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How We Shape the Arts

The Center for the Arts brings artists, students, and faculty into conversation through interdisciplinary practice, global perspectives, and hands-on work that advances creative research at Wesleyan.

Creating Across Fields

[Musician on stage with drumset and dhol with images of jazz drummers displayed behind him]

Art, performance, and research come together across disciplines, fostering new creative approaches that extend beyond traditional boundaries.
Global Perspectives

[Composer with electronic instrument in front of Javanese Gamelan Ensemble]

A commitment to world arts, experimental forms, and contemporary practice shapes our distinctive approach to teaching, learning, and performance.
Creating Work Together

[Students at table with visiting artist]

Each year, visiting artists develop new projects in collaboration with Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff, enriching campus life and creative inquiry.
Learning Through Practice

[Artist in classroom with students ]

The Creative Campus Initiative embeds artists in courses across disciplines, giving students hands-on ways to explore how artistic practice shapes learning.
Community Through Art

[Dancer on stage viewed from behind teaching dance moves to audience on lawn]

Public programs, performances, and outreach initiatives connect Wesleyan with local audiences, fostering shared experiences and creative engagement.
Exploring Creative Roles

[In drawing studio, two seated students draw while another student plays cello with harmonica while seated on a platform]

Students engage in making, producing, curating, and supporting the arts, discovering pathways that connect creative practice with real-world experience.

Stories from Our Community

Explore the moments, people, and ideas shaping the arts.

[Woman speaking on stage with microphone in hand ]

Art as Inquiry with Anna Deavere Smith

Anna Deavere Smith explores performance as a way of knowing at Wesleyan.

During her 202425 residency, Anna Deavere Smith developed "This Ghost of Slavery" and invited students into a process rooted in vulnerability, inquiry, and radical hospitality.
[Dancer leading students in a dance on a field ]

Common Moment at Wesleyan

A joyful, movement-based tradition that welcomes each new class.

The Common Moment welcomes each incoming class through a collective dance experience rooted in embodied inquiry, collaboration, and communityintroducing students to Wesleyans creative and intellectual ethos.
[Person playing electronic music with Javanese Gamelan in background ]

Art Across the Curriculum

Artists and faculty collaborate to explore new modes of inquiry.

The Creative Campus Initiative brings artists and faculty together to explore big questions across disciplinesusing the arts as a powerful lens for teaching, learning, and imagining new ways of knowing.
[Student speaking at podium with bookshelves in background ]

Embodying Antiracism at Wesleyan

A multi-year initiative using art and research to advance antiracist change.

Bringing together artists, organizers, students, and scholars, Wesleyans Embodying Antiracism Initiative fostered deep collaboration, leadership training, and community engagement grounded in creative practice and systemic change.
[Two students behind table with handouts talk to man seen from behind with other people standing and talking in the background ]

Student Voices Shaping the Arts

Students lead, curate, and build community through the arts at the CFA.

Wesleyans Directors Council is a student-led collective that shapes the future of the Center through creative leadership, collaborative programming, and community-building across the arts.

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About the Center for the Arts

Learn how the Center for the Arts brings Wesleyan’s values to life through creativity and critical inquiry, supporting artists and interdisciplinary learning.

Center for the Arts

How We Shape the Arts

Creating Across Fields

Global Perspectives

Creating Work Together

Learning Through Practice

Community Through Art

Exploring Creative Roles

Upcoming Events

Stories from Our Community

About the Center for the Arts

Latest News

Artist-in-Residence Uses Senses to Explore Nature

Using Improvisation to Navigate the Unknown

Theater as a Lab for Citizenship

Center for the Arts

Center for the Arts

How We Shape the Arts

Creating Across Fields

Global Perspectives

Creating Work Together

Learning Through Practice

Community Through Art

Exploring Creative Roles

Upcoming Events

Stories from Our Community

About the Center for the Arts

Latest News

Artist-in-Residence Uses Senses to Explore Nature

Using Improvisation to Navigate the Unknown

Theater as a Lab for Citizenship

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