First-year University of Toronto student Kostanca, who prefers to go by her stage name, has been singing since she was a child.
“I used to sing while I ate and my mom always told me to stop,” she said.
Kostanca, 17, brought her vocal talents to the University of Toronto Scarborough campus (UTSC) on Thursday when she performed at the fifth annual ARTSIDEOUT arts festival.
Kostanca said performing at ARTSIDEOUT was a way for her to be a part of the school and Scarborough community.
“It was a way for me to bring myself out there. I’m used to me always being on stage. Coming to university it’s a different experience,” she said. “I want to be a part of the music program. I want to be a part of the music community.”
ARTSIDEOUT is UTSC’s largest multidisciplinary arts festival featuring performance pieces, photography exhibits, videos, paintings and more.
Around 45 to 50 exhibits and pieces were displayed by UTSC students, alumni, and some high school students from R.H. King Academy.
Members of the Scarborough community also attended the festival.
UTSC alumnus Miguel Pinzon, 27, said that for him ARTSIDEOUT is about promoting local talent on campus.
“There’s a lot of talent at this campus so having this kind of ARTSIDEOUT event for the community brings us out more, and gives us more networking connections,” Pinzon said. “It [allows] us to showcase our own art work individually.”
Pinzon participated in ARTSIDEOUT for four years. This year he did a live airbrush graffiti performance.
“I like to come here every year to see what other new talents will bring out,” the freelance artist said.
Initial meetings for ARTSIDEOUT began in early May and artistic director Elias Tourani said all the hard work definitely paid off.
“ARTSIDEOUT is transforming into a vital outlet for the arts on campus as it continues to provide artists at UTSC with a venue to showcase the immense talent that is hidden,” he said.