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On May 14, Columbia College Chicago opens its doors for the free Columbia College Manifest Arts Festival, the 9th annual urban arts festival that showcases and celebrates the creative works of over 2,000 graduating students.

Art exhibitions, original game and product design, literary readings, and innovative works that defy categorization are all set against the urban backdrop of Columbia’s South Loop Campus. Manifest Arts Festival also includes evocative theatrical and media displays, street performance, film, photography and three outdoor stages that will pulse with the sounds of over 11 student bands. The magic of Manifest 2010 is free and open to the public.

Columbia College Manifest Arts Festival 2010
Many locations across Columbia College’s South Loop Campus
Friday, May 14th, 2010 : 10am – 11pm
All events are FREE and open to the public.

Don’t where to start? Head to the Museum of Contemporary Photography at 600 S. Michigan Ave.

Manifest Arts Fest 2010

Convergence
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
9th St. and Wabash Ave.

New to Manifest 2010 is Convergence, an artistic collaboration that epitomizes the creative vision and energy of current and graduating students at Columbia College Chicago. Convergence is a multi-disciplinary performance extravaganza draped in the trademark excellence of Red Moon Theater’s artistic director and Columbia College faculty member, Frank Maugeri. Event organizers worked with Maugeri to create a visual feast that includes giant rolling drum machines, a 100-student performance ensemble, an astronaut “shot” to the stars and a fusion of fantastic features that bring this carnival-esque art performance to life.

Music! Music! At Buddy Guy’s
11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
754 S. Wabash Ave.

Rowdiness will ensue as Columbia College music students rip up the stage in a bluesy, mosquito-free, Mississippi juke joint atmosphere at Buddy Guy’s.

Music! Music! At the Jazz Showcase
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
806 S. Plymouth Ct.

Listen to the harmonic rhythms of student jazz performances and Columbia’s a cappella vocal jazz ensemble 3C-VJE. Music students will have a chance to play alongside the hard-bopping Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi, who makes a guest appearance at this year’s Manifest.

Under the Big Top Musical Performances
1 p.m. – 9 p.m.
See Website for Times and locations

A stylistic mix of student bands will perform folk, hip-hop, rock, punk and R&B on the main outdoor stage at 9th St. & Wabash Ave.

Art Car Derby
2:20 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Parking Lot, Balbo Ave. & Wabash Ave.

In a race of wits and speed, students and faculty members rev up their collective engines on an outdoor art car derby racetrack where grades no longer rule. Originally devised as a way to hone the crafting skills of Art + Design students, the derby has evolved into a 32 car, 48 foot long competition, pitting art students against their faculty and staff.

Media Production Center
16th and State Sts.
Columbia College’s newest building and home to the largest film program in the United States is an architectural and educational tour-de-force. Manifest 2010 will feature a selection of film-focused events for Manifest 2010. Below are highlights of Manifest 2010’s Media Production Center events.

Life Cyle
12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
To the non-filmmaker, films are mainly a source of entertainment and education, but the actual making of a film is a detailed and fascinating process. Life Cycle is an interactive journey though the process of filmmaking and storytelling in a behind-the-scenes exploration of the craft of film.

Critical Studies Slam
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
So you think you have an opinion about the state of movies today? You’ve got three minutes to prove it. Be a part of Columbia’s first-ever Critical Studies Slam. Bring your own film grumble and let’s rumble!

Theater
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Getz Theater, 72 E. 11th St.

The on-stage swashbuckling sword fights and the down-and-dirty bar brawls that cause squeamish audiences to put their hands over their eyes are actually highly choreographed affairs. This special performance by Columbia theater students will unveil the secrets of live stage combat by revealing the techniques used to make it look like the real thing.

Poetry
The Poetry Po-Tent
12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Parking Lot, Balbo Ave. & Wabash Ave.

With old time-y typewriters a-clackin’, Columbia poetry students put ribbon to paper to create verses on demand. Come to read and hear the sounds of literary inspiration in a live poetry on-the-spot event.

Columbia College Chicago is an urban institution that offers innovative degree programs in the visual, performing, media and communication arts to more than 12,000 students in over 120 undergraduate and graduate programs. An arts and media college committed to a rigorous liberal arts curriculum, Columbia is dedicated to opportunity and excellence in higher education.