Arts Across Campus

The performing and visual arts are integral to a liberal arts education. The arts inspire us and fire the imagination. They teach us creative problem solving, and how to meet challenges with flexibility, invention, and vision.

At the University of the South, we have multiple dedicated exhibition and performance spaces and series across campus, weaving the arts into life and study across the college. In addition to our designated spaces, our campus overall is regularly ranked as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.

All of campus is designed to inspire, and all of campus is a stage.

Arts Across Campus Locations
Click on the map below to find the full campus map with venue names.

Upcoming Events

VOICE RECITAL WITH GABRIEL RICE, BARITONE

Recital

Sunday, October 8 at 4:00PM
St. Luke's Chapel

A reflection of time abroad in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, the recital consists of a program entirely in German, spanning nearly a hundred years of the romantic lieder tradition. Songs by Schubert, Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Strauss, and Franz explore stories of devotion, loss, and unrequited love. Presented in partnership with the Music Department and the Office of Global Citizenship and Study Away.

Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Behind the Scenes of a Celebrated Japanese Woodblock Print Series

Art History Lecture

Tuesday, September 26, 2023
4:30 pm
Naylor Auditorium, Gailor Hall

Some of Utagawa Hiroshige’s designs in his series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo are among the best-known woodblock prints and have been cherished since their inception in the 1850s. Hiroshige captured 118 different scenes in the metropolis of Edo, today’s Tokyo, and sourced his ideas from illustrations in previously published books.

Aiken Taylor Award For Modern American Poetry

Reading and Lecture

Reading
Tuesday, September 26, 4:00pm
All Saint's Chapel

Lecture
Wednesday, September 27th, 4:00 p.m.
Naylor Auditorium - Gailor Hall

The Sewanee Review invites you to its first events of the year—the presentation of the Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry by Vice-Chancellor Pearigen, and the lecture on the recipient’s body of work. The award, given annually since 1987, has honored some of America’s greatest poets, such as Nobel laureate Louise Glück and Pulitzer-prize winner Carl Phillips. The award-ceremony concludes with a reading and is an opportunity for students and the Sewanee community to hear a great artist up close and personal. The following afternoon’s lecture is a must for English-majors interested in exposure to criticism of the highest order. Join us on Tuesday, September 26th at 4:30 p.m. as we celebrate poet Patricia Smith (Incendiary Art, Unshuttered), and on Wednesday, September 27th at 4:00 p.m., as poet Joy Priest (author of Horsepower), explores Smith’s body of work.

Lunch Talk on French Avant-garde of the 1930s

French Department

Professor Effie Rentzou of Princeton University will deliver a talk, over lunch, entittled Beyond the Human: Universalism, Humanism, and the French Avant-garde of the 1930s.

McClurg Room 206ABC
Friday, September 29 at noon

Gabriel Rice, Baritone

Voice Recital

Sunday, October 8 at 4:00PM
St. Luke's Chapel

Joshua Espinoza Trio — Performing Arts Series

Music Performance

Thursday, November 2
Guerry Auditorium
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM CDT

Latino-American jazz pianist Joshua Espinoza blends and bends genres into songs that are immediately relatable yet hard to define.

He has performed with such luminaries as Sean Jones, Warren Wolf, Miho Hazama, Jihye Lee, and Chuck Redd. Alongside bassist Kris Monson and drummer Jaron Lamar Davis, the Joshua Espinoza Trio explores the undefined space between jazz improvisation, classical chamber music, pop music, and folk traditions. His debut album "Journey Into Night" is available on all platforms.

Purchase tickets here, in Guerry 129, or at the door. Students, Faculty, and Staff get 1 free ticket with a valid Sewanee ID.

She Kills Monsters

Theatre

Sarah Lacy Hamilton directs She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen-a play about grief, a play about sexual identity, a play about Dungeons & Dragons. Reserve your tickets for any of the performances, which will be at the Tennessee Williams Center on the following dates:
Wednesday, October 4 at 7:30PM
Thursday, October 5 at 7:30PM
Friday, October 6 at 8:00PM
Saturday, October 7 at 2:00PM & 7:30PM
Sunday, October 8 at 2:00PM

Ming Ying Hong's "The One With ... The Amalgamations"

Exhibition

Ming Ying Hong's exhibition breaking down binary categories and exploring what it means to inhabit a racialized body, The One With the Amalgamations, will be in view in the UAG October 25 through December 11. Hong will present her work in conversation with Dr. Alison Miller on October 25 at 5 p.m. in Guerry Auditorium.

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Current Exhibitions

University Art Gallery

The collaborative project Woven Wind is now open in the UAG! Woven Wind will be on view August 23 through October 11, 2023.

The UAG is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Carlos Gallery

FESTIVAL
August 16, 2023 - October 13, 2023

Josiah Golson explores personal and collective narratives of performance, and video. He is the creator of 800 Collections, an organization that creatively inspires and organizes civic discourse, identity, and advocacy through drawing, painting, poetry, and engagement

In Stirling's Coffee House: Give But A Glimpse

Come and enjoy the work of the Broad Mountain Ruggers! On view September 2 through 30.

