Transforming Students and Enriching the Local Art Scene

CSU Summer Arts returns to Fresno State this month with masterclasses and a festival of the arts; a place where profound learning and entertainment converge. This is fantastic news for artists, art enthusiasts, or those of us who love to discover new experiences and have missed the thrill of live performances, art and culture during the pandemic.

What is CSU Summer Arts?
CSU Summer Arts has two components:

Two-week intensive art courses kicking off on June 26th at Fresno State and abroad featuring world-renowned artists and CSU faculty who teach students in the fields of visual art, creative writing, dance, media, music, and theatre.
An arts festival where the public is invited to attend performances, exhibitions, and lectures by the visiting artists while they are in Fresno.

What related course offerings are available at Fresno State? Any guest artists?
This year, there will be 15 courses offered at Fresno State, as well as four courses abroad in Ireland, Spain, and Germany. Some of the featured guest artists include big names in the world of art such as Charles Gaines, Yannick Jacquet, Dinty W. Moore, Pepe Romero, Urban Bush Women, and many more. Local artists include luminaries such as Armen Bacon, Benjamin Boone, and Mark Arax.

Many of the resident artist and faculty share on-campus housing with the students, so they are enjoying meals and late-night conversations that are truly transformative. Something magical happens when you eat, breathe and live the arts up to 14 hours per day, working with an artist or instructor who also happens to be one of the best in their discipline.

Tell us about what an honor it is to host the festival at Fresno State.
CSU has offered this prestigious multidisciplinary program since 1985 at different CSU campuses. This is the fifth consecutive year the festival has been hosted at Fresno State (and 17th year overall) after its return from being hosted at Cal State Monterey. It's a great source of pride for Fresno State and the arts community to have this asset back in Fresno.

How can students get involved?
The deadline is fast approaching, but anybody over the age of 16 with a desire to master their craft is welcome to apply. You don’t need to be an enrolled college student to participate. Artists may apply at www.calstate.edu/SummerArts/Courses/Pages/registration. The application deadline is June 17th for courses that begin June 26th and July 11th.

What events are open to the public during the festival?
Live events are produced during the intensive courses and the communities surrounding the campus are invited to an open-to-the-public arts festival, where Summer Arts students proudly showcase their artistic talents. Throughout the festival, guest artists also perform in the evening so locals can experience the world-class talent that is often only enjoyed in major metropolitan areas.

The Summer Arts festival will kick off with an opening concert featuring acclaimed saxophonist, Benjamin Boone in collaboration with two-time United States Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera and former Fresno Poet Laureate, Lee Herrick. Together they will perform a musical/poetry performance entitled “What If…?” at Fresno State’s John Wright Theater on June 27th at 7PM.

Boone, Herrera, and Herrick collaborated on a poetry and jazz album called The Poets are Gathering that was released in 2020 on Origin Records. In 2015, Boone produced the highly acclaimed "Waterless Music" performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles that incorporated the recorded poetry readings of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine and the FOOSA orchestra.

Tickets to "What If...?" and other performances, lectures, and art exhibitions go on sale June 13th. For the full calendar of events or to purchase tickets, visit www.calstate.edu/SummerArts/Festival/Pages/Public-Events.

CSU Summer Arts provides a totally immersive experience for emerging artist, and an infusion of art and culture into the community to enjoy during the summer. As a nonprofit organization, tax-deductible donations provide scholarships for emerging artists to participate in the intensive courses and give back to the Central Valley in a truly special way. To learn more at CSU Summer Arts and to donate to the organization, please visit www.calstate.edu/SummerArts.