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AU Arts
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
United States
AU Arts
The arts have a prominent role at American University. Rotating exhibitions at the AU Museum in the state-of-the-art Katzen Arts Center emphasize regional, national, and international contemporary art. The Department of Performing Arts, comprised of Arts Management, Audio Technology, Dance, Music, and Theatre/Musical Theatre, provides dynamic, connected, expressive, and fulfilling experiences for all of our majors, minors, and participating students. The Department of Art encompasses Studio Art, Art History, Game Design, Photography, and Graphic Design.
To stay up-to-date on performances and events, join the AU Arts mailing list and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Questions? Call 202-885-ARTS or email auarts@american.edu.
Events in the AU Arts Community
Music
Tickets are free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general admission.
Fall for Jazz
Directed by Joshua Bayer
Abramson Family Recital Hall, Katzen Arts Center
December 2, 7:30 p.m.
The AU Jazz Orchestra plays big band jazz, bop, funk, Latin, rock, and of course swing! Every concert has a full menu of these styles.
American University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus: Brahms and Sibelius
Conducted by Matthew Brown and Casey Cook
Abramson Family Recital Hall, Katzen Arts Center
December 3, 7:30 p.m. December 4, 3 p.m.
AU Chorus and Orchestra collaborate to perform one of Johannes Brahms' most beautiful and well-known choral works, Schicksalslied, as well as other choral works led by Casey Cook. The orchestra will also present Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' Symphony 2.
Theatre/Musical Theatre
Tickets are free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general admission.
Sense and Sensibility
By Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Karl Kippola
Studio Theatre, Katzen Arts Center
December 8-9, 8 p.m. December 10, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
This breezy and fun adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel follows the Dashwood sisters on their journey toward love and happiness. Contrasting the good judgment and self-control of Elinor's "sense" with the impulsive, uncontrollable emotions of Marianne's "sensibility," this fast and fun theatrical experience embraces the comedy and romance of Austen's brilliant, complex women.
Dance
INTERVAL: An Invitation to Pause
American University Dance Program Senior Capstone
Artistic Director Ronya-Lee Anderson
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
December 3-4 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tickets: Free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, and senior citizens, $15 general admission.
These six works converge at the crossroads of identity, self-reflection, and self-expression. We center the body as a site of exploration to critically and intimately converse with ourselves, others, and the world around us. Interval: An Invitation to Pause is an immersive experience where we offer truths as a bridge that allows the soul to wander, the body to play, and the mind to expand.
Fall at the AU Museum
Exhibitions on view September 10–December 11, 2022.
- Make-Believe: Georgia Saxelby and Devan Shimoyama
- Kallos: Maria Karametou
- Sitting Pretty: Two Hundred Years of American Portrait Painting from the Collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art
- Haunted Koreas: Mina Cheon with Kim Il Soon
- Singularities and Infinities: Shanthi Chandrasekar and Michael Albrow
- Nan Montgomery: Counterpoint
- More Clay: The Power of Repetition
COVID-19 Update
To ensure everyone's health and safety, all guests attending AU events must show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior, and a photo ID. Masks are encouraged, but optional. Learn more about our COVID-19 protocols.
Devan Shimoyama, Self-Portrait as Aaliyah, 2022. Mixed media on canvas over panel, 48 x 36 x 3 in. Courtesy of the artist and Kavi Gupta. Featured in Make-Believe.