Historic Downtown Sewanee

On February 16, 2023, there will be an exhibit opening and reception for “Historic Sewanee Downtown, 150 Years” in the University Archives in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Details

Theatre & Dance

Performances and Events Highlights

Keep An Eye On

Art Forum

Art Forum is an organization dedicated to promoting the visual arts and facilitating artistic opportunities at the University of the South. We offer a creative space for students to promote art within a positive community. In doing so, we foster a stronger Sewanee community and appreciation for the arts.

Arts Amplified

At the University of the South, the arts model interdisciplinarity and collaboration. Special events like gallery walks and Arts Amplified events bring distinct disciplines in the arts together for inspiration and learning, and give our students and faculty multiple and diverse opportunities to experiment, collaborate, show their work, hone their skills, and reach audiences - all across campus.

Arts Fellows Scholarship

Students with exceptional promise in performing or studio arts can apply for Fellowship in the Arts. They are awarded to candidates with interests and accomplishments in visual studies, art history, film, dance, theatre, or music. Students selected for these fellowships will have the opportunity to dive more deeply into the life of the arts at Sewanee. Incoming students are invited to apply after they are admitted to Sewanee. These stackable fellowships, valued at $2,000, are renewable for four years. For more information, please email your admission counselor.

Dynamics

Dynamics seeks to bring together the performing arts at Sewanee by mixing student-choreographed dances with vocal and instrumental pieces. Student performers are invited to try on new styles and concepts with the goal of simply being creative.

Guarisco Scholarship

The Guarisco Scholarship is endowed for Seniors who are pursuing a major in the Department of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies, and who have demonstrated extraordinary promise in Art or Art History. The scholarship includes tuition as well as research funds for summer travel or an internship leading up to and during the final year as an undergraduate.

Live Music Sound Nation

Live Music Sound Nation is a contemporary instrumental multi-media ensemble, focusing on the production and performance of modern rock and film score shows. Using a highly collaborative approach, the next generation of talented musicians and artists rehearse music and prepare visual displays for arena-style rock and movie concerts. We use the latest in sound, lighting effects, and design as we perform the compositions of the great musical artists of the modern day.

Performing Arts Series

The Sewanee Performing Arts Series features a wide variety of performances throughout the academic year.

Some of the recent solo and ensemble performers have included:

American Spiritual Ensemble
Grammy nominated PUBLIQuartet
Aaron Diehl
Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal
Vienna Boys Choir
Olivier Latry
American Shakespeare Center
Chanticleer
Rooftop Records

Performances take place throughout the academic year and are made available to students at no cost.

Perpetual Motion

Perpetual Motion (PMo) is a student-led dance organization designed to give students an opportunity to perform and to expose the Sewanee community to a variety of unique styles of dance. Through diversity and inclusion, we strive to recruit dancers of all levels and expose them to a variety of dance genres. To fulfill our mission, we will work with other dance organizations on campus as well as the Dance Program to reach as many students as possible.

Sewanee Praise

Sewanee Praise ministers the Gospel in song to the campus and surrounding communities. The choir’s diverse membership is made up of students, faculty, and community members from various backgrounds and experiences. Its repertory covers spirituals, traditional and contemporary gospel, contemporary Christian, and praise and worship. Sewanee Praise performs two concerts—one each semester—as well as other campus events and regional tours.

Sewanee Symphony Orchestra

The Sewanee Symphony Orchestra (SSO) presents a full range of the symphonic repertory and includes a wide variety of musical styles and genres. As a key component of the liberal arts environment, the orchestra not only collaborates with other music ensembles but also often participates in campus-wide interdisciplinary projects. Sewanee's orchestra is a vivid reflection of our community. It is common for students to play alongside their professors, University administrators, and community members.

University Choir

The University Choir plays an important role in Sewanee's musical life, singing at weekly services in All Saints' Chapel, monthly evensongs, and other campus events. A highlight of each year is the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols. This service regularly attracts 3,000 visitors to campus and has been featured in Southern Living and Garden and Gun. As an active touring ensemble, the choir has performed extensively throughout the United States and England.

University Jazz Ensemble

The University Jazz Ensemble started as a small ensemble and has grown into a 17-to-19 piece big band that covers the repertory of large ensemble jazz ranging from Duke Ellington and Count Basie to big band arrangements of popular songs by the Beatles and the Jackson 5. The Jazz Ensemble focuses on developing student jazz musicians by providing an opportunity for a challenging ensemble experience while encouraging performers to explore jazz improvisation. The Jazz Ensemble offers two performances on campus each school year, and also plays in local venues as requested.

The William Ralston Listening Library

The William Ralston Listening Library and Archive is located on the second floor of duPont Library at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. The state-of-the-art facility offers an unparalleled teaching and learning resource and was created in memory of beloved Sewanee professor Father William Ralston, C’51. The Library houses his world-class collection of recordings inside what many reviewers and audiophiles consider to be the best publicly available sound playback system in the world. Years in the planning and decades in the dreaming, the Ralston Listening Library exists to bring a stunning, life-changing sonic and aesthetic experience to students and visitors of all ages. In the best spirit of Father Ralston, the Library's mission is entirely philanthropic, designed to spread a love and appreciation for great music and audio to those who would not otherwise have access or knowledge of such things.