Visiting artist Chinaka Hodge’s winter quarter course explored screenwriting basics through a Bay Area lens. Ask anyone who’s worked with Chinaka Hodge, the poet, screenwriter, and executive producer behind Marvel’s Ironheart television series, and the words you’ll hear on repeat are charismatic, confident, and authentic. But ask Hodge about herself, and she’s more likely to…

As Stanford’s Institute for Diversity in the Arts celebrates its 25th year, directors A-lan Holt and Adam Banks look toward a future of nurturing student artists and deepening relationships with Bay Area communities. Part of what makes Institute for Diversity in the Arts (IDA) Director A-lan Holt such an effective champion of the organization is…

Poet, essayist, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib joined Matthew D. Morrison, Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at Stanford, for an expansive conversation on art, feeling, and the everyday work of care. Abdurraqib reflects on the abundance of everyday intellect that exists outside academia, his cherished Ohio roots, the discipline behind his writing,…

The Institute for Diversity in the Arts (IDA) at Stanford University is celebrating 25 years of artistic excellence. IDA has been a transformative home for artists across multiple generations, providing mentorship, community, and creative freedom to shape future arts leaders. In this video, Students, faculty, and staff reflect on what makes IDA special, from interdisciplinary…

On April 8, 1968, four days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., 70 Black Student Union (BSU) members went on stage during a panel, took the mic, and read off a list of 10 demands which included better treatment of Black Stanford students, Black Stanford faculty, and residents of East Palo Alto. This…

Reflections by Alexis Jones “Long day?”  These are the words that greeted me when I walked into the Tressider Oak lounge and fell into my seat, exhaling with such audible force that it elicited a response of humorous inquiry from the fellow attendee beside me. “Yes,” I laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed that my exhaustion was…

This month’s IDA First FrIDAy brought together 111 people on October 3, 2025— students, alumni, fellows, and friends — for an evening filled with creativity, laughter, and connection. The energy inside Harmony House was electric, a celebration of community that reminded everyone why these gatherings matter so deeply. This was a great start of events…

This morning the New Yorker Documentary premiered “The Game God(S)” by IDA visiting artist Adrian L. Burrell. The New Yorker reports that the film “pries open myths of modern Blackness and ties one of America’s greatest beliefs back to its greatest sin.” Watch the film and read the accompanying article below. Shaking The Foundations of the…

This year the Institute for Diversity in the Arts welcomes interdisciplinary artist adrian l. burrell as our 2022 IDA Visiting Artist.

It is with great excitement that we introduce the 2021 Lyric McHenry Community Arts Fellowship recipients, at the Institute for Diversity in the Arts (IDA). The Lyric McHenry Community Arts Fellowship is a fund that gives Stanford Undergraduates the opportunity to spend a summer working full time in the arts with a focus on racial/social justice. This…

Stanford’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE) has granted IDA one of its competitive awards to deepen community engagement with youth and arts in  partnership with the EPACENTER for the arts. One of eight 2021 OCE funding awards IDA was recognize for its work with the center to expand opportunities for East Palo Alto youth through art…

We are truly exciting to offer our IDA annual spring class looking at the arts and social justice. Entitled AAAS /CSRE 170A: Unlearning Racism, Redefining Identity – Culture Workers and the Frontlines of Change, this class will examine how the fabric of racism is inextricably woven and constructed into the founding principles of the United…