The Stampede: From Studio Chats to Gallery Walls

Born from late-night conversations in the sculpture studio and a shared desire for more exhibition opportunities, Stampede is a student-led collective rooted in the Stamps School of Art & Design. 

What started as a single show has evolved into a dynamic, multidisciplinary art platform that champions collaboration, spontaneity, and student initiative. Whether it’s a house show, gallery exhibition, or community gathering, Stampede brings people together through art — across mediums and campus. Now in its second phase of evolution (“Stampede 2.0”), the group continues to grow with new voices, fresh energy, and a firm belief in the power of showing up and making space for each other.

What inspired the creation of Stampede, and how has it evolved since then?

Inspiration is tricky to boil down because there wasn’t a single moment of illumination — but there was a moment of action. We all met at Stamps and felt this need for more exhibition opportunities. Still, it wasn’t until we decided to take the bureaucratic approach to be an official organization within the system that the idea gained momentum. We plotted for months in the sculpture studio at Stamps, discussing how to make this work — and we started with a show. It became what it is from that night, and we grew into a nuanced art exhibition platform across all media, exhibiting artists across our community. 

We’ve matured as we’ve learned, and our events have certainly changed as we’ve grown — and also, there’s more of us now. We recruited new members and built a structure that could stand independently. Our gallery exhibition was honestly the conclusion to Stampede 1.0 (as we’ve been calling it), and everything since then has been Stampede 2.0… The new members have taken the initiative and are starting to shape it in their vision.

How does Stampede foster connections and collaborations among student artists?

Showing your pieces at a house show gives everyone a jumping-off point, something to talk about. Connections are formed, and communities are built from there. All we need to do is get people together and give them something to discuss. The rest takes care of itself. Seriously. We love the artwork, and our focus has been.

It will continue to be, providing artists the opportunity to show their work- whether it’s a painting, print, sculpture, video, poem, song… whatever because we know this is how we bring people together. We have different events for different mediums, which keeps it fresh. We give people a place to get together; we host events for our community, and everyone is welcome. There’s artwork to see at our shows, and we make it easy to mingle because we have a reason to get together. It’s true, it’s honest, it’s real. When you come and see, you’ll know.

What was your favorite moment at Stampede?

The happenings are for everyone else because the work we do beforehand is our fun. It’s always full of thrills, and the uncertainty is insane! By the night of the show, we tip the boulder down the mountain, sit back, smile, and watch it roll. All the moments leading up to that — the hours of Zoom calls, long nights printing, flyering, planning, plus coordinating with different groups and people, friends, and administration — that’s the journey we love to go on. These moments make it what it is… But, twist our arms and make us choose one moment… The show at the Stamps Gallery was pretty cool.

What advice would you give to students who want to get involved, but don’t know where to start?

The ​“official” avenue is Fall recruitment, but many people have forced their way in, and we love it! This whole thing has been driven by initiative and self-directed action, so to the people who want to get involved — or rather, get themselves involved — that’s the excitement we love and welcome. To ANYONE excited: come to our events! 

Find us on instagram, join the Slack—pull up, meet people, and make your name known, because we remember. Recruitment stuff happens in the fall, and it’ll be back around, but if you can’t wait that long or miss the next round, we’ll leave it up to you to take matters into your own hands.