Arts And Culture

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art, has been named the 2024 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner from Vanderbilt University. Her artistic work spans a variety of media, including photography, performance, sculpture, drawing, painting and video. She employs them in immersive installations that explore her experience as a Cuban woman and the broader issues facing Caribbean people, including displacement and inequality. Read More

Chris Lowry, BMus’11, and Peter Dayton, BMus’12, both received recognition in the American Viola Society’s 2024 biennial Maurice Gardner Competition for Composers. Among the 77 submissions to the contest, Chris Lowry was the first prize winner, with his work, “Zenith (for Jackson)” for viola and electronics. Read More

An upcoming motion picture, 'Cabrini,' features a score composed by Blair School of Music alumnus Gene Back, BMus’06. Coming to theatres on March 8, International Women’s Day, 'Cabrini' was directed by the award-winning Alejandro Monteverde. Read More

Some have said that singer Dashon Burton’s bass-baritone is enormous, capable of raising the dead or like looking directly into the sun. This year, the two-time Grammy winner is nominated once again with vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category for their album Rough Magic (New Amsterdam Records, 2023). Read More

Vanderbilt University Press has launched a new trade series, Global Black Writers in Translation, which will publish a variety of texts by authors of African descent translated from their source languages into English. The goal is to amplify a body of writing that introduces anglophone readers to the range and complexity of Black literary and cultural production, history and political thought. Read More

Avery Carpenter Forrey, BA'11, says Vanderbilt was the first place where she felt she could make a career out of writing. With a double major in in English and communications, her latest writing journey has led to the publication of her novel 'Social Engagement' (Mariner, 2023). Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries have acquired the personal collection of Dom Flemons, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and cultural historian whose music and research have brought greater awareness to African Americans’ extensive contributions to roots music. Flemons also will be appearing at the Blair School and NMAAM later this month. Read More

Blair School of Music is well represented in the nominations for the 66th GRAMMY Awards, with a total of five selections announced between faculty Edgar Meyer and Dashon Burton, and alumnus William Brittelle. Read More

Lauded musician, composer, and educator Wadada Leo Smith will be at Vanderbilt University for a weeklong residency November 28 – December 1, which will include two musical performances and a special forum interview event. Read More

Vanderbilt University students were recognized with 34 awards at the fall 2023 National College Media Convention, the nation’s largest gathering of collegiate journalists, media students and their advisers. Read More

A landmark gift from current Vanderbilt parents Allison and Larry Berg will establish the Berg Global Artist-in-Residence program to bring visiting artists to campus, as well as two Berg Dean’s Faculty Fellowships in the College of Arts and Science. Read More

The podcast, Art of Interference, dives deep into the intersection of art, climate change and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Spearheaded by a team of College of Arts and Science faculty and students, the four-season podcast seeks to broaden our perspectives on climate change and our role in it by engaging with the arts. Read More

The new prize comes as Vanderbilt University marks its Sesquicentennial by honoring its strong connection to the arts.  Read More

Glory Samjolly joins an impressive list of scholars being brought to Vanderbilt by the Global Scholars in Residence program, which was introduced in November 2022 by the Office of the Chancellor. Read More

Vanderbilt University Theatre will open its 2023–24 season with 'Good Kids,' a play by Naomi Iizuka. The play, directed by Ibby Cizmar, assistant professor of theatre, deals with campus sexual assault. Shows are scheduled for Oct. 6–8 and Oct. 12–14 at Neely Auditorium. Read More

The combined fine art project and feature-length documentary together strike at the root of anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes by exploring the challenges and aspirations of LGBTQ+ Catholics. The screening, which is free and open to the public, will be on Oct. 10 at 6 p.m., followed by a Q&A and community talk back.  Read More

This school year, immerse yourself in the vibrant Nashville community. There’s something for everyone. Read More

Vanderbilt University is partnering with NashFilm to provide two of the festival’s venues, Rothschild Black Box Theater and Sarratt Cinema. Founded in 1969 as one of the first film festivals in the United States, the Nashville Film Festival will host its 54th festival Sept. 28–Oct. 4.  Read More

Books written by alumni that have recently been published Read More

An interactive map showing the locations of sculptures around campus and offering accompanying information about each piece is now available to the Vanderbilt community. Read More