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

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

Music in the Real World
2024-25 Colloquium hosted by Blair School of Music
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

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.
Tuesday, April 8, 4:30 pm, VUMA
Porch Fest
Saturday, April 12, noon to 5 p.m., Peabody Esplanade
Artist Talk with Jessica Houston
Monday, April 14, 4 p.m., Virtual
Arts and Libraries Event Calendar
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.
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