Throughout the year, the student funded EMU Cultural Forum provides opportunities to experience artistic expressions from the entertainment, art and political worlds. Capturing an expansive display of contemporary culture, the Forum has brought popular musicians ranging from Beck and Public Enemy to cultural icons such as Gloria Steinem and Hunter S. Thompson to the University.
Eugene’s smaller market does
not limit which performers the
Forum attracts.
“Artists love playing in Eugene,” Program Coordinator Darrel Kau said.
Kau describes the energy of Eugene audiences as something that resonates with many of the performers who pass through town.
“Many artists are willing to
negotiate at a reasonable fee just to play here,” he said, also pointing
out that Eugene’s location on
Interstate 5, “makes it a frequent stop for a lot of acts.”
When bringing such diverse acts to campus, the Forum always considers the typical student’s limited budget.
“Last year 75 percent of the programs were free,” Cultural Forum Office Manager Mandy Chong said. “We tried not to have tickets over $12 for national acts.”
The programming decisions come from 10 student coordinators. The students are in charge of conceiving, initiating, booking and promoting all events with the help of permanent staff members like Kau. The coordinators are divided among five program categories: music, film, performing arts, visual arts and lectures.
According to Chong, the biggest event the Forum puts on is the music program’s annual Willamette Valley Folk Festival. Held in spring, this year will mark its 35th
anniversary. Past performers have included Ani DiFranco, David Grisman, Ben Harper, Doc Watson, Queen Ida and the Indigo Girls.
The music program has also been successful in showcasing some of today’s more established acts at earlier points in their careers. Over the years they have featured R.E.M., Phish and Brandford Marsallis in the EMU Ballroom.
Chong points out that music performances are never limited to campus and that they often take advantage of Eugene’s many concert venues.
“They are all over town,”
Chong said.
The Forum’s film program schedules showcases such as the annual Queer Film Festival. They also screen first-run studio releases like last spring’s “Touching the Void” and revival pictures like this September’s “The Birds.”
According to Chong, they usually showcase at least three films per quarter, “but it is often many more than that.”
The performing arts program
sponsors comedy, dance, poetry
readings and spoken word. In the past they have brought a diverse range of individuals to campus
including Maya Angelou and Norm MacDonald, and have recently
hosted performances of “The Vagina Monologues.”
The Cultural Forum’s visual arts program coordinators maintain a permanent collection of art and curate a variety of gallery shows throughout the school year.
They manage the Adell McMillan Art Gallery and the Aperture Photo Gallery, which showcase the work of local and national artists, students and professors.
The lecture program arranges speakers, symposiums and debates featuring local, national and international issues. Past speakers have
included: Ralph Nader, Ice-T, G. Gordon Liddy, Helen Caldicott, Jello Biafra and many others.
“We don’t choose political sides,” Chong said, describing the forum’s effort to showcase a wide range of issues relevant to students.
The biggest challenge for students is trying to stay on top of the Cultural Forum’s myriad of events.
“I encourage students to get actively involved in seeking out what the forum is doing,” Kau said. Students can find the Forum’s calendar of events online or at the Forum office, located in the basement of the EMU, across from the ASUO and the Women’s Center.

Joshua Lintereur is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.