Like all events at the University of Arizona, the anticipated TURN UP Multimedia Festival for Equality was canceled in light of the novel coronavirus. But in a combined effort between students and faculty, the two-day TURN UP festival was turned into one of the first virtual events because of COVID-19 on campus.
Yuanyuan He, an assistant professor at the Fred Fox School of Music and the executive director of the festival, said cancelling the concert series was “a hard decision” because her student team spent countless hours preparing this festival.
“At first, we were all devastated. Not only because of the virus, but also everything that has changed because of it,” He wrote in an email. “How to do this art thing – an act that brings us closer together – while keeping distance?”