Artists at Work and Play

DEMAN weekend caps off celebration of campus arts.

 
Photo: View from the top
Kara DioGuardi ’93, songwriter, record producer, and former American Idol judge, delivered the keynote address for the Duke Entertainment, Media, and the Arts Network (DEMAN) weekend in November.
 

Singer-songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi ’93 kicked off DEMAN Weekend 2011 by telling students that making it in the arts involves hard work and bruising rejection— but that by following their passion they can find personal fulfillment and a rewarding career path. During her keynote speech in the Gothic Reading Room, DioGuardi, who has written hundreds of songs and was a judge on two seasons of American Idol, shared the highs and lows of her circuitous road to the top of her profession. She also led a master class in songwriting later that afternoon.

Now in its second year, DEMAN—Duke Entertainment, Media, and the Arts Network—capped off a week-long Duke Arts Festival that included live performances, an exhibition of student artwork, tours of arts facilities around campus, and more than two dozen student performances, ranging from the Duke Percussion Ensemble’s jam session at the West Campus bus stop to sonnet readings on the Bryan Center Plaza. Alumni panels and career workshops for students explored facets of the entertainment and media industry, from learning film production and direction to becoming a talent agent or making a living as an artist. DEMAN and the Duke Arts Festival are sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association and the Vice Provost for the Arts.

 

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