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Arts at Syracuse University

Creative expression and artistic thinking are central to the student experience. They enrich our research, educational excellence, student success and public impact.

 

Events Calendar

Syracuse University has a vibrant and robust calendar of arts experiences including exhibitions, performances and programs for all ages.

A person looks at large works of art on a wall during a show.

Museums, Galleries and Performing Arts

Students looking at art on display at art museum.

Syracuse University Art Museum

The Syracuse University Art Museum, the University's fine arts museum, offers engaging exhibitions and public programs, emphasizing American art and its historical, cultural and social contexts. It serves as a museum-laboratory for students and the University community.

Explore the Syracuse University Art Museum
Student working at the state-of-the-art digital lab at Light Work inside the Robert B. Menschel Media center at Watson Hall.

Light Work

Light Work has supported emerging and under-recognized visual artists in photography and lens-based media for over five decades through residencies, exhibitions, projects and publications. It offers a state-of-the-art photography facility with student, faculty and staff memberships. The Artist-in-Residence program brings 12 artists to Syracuse each year, and more than 500 artists have participated in the program to date.

Learn more about Light Work
Tanisha Jackson, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and the Community Folk Art Center Executive Director, plays drums with others.

Community Folk Art Center

The Community Folk Art Center, Inc. (CFAC) is a cultural hub dedicated to promoting artists of the African Diaspora through exhibitions, film screenings, gallery talks and studio arts courses like dance and ceramics. As part of the Department of African American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, CFAC is a beacon of artistry, creativity and cultural expression in Syracuse, the region and the world.

Discover the Community Folk Art Center
La Casita Gallery opening celebration of the WEIRD Barrio exhibition during Latine Heritage Month, 2024.

La Casita Cultural Center

La Casita, located in the historic Lincoln Building in Syracuse’s Near Westside, promotes civic engagement through research, cultural heritage preservation, media and the arts, connecting the University and Central New York Hispanic communities. The center features an art gallery, classroom, bilingual library, performance space, workshop facilities, kitchenette and meeting space.

See La Casita Cultural Center
Three students talking in the Point of Contact gallery.

Point of Contact

Founded in 1975, Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact Inc. fosters a collaborative model to explore contemporary visual and verbal arts, working across disciplines and across cultures. Point of Contact is an open forum for diverse identities to engage in open dialogue, working expansively across intellectual, social and geographic boundaries.

Explore Point of Contact
Exterior of Syracuse Stage.

Syracuse Stage

Founded in 1974, Syracuse Stage is Syracuse University's nonprofit, professional theater company. Nationally recognized for engaging Central New York audiences, it significantly contributes to the artistic life of Syracuse University and partners with the Department of Drama. Its mission is to tell stories that engage, entertain and inspire people to see life beyond their own experiences.

Learn more about Syracuse Stage
Student at the Special Collections Research Center ‘In Pursuit of Justice: Pan Am Flight 103 Opening Reception Curated by Pan Am 103.

Special Collections Research Center

Part of Syracuse University Libraries, the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) is a vibrant research environment for students, staff, faculty and the community. It preserves and provides access to renowned rare and archival collections, promoting personal discovery and new knowledge through hands-on classes, exhibitions, lectures and public programs. The SCRC documents Syracuse University and global history through rare printed materials, photographs, artworks, audio, video recordings and University records.

See the Special Collections Research Center
Urban Video Project showing Yoko Ono's Remembering The Future.

Urban Video Project

Urban Video Project (UVP), a program of Light Work with the Everson Museum of Art and Onondaga County, is an outdoor venue for public film, video and moving image art projections. As one of the few U.S. projects dedicated to ongoing public projections, UVP uses cutting-edge technology to enhance Central New York’s legacy as a birthplace of video art, bringing top-tier art to Syracuse.

Discover the Urban Video Project
Portrait of Carrie Mae Weems.

Syracuse University Artist-in-Residence

Created in 2020, the Syracuse University Artist-in-Residence program brings prominent and emerging artists to campus to collaborate with faculty and students. Internationally renowned artist Carrie Mae Weems, the inaugural Artist-in-Residence, is a MacArthur Fellow and the first African American woman to have a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum. Weems uses various mediums to explore cultural identity, sexism, class, politics, family and power.

Explore the Syracuse University Artist-in-Residence Program
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This New York City venue hosts several annual exhibitions, showcasing the Syracuse University Art Museum's collections, works by alumni, faculty and University partners including Light Work, Point of Contact Gallery, Community Folk Art Center and loaned pieces from collectors and other galleries, as well as site-specific installations by contemporary artists.

See the Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery
People performing inside of Hendricks.

Malmgren Concert Series

The Malmgren Concert Series of Hendricks Chapel has been made possible by a generous gift from Syracuse University alumna Ester Malmgren to Hendricks Chapel in 1991. The concert series offers the Syracuse community the highest quality of arts at no cost.

Learn more about the Malmgren Concert Series

Having our class in the Community Folk Art Center breathes life into what we are studying. We get to feel like we are part of the community.

—Emily Saad ’24 Advertising and Finance S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Martin J. Whitman School of Management
Tanisha Jackson sitting in class smiling.
Sharif Bey showing art.
Exterior of the Syracuse University Art Museum.
Art hanging in a gallery.

Contact

The Arts at Syracuse University is part of Academic Affairs at Syracuse University. For more information, contact:

Miranda Traudt
Assistant Provost for Arts and Community Programming
315.443.3821
mstraudt@syr.edu