Outstanding Visual and Performing Arts Programs Enrich GW Experience

By Shelly Deavy, Associate Director of Development, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

Washington, D.C. is a true metropolis — one that integrates politics, internationalism, public affairs, business, and culture — the crossroads of the world. Washington is also a center for the arts, and The George Washington University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences offers outstanding opportunities for students of theatre, music, dance, and fine arts to attain the finest education in their chosen field. Students in these programs enhance GW's cultural landscape, drawing upon the unique resources of our faculty and the city of Washington to share their artistic vision with the community on and off campus.

Established partnerships with such respected institutions as the Hirshhorn Museum, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and the Folger Shakespeare Library offer extraordinary prospects for GW students. Just as professional internships with the Federal government, financial centers, and non-profits offer once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, so our arts students intern with a wide variety of nationally known galleries, museums, and theatres. GW students in the arts might find themselves at the National Gallery, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Phillips Collection, the Studio Theater, or The Kennedy Center.

 "Through the Choral Program, I've performed in some really amazing places — from the Washington National Cathedral to abroad in Venice, Italy," says Sara Fellman, a junior majoring in music. "I feel so lucky to get a great, well-rounded liberal arts education in the nation's capital while at the same time, participate in programs that I am so passionate about – like choir."

Throughout the year, the GW community and the public are treated to visual and performing arts programs from plays and dance programs, to instrumental and choral offerings, to exhibits of paintings and sculpture. The Department of Theater and Dance produces six full productions each year, ranging from new play festivals to established classics, including two dance performances. Among the exhibitions that studio art students present each year are Masters' of Fine Arts theses, thematic juried groups, and individual shows. Students in the Department of Music conduct dozens of performances through participation in instrumental and vocal performance groups and at campus-wide events, such as graduation.

These performances and exhibits are not only excellent learning opportunities for the students involved, they also provide the entire GW community with cultural opportunities that enrich the University experience. A frequently updated calendar of Columbian College events, including the many offerings in art, dance, theatre, and music, may be found at http://www.gwu.edu/~ccas/news_events/calendar.html.

You can help support our students in theatre, dance, music, and visual arts.

A gift to the Department of Theatre and Dance can

• help underwrite production costs such as set-building, props, and costumes;
• offer competitive graduate student aid for MFA students in Classical Acting and Design; and
• support the Nate Garner Memorial Fund (http://www.gwu.edu/~theatre/remembering.htm), established in 2006 in honor of a cherished faculty member to underwrite the costs of bringing visiting professional artists to campus.

Support of the Department of Music (http://www.gwu.edu/~music/support/ ) can

• provide for pressing physical needs like updating or replacing old instruments and recording equipment as well as soundproofing of teaching studios and practice rooms; and
• support master classes, special events, and student travel and research.

Giving to the Department of Fine Arts and Art History (http://www.gwu.edu/~art/) can

• support the Contemporary Art Think Tank, our annual seminar of issues in contemporary art;
• bring cutting-edge visual artists to campus; and
• provide for the critical technology and software needs of the New Media Program.

In This Issue

Quick Links

The Parents Campaign