ArtPower at UC San Diego Announces its 2017-18 Season Line-up

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UC San Diego’s ArtPower announces its 2017-18 season, featuring more than 20 internationally renowned artists and ensembles. Now entering its 14th year, ArtPower’s robust season will mark the return of audience favorites like David Sedaris, Mecorre String Quartet and Harlem Quartet, as well as San Diego debuts by rising stars Daymé Arocena, Compagnie Hervé Koubi and Ranky Tanky.

Dedicated to engaging students with the arts, ArtPower at UC San Diego builds creative experiences in music, dance, exhibition and food to inspire dialogue between artists, students, scholars and the community. Thanks to private support, the organization is able to offer discounted student tickets to ensure UC San Diego undergraduates have the opportunity to experience visiting artists from around the globe.

“ArtPower is committed to the free flow of ideas, which are the source of both innovation and understanding,” said Jordan Peimer, executive director of ArtPower. “As a means of bringing people together, the arts are uniquely situated to break down stereotypes and help people see commonalities instead of differences.”

This year’s visiting performers come from locations around the world, from New Orleans to Harlem, and Cuba to the U.K. The Global Music series will feature musicians including Yemen Blues from Yemen, Alsarah and the Nubatones from Sudan, and Iranian singer Mamak Khadem.

“This season we committed to bring musical voices from some of the ‘Banned Nations’ as a way of helping our students and communities seek out what we have in common to celebrate instead of fear,” said Peimer. “In this same vein, we also are bringing French/Algerian dance company Hervé Koubi because their work—which is sure to amaze and inspire—reflects the street culture which in part gave rise to the protests of the Arab Spring.”

Other highlights this season include the Día de los Muertos Celebration, featuring three Chicano and Mexican all-stars: La Santa Cecilia, Mexrissey, and Mariachi Flor de Toloache; French percussionist Roland Auzet performs in January as part of San Diego Symphony’s It’s About Time festival; and Trisha Brown Dance Company’s unique iteration of In Plain Site, a site-specific work created for the UC San Diego campus.

In addition to discounted tickets, ArtPower invites students of all majors and backgrounds to explore arts and culture through engagement programs such as master classes, innovators-in-residence, and internships.

ArtPower events take place in five venues across the UC San Diego campus as well as Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego. For tickets and more information, visit artpower.ucsd.edu.