For over 30 years, CSU Summer Arts has assembled some of the world’s best creative artists to teach and inspire students across all art genres. Fresno State is in its fourth consecutive year (and 17th year overall) of hosting the festival and will welcome over 400 students who will immerse themselves into their crafts this summer. Registration is now open.

Students accepted into the program are provided on-campus housing as they work side-by-side with world-renowned guest artists for two or more weeks during the summer.

At the end of each session, the local community is invited to a public arts festival, where Summer Arts students proudly showcase their talents in music, theatre, dance, media, creative writing and visual art and design. Throughout the festival, guest artists also perform each evening when the community is invited to experience the world-class talent.

This year, two Fresno State professors will be leading classes on campus. English professor Venita Blackburn will be hosting, “The Flash Form: Cross-Genre Writing and Publishing.” In addition to bringing in several award-winning authors from all over the nation, Blackburn has also invited two fellow Fresno State professors, Bryn Saito and Steven Church, to serve as guest artists. The class will focus on how to compose original fiction, poetry and memoir pieces that are suitable for publication.

Music professor Kenneth Froelich is hosting a class titled, “The Art of Scoring for Video Games.” Students will compose music appropriate for both dynamic and cinematic settings within the game environment. Guest artists include musicians from the band “Critical Hit,” as well as two British Academy of Film and Television award winners, a Sony music producer and Fresno State alumnus Dr. Michael Krikorian, a Los Angeles-based pianist, composer and music teacher.

“CSU Summer Arts is unique to the Central Valley in that it provides artistic experiences and professional opportunities unmatched by any similar program in the region,” Froelich said. “I am proud to be a part of this, giving students a chance to reach their greatest creative potential while working side-by-side with some of the best creative and performing artists in their discipline.”

CSU Summer Arts is offering 17 classes this summer, including three abroad in Ireland, Spain and Germany.

Highlights include:

  • “DreamWorks Animation: How to Create Feature Quality Character Animation,” directed by Emily Springer. Springer is a character animator at DreamWorks Animation whose credits include “Trolls” and “The Boss Baby.”
  • “Savion Glover: Emergent Dance with The Lady5Experience.” Glover, a Tony Award winner, has been hailed by The New York Times as the “greatest tap dancer who has ever lived.”
  • “Pilobolus: Unleash Your Senses!” This world-famous dance troupe has been featured on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Today,” MTV’s “Video Music Awards” and “60 Minutes.” The group has been honored with a TED fellowship as well as a Grammy nomination and a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding achievement in cultural programming.

“What’s unique about this program is that it is open to everyone, not just college students,” said Joanne Sharp, assistant director of CSU Summer Arts. “High school students 16 years and older as well as senior citizens are welcomed to apply. Students from community colleges, UC campuses and private colleges are all welcome. Many of our students are even graduate students, or post-graduation and working professionals who come for the intensive instruction we provide. This is truly a one-of-a-kind experience and we want to encourage anyone who is interested to apply, to do so.”

Students admitted to the CSU Summer Arts program can earn up to six units of transferrable credit and scholarships are available. Class criteria varies as well as application deadlines. For more information, visit www.csusummerarts.org.

For more information, contact Mariah Walton, CSU community relations specialist, at 559-278-5856 or mwalton@calstate.edu.

(Story by Mariah Walton)