Get Creative at UCI!

UCI is home to many creative students! Whether they practice creativity through their major, a campus involvement, or creative problem-solving (i.e. how to get from your apartment to your 8 A.M. class in under three minutes), all UCI students find ways to engage their creativity. Here are a few on-campus groups that facilitate various forms of creativity, as well as some students who get creative in other ways.

Clubs and Teams

Dance Teams

UCI is home to over eight on-campus hip-hop dance teams that anyone can join via audition. They have performances, workshops, and the members are as friendly as they are talented. Here’s an article about dance culture at UCI, and better yet, here are some videos of two amazing teams, Kaba Modern and Common Ground! We also have Bare Bones Dance Theater, which is a nonprofit dedicated to showcasing student work in an annual professional-level concert. You can see students rehearsing on campus for any of these groups almost constantly, and it’s easy to get involved by going to shows or weekly workshops.

Improv Teams

We have two improv teams on campus, Live Nude People* and Improv Revolution (which I’m co-captain of!) that perform on alternating Fridays throughout the academic year. Both teams host auditions at the beginning of each quarter and accept students of any major. They also offer free workshops every Friday for those who are interested in making some new friends and trying out the most fun activity in the whole world (I’m not biased, I promise).

Soulstice

Soulstice is UCI’s annual talent competition, and it’s a BIG DEAL. Thousands of students come out to bask in the glory of some of UCI’s most talented singers, dance teams, and bands ... and there are celebrity judges. Last but not least, Soulstice League, a group of talented student-comedians, hosts the event with skits, parodies, and hilarious videos. One of my favorite videos is The Bachelor’s Degree, a parody of The Bachelor (which I also happen to love). Soulstice is open to anyone who’d like to come, not just UCI students, so if you’d like to check it out, come join us!

AntArters

The AntArters club provides a place for students to take a scheduled break from academics to de-stress through art, whether it’s drawing, writing, photography, music, or anything else that might spark their creativity. Students expand their artistic interests and create community through their shared love of art.

New Forum

Here she is in FRANCE! My traveling friend!

New Forum is UCI’s undergraduate creative writing journal, and students of any major can submit and be published. I had one of my poems published in the Winter 2018 issue, and it was such a wonderful opportunity. My friend Misha also happens to be the Editor-in-Chief, and she does more than just run New Forum...

Misha is one of many students who also does creative work outside of her campus involvements. You can read her poetry on her beautiful website. UCI students take it upon themselves to bring creativity into their lives, even if it’s not through a club or on-campus involvement. Here are a few more students with creative hobbies:

Creative Students

Irish Goh is a junior Biology major from North Hollywood, and she’s also the Vice President of AntArters! I met her in my freshman year hall, where she was famous for making little stickers that everyone put on their phones, walls, and folders. Here are a few of my favorite things she’s drawn from her art Instagram, @irishtogo. Check it out here if you’d like to see more!

Artwork by Irish Goh.

Issy Pearson is a third year Biomedical Engineer from Clayton, California who I also met in my freshman year hall, and she is a master crafter. She makes socks, hats, blankets, stuffed animals, and more! She is also on the executive board of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega.

Issy Pearson.

UCI is home to many creative people and organizations, and I am so grateful to go to a school where the creative community is so vibrant. If you’d like to see more UCI creativity, come to campus to see a show! We have drama, improv, and dance productions all throughout the year, as well as other art exhibits and creative events. Come check it out for yourself!

The best way to find out about all of the creative involvements at UCI is to go to the Anteater Involvement Fair at the beginning of Fall quarter and see which groups sound fun to you.