Center for the Arts

The Wesleyan Center for the Arts was featured in The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH), the main U.S. peer-reviewed scholarly journal for architectural history, in an article written by Joseph Siry, the Kenan Professor of the Humanities, professor of art history. The article, titled "Roche and Dinkeloo’s Center for the Arts at Wesleyan University: Classical, Vernacular, and Modernist Architecture in the 1960s," detailed the extensive history and creative motives behind the impressive 11-building complex. From 1962, under the presidency of Victor Butterfield (in office 1943–67), Wesleyan’s trustees committed the college to develop into a small university, and in 1964 they…

The Center for the Arts hosted the Common Moment Sept. 2 on Andrus Field. As one of the culminating experiences of New Student Orientation, the Common Moment brought the Class of 2020 together as they experienced cultures and dance from around the world. Prometheus, Wesleyan's fire-spinning group, also performed during the Common Moment. Photos of the event are below and in this Wesleyan Center for the Arts photo gallery. (Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography) (more…)

Inspired by Fete de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, the fifth annual MASH highlighted Wesleyan's student music scene on Sept. 9. The 5 1/2 hour concert, sponsored by the Center for the Arts, featured 22 bands performing at four different venues on campus including Olin Library, the North College Lawn, Center for the Arts and Foss Hill. Musical acts included Slavei, Hari, Slender James, Birchbark, Fortune Plays Sax, Anna Savage, Sneaky Boy, MEG, Dinomanic, Yer Trash, the good lonely, Mom, Rui Barbosa, BOSSY, Lo-Qi, McCleary McCleary, Going Up North for the Weekend, Slouch, The Highlanders, Jal & Locus, Chef and El Niño. Each band performed for about 20 minutes.

The Theater Department presented “Wes Out-Loud: Stories of Place” April 28 on campus. "Wes Out-Loud: Stories of Place" is a site-specific auditory journey conceived and created for the Wesleyan campus through a collaboration between theater students and Assistant Professor of Theater Marcela Oteíza. "Wes Out-Loud" invited the audience to experience Wesleyan as a scenographic space by inserting new narratives into everyday sites. The juxtaposition of place and stories presented the richness and diversity of the students on campus and promoted inclusiveness. Audience members wore wireless headsets to listen to the recorded stories of place created for each site. The performance,…

On April 16, the Friends of the Davison Art Center presented "The Big Draw: Middletown," the fifth annual community celebration of drawing with workshops designed for all skill levels, from beginning drawers to accomplished artists. The event took place at four locations across the campus including the Davison Art Center; the Center for the Arts; Fayerweather Beckham Hall; and the Usdan University Center. "The Big Draw" included eight workshops facilitated by faculty and students from Wesleyan's Art Studio Program in the Department of Art and Art History. Activities included developing narrative through drawing, drawing with inked feet to music, drawing from…

An exhibition titled "Passion and Power: German Prints in the Age of Dürer" is on display in the Davison Art Center through March 3. The show opened Feb. 4. (more…)

An exhibition titled "We Chat: A Dialogue in Contemporary Chinese Art" opened Jan. 26 in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. In her introductory remarks, Center for the Arts Director Pam Tatge ’84, MALS ’10, P’16 noted that this was the first gallery exhibition of work by this generation of Chinese artists in this country. Born after the end of the Cultural Revolution, these young artists are challenging traditional notions of Chinese identity and inventing new ways to shout out in the global arena. This exhibition debuts at Wesleyan and features works by Sun Xun, Jin Shan, Ma Qiusha, Lu…

Center for the Arts Director Pamela Tatge '84, MALS '10, P '16, will leave the university in April to serve as executive director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. There, she will set the artistic vision and strategic goals for the organization, including programming one of America’s longest-running international dance festivals, and overseeing education, preservation, and audience engagement programs, as well as marketing and development. For the past 16 years, Tatge has overseen robust programming in music, dance, theater, and visual arts at the CFA. She has supported the realization of faculty and student work in the arts and spearheaded the development of the university’s…

The Muslim Coalition of Connecticut honored Wesleyan's Center for the Arts on Nov. 15 for its "outstanding contributions and standards of excellence in advancing higher education," according to a proclamation from Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman. The awards dinner in Hartford was attended by Center for the Arts Director Pam Tatge, Associate Provost Mark Hovey, and faculty, staff and students from the advisory committee and Wesleyan's Muslim Students Association. View the event's photo gallery online. The honor recognized the CFA's Muslim Women's Voices series during the 2014-15 academic year. The series explored and celebrated the complexity of Muslim women today, and the historical and cultural context from…

On Sept. 25-28, Wesleyan will welcome Iraq War Veteran Drew Cameron to campus to share the story of Combat Paper, the practice of hand papermaking, and how this collaborative project has become an integral part of the emerging veteran artist movement. Cameron is the co-founder of Combat Paper, a project in which veterans and the non-veteran community use traditional hand papermaking techniques to transform military uniforms into paper, prints, books, and art. “All of our experiences are encoded within the material items we carry about. With clothing, and military uniforms, our personal geographies, memories, and accomplishments are carried in the…

On Sept. 11, the Center for the Arts celebrated the student music scene at The MASH. Inspired by Fete de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, this fourth annual festival highlights Wesleyan's student musicians. The event took place inside Usdan University Center, Patricelli '92 Theater and Crowell Concert Hall. More than 15 bands performed including Locus, described as “one man with psychedelic textures and experimental beats;” Mom, a funky band full of post-pubescent mystery rock; Quasimodal, Wesleyan's oldest co-ed A cappella group; Veeblefetzer, Wesleyan's finest Klezmer ensemble; Lo-Qi, a rap duo “here to denounce corporate oppression;” Sleep Kid,…

Wesleyan's Center for the Arts 2015-16 season includes two world premieres, one United States premiere, one New England premiere, four Connecticut debuts and the following events: • Sept. 11: The Mash at Olin Library, North College, Center for the Arts and Foss Hill. • Sept. 11: "Bach to School" at the Memorial Chapel with Artist in Residence and University Organist Ronald Ebrecht • Sept. 13: Music at The Russell House: Julie Ribchinsky Bach and the Modern World • Sept. 16-Dec. 13: "R. Luke Dubois—In Real Time" exhibition in Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery • Sept. 17-Nov. 7: Eiko Otake — "A Body in Places" • Sept.…

Siry Details the History of Center for the Arts in Architectural History Journal

Class of 2020 Experiences Different Cultures, Dance Styles at Common Moment

Student Music Scene Celebrated at The MASH

“Wes Out-Loud” Theater Performance Takes Audience on Site-Specific Auditory Journey

Free Drawing Workshops Offered at 5th Annual Big Draw

13 Students Curate German Prints Exhibit at Davison Art Center

Contemporary Chinese Art on Exhibit at Zilkha Gallery

Center for the Arts Director Pam Tatge to Lead Jacob’s Pillow

Muslim Coalition of Connecticut Honors Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts

Wesleyan Hosts “Combat Paper” Exhibit, Workshop with Iraq War Veteran

Student Music Scene Celebrated at the 4th Annual MASH

The Mash, “Bach to School” Kick Off CFA’s New Season