Peter Sellars traveled halfway across the globe to see the dusty caverns of the Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang, China. “It was so overwhelming. The caves are so amazing in the history of arts, and yet a cool thing about them, they’re also amazing in the history of Buddhism,” Sellars said. Read more...

Photo: World arts and cultures professor and theatrical director Peter Sellars traveled to the Mogao Grottoes near Dunhaung, China to see the Buddhist-influenced art illustrated on the walls. (Zinnia Moreno/Daily Bruin)

Peter Kazaras found solace in theater and opera amid Vietnam War demonstrations, protests and clouds of tear gas. For Kazaras, the director of opera studies at UCLA, music and theater provided a haven away from the chaos of the outside world to retreat to throughout his undergraduate years. Read more...

Photo: Peter Kazaras, the director of opera studies at UCLA, will direct the LA Opera’s performance of Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” starting May 14. (Courtesy of Jonathan Vanderweit)

A casual party conversation caught Kate Hollenbach off guard. “So what are you doing at this party? You obviously aren’t in computer science.” Hollenbach not only hosted the party but also has a computer science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology – but that’s not the point. Read more...

Photo: Design | Media Arts graduate students Alice Jung, Yuehao Jiang, Amanda Stojanov and hsinyu lin (left to right) are four of six voidLab members that created a poster exhibition in Broad. (Lindsay Weinberg/Daily Bruin senior staff)

Nikita Gale and her then-girlfriend’s voices rose in pitch and anticipation as they sat parked in front of a gas station in late spring 2015 weighing the pros and cons of abandoning weekend plans in Joshua Tree and driving to Vegas to get married. Read more...

Photo: New genres graduate student Nikita Gale created her masters’ thesis based off her experiences with cars, technology and human interaction. Gale, along with two other graduate students, will exhibit her work Thursday at the New Wight Gallery. (Jennifer Hu/Daily Bruin)