wats:ON 2019: NOW. takes on the spirit of Activism, with artists and work tapping into the zeitgeist of our current climate to redirect culture. Students will work directly with festival artists towards the production of original work to premiere at the November festival. Our focus project is a music video, with students working both in front and behind the scenes on filming, editing, set design, and costume production, as well as dance and performance. The course will provide an environment of creative opportunity for visiting festival artists to engage directly with students in a collaborative workshop atmosphere. The course will have the dynamic of a masterclass workspace, with student artists, musicians, writers, actors, designers, and filmmakers working across disciplines on projects for and inspired by the festival. Past precedents of wats:ON student-artist masterclass collaborations include ‘Speed’ a time-lapse video project with Jeff Lieberman and ‘Soundsuits’ a performance choreographed with Nick Cave. More info on 2019: NOW. and the festival artists can be found at watsonfestival.org