Senior illustration major Sara-Beth Ramsey has been selected as Creative Director for Columbia’s 25th annual Manifest Arts Festival, scheduled for May 16 during graduation weekend under the theme “Kaleidoscope.”
The announcement was made Thursday, Feb. 19 at the Manifest Mixer, where college leaders also outlined updates to festival access, including a new Eventbrite pre-registration system for the main event.
All members of the Columbia community and their guests will need to register in advance to get a wristband for access. In the past, students, faculty and staff only had to show their ID to get a wristband.
The 25th anniversary celebration will also double as a homecoming for alumni, with events beginning Friday, May 15, and continuing through the weekend. It will be the first time since 2005 that Manifest takes place on the Saturday of commencement weekend.
These changes were made as a part of a push by President and CEO Shantay Bolton to make the festival more accessible to families, alumni and the public while tying it more closely to graduation, which is now condensed to a single ceremony on Sunday instead of spread out over two days.
Each year, Manifest adopts a new theme. For 2026, the college selected “Kaleidoscope,” reflecting what leaders described as a focus on collaboration and community.
Ramsey will attend Manifest for the sixth year. She first came as a 17-year-old when her mother, Columbia alum Lisa Ramsey, brought her to the festival.
“I just want to make the best Manifest I can for these people,” Ramsey said. “That’s what I’m trying to reflect in the design and every programming choice we’re making.”
Ramsey said Manifest gives students the opportunity to showcase their work to peers across disciplines, who may not otherwise encounter their craft.
“There’s always this sense of community that is so special, that I don’t think you would get at any other school,” she said. “It’s a celebration of the students and what they do. I want to carry that with me, Kaleidoscope and my team.”
Allen Lucas, the staff coordinator of student organizations and a part-time instructor in the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, works with students in his “Event Management Practicum” course to help plan portions of the festival each spring.
“Manifest itself is about showcasing and highlighting student work. You see that with student performances and the things that are live and in front of you,” Lucas said. “But a big part of that is also on the back end of things too, with planning and logistics, taking photos and helping organize all these different details.”
Lucas said the collaboration required to produce the festival gives students practical experience they can carry into professional settings.
For senior ASL-English interpretation major John Reyes, Manifest will be an opportunity to make the festival accessible to any deaf attendees. He and other students will interpret at their assigned positions.
“I’m excited to get to allow those spaces to be accessible for any deaf people who are in the crowd,” said Reyes.
When junior film and television major Amelia Lutz first got the news that this year’s theme would be Kaleidoscope, she was reminded of being a little kid experiencing creative energy for the first time.
Lutz, the vice president of SGA, said Manifest is an integral part of uniting Columbia’s community.
“I like watching all the students come together on the mainstage and embrace who we are as Columbia students,” Lutz said. “I think Columbia’s built on its community of students. And I think Manifest is an art showcase, but at the end of the day it’s a Columbia showcase.”
Copy edited by Venus Tapang
