Whether you are passionate about dancing, photography, writing or film production, the University of Arizona offers a variety of artistic clubs for everyone to explore. Here are five artistic opportunities available to all students on campus.
PAMFAD
One of the newest art clubs on campus, Production of Art, Music, Film, Acting and Dance, has been attempting to unite the universities’ diverse fine-arts communities together for some time now.
PAMFAD offers members the opportunity to try their hand at numerous fine arts disciplines. Filmmakers can learn to paint, musicians can try their hand at improv and dancers can even learn to write a screenplay.
The club offers members the opportunity to participate in group projects focused on giving back to the community. For example, members have created advertisements for local restaurants, dressed up as Disney princesses for children’s clinics and painted a mural on the side of a no-kill cat shelter.
“I like to think of it as more like a jack-of-all-trades club,” said Simran Grover, president of PAMFAD. “It’s just about finding the balance of having one core thing in common, which is the love for creativity and the need to express yourself.”
PAMFAD hosts a variety of events, including creative photography field trips, karaoke nights and portfolio and resume building events. The club also invites guest speakers from the film and music industries to share their experiences with members.
“If you want to find a Fine Arts Club, so not just a club focused on film or a specific aspect, but one focusing on the mission of Fine Arts in general, then you should join PAMFAD,” said Ruben Reynoso, vice president of PAMFAD. “[It’s] a great way to connect with people of different majors, different backgrounds, different art disciplines and learn together and build a community.”
Meetings are held bi-weekly on Thursdays at 5 p.m. in Room 404 in the Harvill Building. There is an annual fee of $20, collected midway through the semester, which goes towards funding events. Students interested in joining PAMFAD can sign up through their website.
PERSONA CREATIVE
Founded in 1978, Persona Creative is an undergraduate run organization focused on the arts and literature.
Persona’s main output is an annual magazine, published at the end of the spring semester. Club members curate submissions from the student body, reviewing and providing feedback before using a rating system to decide if the piece is fit for publication. The rating system ensures that all member’s opinions are considered equally.
“Our criteria is not based so much on subject matter as it is on how that subject matter is handled, we like to see innovation,” said Rysi Koos, editor-in-chief of Persona Creative. “We like to see some original thought in there, some willingness to maybe push the boundaries of what has been done before.”
Formerly known as Persona Literary Magazine, the name was changed to emphasize that it is not exclusively a writing club. Persona accepts submissions from all artistic disciplines, including digital art, photography, sculpture, music and videos.
The university’s financial crisis has restricted Persona to a digital-only magazine this year, but leadership is hopeful that they can return to a physical publication again in 2025.
Beyond their magazine, Persona is expanding to events such as open mic nights, where anyone from musicians, poets and singers can showcase their craft. The club also offers two-unit internships for English degrees.
“We’re all united by a common interest, which is the creative, the literary and the artistic, it’s very nice to have that smaller community on campus,” said Abigail Ortiz-Velez, an intern at Persona Creative.
Persona Creative meets every Thursday at 5 p.m. in Room 310 in the Education Building. Artists interested in submitting work for the 2024-2025 magazine should visit the Persona Creative website.
PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB
Photographers of all skill levels are welcome to join the university’s photography club.
Membership is open to anyone interested in photography, regardless of experience or equipment. Whether you own a high-end DSLR or a smartphone, the club welcomes all. The university also provides camera rentals to all enrolled students.
Members often participate in photo walks, where they will explore campus to photograph interesting sights. The club also organizes photography field trips to local Tucson spots, such as Biosphere 2 and the Pima County Air and Space Museum.
In recent years, the club has been collecting members’ work into an annual photobook. This year’s edition featured work from over a dozen student photographers.
“I would say they should join the photography club if they want to learn more about photography and develop their skills, as well as have a community of supportive people who are all interested in photography,” said Maddux Muench, president of the Photography Club. “It’s a great way to kind of explore Tucson and the university.”
The Photography Club meets every Monday at 5 p.m. near the Old Main Fountain. Students interested in joining can contact the club through their Instagram.
UFO
The University Filmmakers Organization is a club dedicated to film production.
UFO provides students with hands-on experience through short film projects. The club produces around 13 to 14 “mini-shorts” each semester. These productions allow for UFO members to try their hand at every position on a production from directing to cinematography to acting. UFO president Phoenix Lawson estimates that he has worked on 40 student film projects during his time with the organization.
“UFO in my experience has been the best place to go to make short form projects and to meet people who end up becoming not only some of your closest friends, but also your greatest collaborators,” Lawson said. “I’ve met some of the best cinematographers, I’ve met some of the best directors, writers and producers through UFO.”
Productions are not restricted by genre or premise. UFO has produced shorts ranging from the sci-fi drama “You’re A Reel One” to the action-comedy music video “Spoonman.” For one project, members split into four groups, each of which recreated the climatic duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin in “Revenge of the Sith.”
In addition to film production, UFO has expanded its activities to hosting film screenings. So far, they have screened films such as “Memento” and “The Triangle of Sadness” and are now allowing members to select future screenings.
“If you’re interested in storytelling, you’re interested in films, you’re interested in writing or editing, even art in general, I’d say UFO is a great club to join,” said Oliver Orkand, vice president of UFO. “We’ve cultivated a very positive community that is very willing to help each other out.”
UFO membership has expanded so much that they had to leave their previous meeting room in the Marshall Building. They now meet every Friday at 3 p.m. in Room 318 of the Harvill Building. There is a $15 membership fee which helps to fund production. Students interested in joining can sign up through the club’s Google Form.
WILDCAT DANCESPORT
The waltz, tango, foxtrot, mambo, bolero and East Coast swing are just a few of the dance styles taught at Wildcat Dancesport, the university’s ballroom dancing club.
Members are not required to know anything about the superabundance of Ballroom dancing styles before signing up. Over the course of a year, Dancesport teaches ballroom dancing from the ground up.
“I joined here accidentally,” Dancesport member Subhadip Sahoo said. “Before that I never had any dancing experience, and also I didn’t like dancing, but when I joined here it changed my perspective.”
Dancesport participates in various competitions and festivals across the southwest, traveling from Phoenix to Las Vegas to San Francisco. At events such as ASU’s Solar Flare, members have the chance to meet dancers from other universities.
“It’s a lot of sparkles, it’s a lot of special dresses, hair, bow ties and fringe,” said Athena Simmons, assistant coach of Wildcat Dancesport. “We get to travel, compete, meet other universities, get to meet friends from other places and we’re all bonding over this dance that we all love to do.”
Membership of Dancesport is open to non-students as well. Simmons, who graduated from the University of Arizona in 2015 with a degree in psychology, has been a member of Dancesport for the last 14 years.
Dancesport meets Sunday, Monday and Wednesday in Room A of the South Rec Center. The group has a $40 membership fee which helps cover the cost of a professional instructor. Students interested in joining can sign up through the club’s Google Form.
