THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING NextNOW Fest 2023! The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland

Raveena

For Raveena (who performed at NextNOW Fest on September 7, 2023) music is meant to be a “complete expression of the self.” It’s a truth she’s leaned on through a whirlwind couple of years, which saw a potent flurry of output and a pointed ascent into the conversation with her critically-acclaimed 2019 debut full-length, "Lucid," and 2020 follow-up, "Moonstone" EP.

Inspired by artists like Sade, Corinne Bailey Rae, Minnie Riperton and Indian singer Asha Puthli, Raveena is a highly creative, dynamic and spiritual artist who aims to build fully-realized worlds within each of her projects: conceptual experimentations in sound, threaded together by stories of healing and self-realization meant to experience from start to finish.

Sudan Archives

Sudan Archives contains multitudes and she shared those at The Clarice! She first emerged as an avant-garde violinist who channeled her playing through loop pedals. But she’s also much more than that: lovelorn songwriter, powerful vocal performer and experimental beatmaker. In addition to her magic at NextNOW Fest, she’s captivated audiences at festivals around the world with her hybrid sound, playing at Coachella, Pitchfork Midwinter and FORM: Arcosanti, and sharing stages with St Vincent, Ibeyi and Michael Kiwanuka while touring her trail-blazing EPs ​"Sudan Archives"​ (2017) and​ "Sink"​ (2018). Sudan’s many identities truly coalesce in her debut album, ​"Athena​:" a psychedelic, magnetic take on modern R&B that’s unlike anything else you’ve heard.

Ricky Montgomery

Opening this year's outdoor stage lineup, Ricky Montgomery's music was ahead of its time—literally. Four years after the release of his debut album, and a decade after he wrote some of it, the Los Angeles native's indie-pop has been a balm in the midst of a heavy time, comforting listeners with warm melodies and relatable lyrics. It all started in July of 2020, when a pair of singles from 2016's Montgomery Ricky—the gently swaying Mr. Loverman and string-soaked stunner Line Without a Hook—took off on TikTok. "I think because we had a really traumatizing year, these songs kind of found a moment," Montgomery says. "Because they're all, in their own way, about traumas in my life."

Go Terps!

University of Maryland President Darryll Pines, UMD Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Georgina Dodge and UMD College of Arts & Humanities Stephanie Shonekan attended NextNOW Fest, enjoying performances and installations, and connecting with various Terps!

IMD New Works Incubator

FestGoers experienced projects developed during the Immersive Media Design Program’s New Works Incubator, a six-week summer development program designed to support the creation of immersive media projects by students from across the UMD campus. The Incubator enables individual student creators and teams to explore new areas of immersive media and to create works based on their own interests and initiative. Works showcased at The Clarice included Arti Dhareshwar, Malaya Heflin & Fiza Mullls' SUPERSTAR; Truc Vo's Virtual Blooming; and Rae Wu's YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE.

Maryland Night Live

A NextNOW Fest favorite, Maryland Night Live brought together the University of Maryland's best comedians and musicians for a hilarious night of sketches, stand-up comedy and music!

A Very Special Guest!

We were honored to welcome a guest beloved by the UMD community!

More Special Visits!

University of Maryland Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Jennifer King Rice, UMD College of Arts & Humanities Dean Stephanie Shonekan and Director of Arts for All Craig Kier enjoyed Art Night and met with artist Alyssa Imes to discuss the process of creating her human loom sculpture!

Vital Signs Project Showcase

In an effort to support student voice and action related to the Black Lives Matter movement, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, the UMD Office of Diversity and Inclusion and UMD Office of Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy in partnership with Black Terps Matter award mini-grants every year to artists in the UMD community who are creating projects that affirm Black life and vitality and interrogate white supremacy and anti-Blackness.

At the showcase, members of the 2022-23 Vital Signs cohort presented excerpts of their works and discussed the intersection of their personal experiences with their art.

What We Do After–Contemporary Art Purchasing Program at the UMD Stamp Gallery

On view August 28 through September 30, the exhibition features nine artworks by seven emerging and mid-career artists: Rachel Garber Cole, Homosocial, Megan Lewis, Beverly Price, Gabriella Vainsencher, Ingrid Weyland and Jenny Wu.

The 2022-23 CAPP Committee (Emily Boa, Isabella Chilcoat, Rachel [Rae] Leonberger, Alicia Perkovich and Raphael Ukpelegbu) spent a year researching, writing, discussing and conducting studio and gallery visits. The result of this work is a collection of artworks which reflect their interests and concerns as University of Maryland students and global citizens in 2023. Their decision-making was guided by four self-determined principles: critical compassion, process as art, equitable sourcing and deliberative dialogue. Following these tenets, the committee sought out works that synthesize critique with methods of sincerity, joy and resilience; engage process as an essential source of artistic value and meaning; demonstrate materially and socially sustainable practices; and spark meaningful conversations among our diverse campus populations and between artworks throughout the CAPP collection.