MAYhem

Creative chaos consumes CalArts’ campus for MAYhem, an immersive festival of visual and performing arts. Over one whirlwind weekend, experience the electric energy of CalArts and meet the new generation of artists and performers who will define the cultural landscape of the future. MAYhem beckons the community to experience the electric energy of CalArts with an array of music, art, dance, and theater performances featuring CalArts BFA and MFA students, faculty, and visiting artists and performers.

MAYhem happenings
World Music and Dance Festival
CalArts serves as your passport to global rhythms at the 2025 World Music and Dance Festival. The 45th edition of the festival features music from Iran, Indonesia, Ghana, and cross-cultural fusions from throughout the world. Programming includes a memorial concert dedicated to the late Music faculty and Indian classical musician Aashish Khan; the ever-popular African Music and Dance Ensemble; and a celebration of Balinese Gamelan and longtime faculty I Nyoman Wenten and Nanik Wenten. 

MFA Open Studios
Meet the artistic vanguard at our annual MFA Open Studios. Visits will take place in the Broad Studios and Baldessari Studios, Annex, Photography Studio Buildings, Art and Technology, and Graphic Design studios. Performances, conversations, and screenings will be organized throughout the day. 

Spring Dance Concert 
Students in The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance put their best foot forward during the Spring Dance Concert, an evening program of works choreographed and performed by BFA and first-year MFA students. (Additional performance on Thursday, May 1.) Tickets are 2–10 USD

Danton’s Death 
In the heat of France’s bloodiest period, simply known as The Terror, Georges Danton has become the next target of Robespierre’s violent doctrine. As his execution draws near, Danton refuses to fear the guillotine, but must accept his fear of death.

Love and Information
Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information is a kaleidoscopic view into the ways we try to understand the world, ourselves, each other, and our relationships. In 52 micro-plays, roughly 100 characters grapple with love and all the ways it comes to them (or doesn’t) through memories, secrets, lies, hallucinations, sensations, and technology. Experience a play that explores our need for genuine human connection and our ability to love and connect in a world driven by social media and overwhelmed with information.

Artisan Pop-Up Market
The CalArts Artisan Pop-Up Market is your go-to for unique handcrafted finds! Shop creations from CalArts’ own student and alumni artists and local SCV makers—art, jewelry, prints, and more! 

Other free happenings include CalArts’ Main Gallery art installation, a guided dance workshop sponsored by CalArts Alumni Engagement, and an art activity table for children.  

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions. As successive generations of faculty and alumni have helped shape the landscape of contemporary arts, the Institute first envisioned by Walt Disney encompasses a vibrant, eclectic community with global reach, inviting experimentation, independent inquiry, and active collaboration and exchange among artists, artistic disciplines, and cultural traditions.