Bang Arts Festival, 1964-1967

This section contains materials related to the first Bang Arts Festival, held at RPI from April 6-12, 1964.

The February 21, 1964 issue of the Richmond Professional Institute student newspaper Proscript announced that the Student Activities committee (SAC), with Dean Richard E. MacDougall as chair, had approved plans for the Spring Arts Festival to be held that April. In the March 13 issue, the name “Bang, Bang, Bang, Etc.” was announced as the title of the festival, though the Student Art Association was keeping its origin a secret.

The first Bang Arts Festival included two concerts, one focused on folk, jazz, and blues featuring Jesse Fuller, the second featuring electronic music with Robert Ashley and Gordon Mumma. A play entitled “In God’s Image” by English faculty member Paul Cherry was presented. An eight hour film festival, a Pop Art Symposium (featuring Allan Kaprow, Ivan Karp, and Sidney Tillim), an exhibition of found objects by RPI students, two traveling exhibits of photography and graphic art, and a performance of Rossini’s “Messe Soloennelle, Solemn Mass” also joined the line-up.

Overall reactions to the first festival were positive--in the April 17 Proscript, students and faculty shared excitement, suggestions for improvement, and a call for a better name for the next year. An editorial on April 24 called on SAC to fund a festival again the following year, and called on students to “begin stock-piling our ammunition, have the President appoint an over-all committee of some sort to steer and manage the big aspects of the festival, choose a dignified title, include everybody, and get to work.”

Archival materials below include Proscript articles, the 1964 yearbook, and a hand painted poster for the festival.