Committee on Black Performing Arts Fellowship
History
In 1969, a group of Stanford students and East Palo Alto residents came together to form the Committee on Black Performing Arts (CBPA), a cultural resource for Stanford and surrounding communities to collaborate using performance. CBPA hosts artist talks, creates classes and workshops, stages productions, and for many years published the Black Arts Quarterly, a literary arts journal. Today, CBPA also supports graduate students and incubates new performance works led by IDA artist-in-residence and CBPA Artistic Director Amara Tabor-Smith.
CBPA FELLOWSHIP
The Committee on Black Performing Arts (CBPA) started as Stanford's first program dedicated to the arts and racial justice. CBPA preceded and birthed the Institute for Diversity in the Arts. IDA honors this 50-year legacy and is excited to announce a new fellowship led by CBPA Artistic Director, Amara Tabor-Smith. The CBPA Fellowship Program is a year-long paid program for Black identified, Afro-Latinx, Afro-Indigenous, African and Caribbean undergraduate and graduate students.
In this performance and movement-based fellowship, students will develop their artistic practice rooted in experimental Black performance and ritual spirituality. The program will pair students with a mentor who will provide creative guidance and will push the boundaries of their work; creating an intensive and deeply nourishing experience with an eye toward liberation. Students will meet with their mentor twice a quarter and will meet with their cohort twice a month. The program will culminate with celebration and performance.