The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

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Performers take the Boulevard

From Jazz to film to open mic, the Dallas Hall Lawn was filled with students participating in all forms of art Thursday.

The BoulevART, a day-long art fair with over 20 groups performing, was a student-planned and funded Meadows event that took place Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meadows senators Anthony McAuliffe, Connor Volz and Rothstein and co-directed the event and began planning the event early 2014.

“Considering the first time it happened, it was really well,” McAuliffe said. “At several points during the day, the entire lawn in front of the stage was completely filled.”

The event was on a Student Senate funded budget of about $6,000. The BoulevART committee was made up of Meadows students in three sub-committees: advertising, physical event and planning.

“[These] last few months have been hectic to say the least, but seeing those tents finally set up and having a great team has been phenomenal,” said Volz, who was in charge of getting approval from the seven main administrative offices around campus and booking the tents, stage, chairs, and tabling services.

There was a one big stage for performances, and four tents with creative advertising, film, art, music and creative computation displays going on simultaneously.

“It’s always exciting to see people coming together for such an event and to see how it all unfolds,” senior Marquelle Power said.

Performances such as Uche, featuring DJ Neenyo and SMU Hip-Hop, Prism Co.’s Galatea, Jampact featuring Meadows Dean Jose Bowen, The Happy Alright and JSpear occurred along with pinch-pot making, visual and media art installations and talkbacks with some of the artists.

“For me — and I think for all of the groups — it is just a great chance to play in a great location for other students,” said Bowen.

Power was part of the BoulevART Scheduling Committee as well as a solo act performing a mix of the classical music.

“It’s been very tough to balance performing and planning, but I treated the whole process as a planning process as a whole,” Power said. “Taking my practice sessions as my performance planning, and in order to juggle event planning I simply built my own schedule for each day and listed what had to be done per day and what times. This gave me a better and more focused way of approaching both sides of the spectrum.”

Power, whose musical style is described as “Flamenco Fusion,” got involved with BoulevART once Rothstein approached him with the idea.

“I was sold on the idea from the beginning. From there, I, along with a huge team of other great people came together to bring this event to SMU,” he said.

The BoulevART committee decided to put on the event on a Thursday in and around classes in order to reach a larger audience.

“We wanted the event to be free for students to come and go as they please, no matter what their schedule so that they could come catch a performance or maybe perform at Open Mic, and then feel free to leave when they needed,” Rothstein said.

Last semester, Student Body President Ramon Trespalacios challenged Student Senate to come up with Common Resolutions and make them happen. The Meadows senators wanted to do something to help break down the barriers between Meadows and the rest of the student body.

“BoulevART is a great addition to the campus calendar,” Bowen said. “It is by students and for students. The perfect example of starting a movement and getting something done.”

The most challenging part for Rothstein was pitching the to idea to other people.

“It proved much more difficult than we originally thought to get people together and on board given school requirements, and rehearsals and prior commitments,” she said. “The last few months have been a growing experience. None of us have planned an event like this before, so we’ve just had to feel our way through and hope that we’re covering all our bases.”

However, once they got the Student Committee together it became much easier.

“In that same vein, the most rewarding part has been looking back, seeing what we’ve done and knowing that this has been the work of students,” she said. “I really am just so proud and grateful of everyone who has been involved.”

Students have already begun working on planning next year’s event.

“Everyone is looking forward to it being bigger and better next year,” McAuliffe said.

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