On April 17 at The Fruit, nine Duke students will share the creative projects they have developed this year as part of the Duke Arts Studio program.

At the start of each fall semester, a new Duke Arts Studio cohort of undergraduate students are paired with mentors in the arts to develop original projects proposed by the students. The program culminates in the spring semester with a final presentation where students showcase their work spanning photography, literature, film, dance, music, and more. Learn more about the 2024-25 cohort here.

We interviewed two students from this year’s cohort to learn more about their projects and what audiences can look forward to in their presentations. Duke senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Physics Claire Barry has been writing and releasing music with guidance from musician and producer Andy Stack. Lauren Valle—Duke senior majoring in Biology with Certificates in Health Policy and Documentary Studies—curated a series of large-format film portraits of the Duke Latinx community with support from Durham-based photographer Lauren Vied Allen.

Lauren Valle shares what will be most special about presenting her work: “I’m really excited for the showcase because I always talk about my work within the classroom or just in my own personal free time, but I don’t think it’s been consumed or seen by my friends or family in this way. It’ll be really exciting to see [my project] in its final form.” 

“I’m really excited for the showcase because I always talk about my work within the classroom or just in my own personal free time, but I don’t think it’s been consumed or seen by my friends or family in this way. It’ll be really exciting to see [my project] in its final form.”

Lauren Valle, 2024-25 Duke Arts Studio mentee