student Film Festival Project hosted a screening for all the films made during the process, which were then voted on that night. Students were able to collaborate creatively and celebrate the results with their fellow students in an engaging and fun way.