What's next for Stanford's artist incubator as it marks 25 years

Stanford's Institute for Diversity in the Arts is celebrating its 25th year, and directors A-lan Holt and Adam Banks say they will emphasize sustaining programs, expanding student support, and deepening ties with Bay Area communities.

Stanford's Institute for Diversity in the Arts is marking its 25th year under the leadership of director A-lan Holt and faculty director Adam Banks. Both leaders bring long personal ties to the program: Holt participated in IDA as a student and visiting artist, and Banks describes his work as enriched by close contact with practicing artists. IDA provides courses, fellowships, public programming, and cohort models designed to support student and local creators. The institute says it engaged roughly 1,300 students and community members during a recent fall quarter. Key details: - IDA celebrates 25 years and states a mission of stewarding the arts toward social action. - A-lan Holt served in IDA as a student and visiting artist and now leads the institute; Adam Banks co-leads as faculty director and is a professor whose practice intersects education and African and African American studies. - Programs include courses (for example, Intro to IDA and Chinaka Hodge’s Hella Cinematic), fellowships, public events, and the Artists in Resonance cohort that provides time and materials for student creators. - IDA highlights Harmony House as an incubator for multiple generations of artists and notes alumni influence on wider arts culture, mentioning figures such as Amy Aniobi, Issa Rae, and Tracy Oliver. - Leaders say their near-term priorities include financial sustainability, deeper reciprocal relationships with Bay Area communities—especially East Palo Alto—and serving as a welcoming hub for artists and arts organizations. Summary: IDA's 25-year presence at Stanford is described as having shaped many student artists and influenced the campus arts culture, and its directors emphasize sustaining that legacy through funding stability and expanded community engagement. They plan to continue and broaden programming that supports student creation, to strengthen two-way partnerships with nearby communities, and to keep Harmony House available as a site for artists and organizations to connect.