Events

There are many ways to engage with the arts on and around campus! From author talks to exhibitions, dance classes to music performances, film screenings to painting nights, this page features events related to performing, visual, and literary arts.


Featured Events

Information

Dark Testament

Exhibition & Programming

The acclaimed multimedia art exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice comes to Vanderbilt University from February through May 2025. This exhibition and its related programs celebrate more than 100 years of influential Black writers, from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights era, at several campus galleries, starting February 14.

March-April Events

  • March 3 - Fire Next Time Book Talk
  • March 19 - Pauli Murray and the Arc of Justice Panel 
  • April 7 - Harriet Jacobs virtual discussion
  • April 14 - Closing Reception

More Info

Information

Music in the Real World

2024-25 Colloquium hosted by Blair School of Music

The colloquium’s primary focus of investigation will be on music’s radical potential as a force for good in the world.  Guest artists and local musicians will share their experience, expertise, and creative breakthroughs for making music in a wide array of contexts and communities, with diverse strategies for building new communities, seeking social justice, addressing marginalized individuals, collaborating with various institutions, and promoting human flourishing. 
 
Spring Events:
Medical Music Therapy: Creating Moments of Hope and Healing in Healthcare with Dana Kim
    January 23, Turner Hall, 8 pm
From Broken Dreams to Shared Futures: Musicians Struggling for Justice with André de Quadros
    
January 30, Turner Hall, 8 pm
Ching-Yi Ling & Meredith Blecha Wells
   
February 12, Turner Hall, 8 pm
Symposium On Music & AI
    Lecture and World Premiere -February 18, Turner Hall, 8 pm
    Panel Discussion - March 6, Room TBD, 6 pm
Mindtravel: Murray Hidary
    March 24, Turner Hall, 8 pm
Two New Duos For Clarinet & Percussion: Valerie Coleman and Fred O.
    April 10, Turner Hall, 8 pm
Capstone Festival: Nashville Meeting Grounds
    April 19, 2:30 pm

More Info

Information

VUMA

Spring Exhibit: ...no footprints even

The history of arctic exploration and polar art abounds with images of sublime wonder, colonial appropriation, and heroic masculinity. Over many centuries, European and North American imagemakers have imagined our planet’s polar regions as timeless zones awaiting bold human deeds in search of meaning and life. Inhospitable and full of hazards, polar landscapes according to this tradition have either served as mere backdrops to individual gestures of bravery and endurance or showcased the folly and fragility of any human endeavor. The work of Montreal-based artist Jessica Houston unsettles such imagery and asks us to develop new aesthetic approaches to engage with the poles’ icy landscapes. 

 
April Events:
Time Traveling Astronaut Vampires: Life, Time & Research in Antarctica
Dan Morgan, co-director of Vanderbilt Antarctic Moraine Provence Immersive Research Experience (VAMPIRE) leads a fast-paced discussion of life at the bottom of the world: geology, student experience, and research. Recent Antarctica geology samples available for hands-on exploration
    Tuesday, April 8, 4:30 pm, VUMA
Porch Fest
Live performances of new works based on VUMA collections, spoken word, story walk and story time all on Peabody Esplanade
      Saturday, April 12, noon to 5 p.m., Peabody Esplanade
Artist Talk with Jessica Houston
   
Monday, April 14, 4 p.m., Virtual
Curator's Tour with Lutz Koepnick
    Wednesday, April 16, 4 p.m., VUMA
Field Notes from Antarctica Concert by the Vanderbilt New Music Society
Featuring artwork by Jana Harper's Experimental Drawing class in response to Jessica Houston's exhibition.
    Thursday, April 24, 4:30 p.m., VUMA

More Info

Arts and Libraries Event Calendar

More Events

We want to feature as many arts related events as possible. Is your event not featured? Be sure to tag it "Incunabula" in the University calendar.

Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Instagram if interested in receiving regular updates.