Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts

10/15/2026

As part of their closing program, the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia will feature the debut performances on November 13 and 14 of “Timaeus and The Teacher: Foreword,” an aria from the new opera "Timaeus and The Teacher" written and directed by Associate Professor of Art Tammy Nguyen and commissioned and produced by Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts. Nguyen was invited to present the work, which brings together music, performance, and visual art; and explores themes of freedom and nationhood, drawing on her family history and multidisciplinary practice. Composed by John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce, choreographed by Jamal Jackson, and performed by Brian Vu, the full opera will premiere at a later date. Read more in The Wesleyan Connection: https://bit.ly/3UtXqrh

Image: "Timaeus and The Teacher: Foreword." Courtesy Lehmann Maupin, New York, London, and Seoul.

10/10/2026

Student Carnatic Music Showcase
Saturday, October 10, 2026 from 2pm to 5:30pm
Belzberg World Music Hall

Performers include Praseed Balaji (mridangam), Abhinav Ganesan (mrdangam), Anirudh Ganesan (mrdangam), Sathya Ganesan (vocal), Aditya Kalahasti (kanjira), Lavanya Karthikeyan (vocal), Nikhita Kaushik (violin), Shishir Kumar (saxophone), Sumedha Mahesh ’27 (violin), and Sameth Sitaram (violin).

This event is organized by Wesleyan students Saakshi Challa ’27 and Sumeda Mahesh ’27; co-hosted by the student club Shakti; and co-sponsored by the Fries Center for Global Studies.

This event is part of the 50th anniversary Navaratri Festival at Wesleyan.

https://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/featured-programs/navaratri-festival.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=event-wescommunity-learn-more-navaratri-livestream-october-2026

Gather with friends to enjoy short performances from students of th...

10/09/2026

10/05/2026

Via India Abroad: "Wesleyan University's annual Navaratri Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary of bringing Indian classical music and dance to the Connecticut campus from Oct. 8-11."

The 2026 festival will bring together artists, scholars, students and community members from across the U.S. and abroad.

10/04/2026

What does 'Navaratri' mean? Violinist Sumedha Mahesh ’27 and singer Saakshi Challa '27 explain that 'Navaratri' derives from the Hindu celebration of Shakti, the divine feminine, representing power, energy, and strength, which spans nine (nava-) nights (ratri). At Wesleyan University, we bring that celebration to campus through music, dance, food, and community. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3TjFWgX

09/30/2026

Globally-renowned master of Carnatic vocal music T.M. Krishna returns to Wesleyan University for the first time in 15 years to perform on Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 7pm in Crowell Concert Hall as part of Wesleyan's 50th anniversary Navaratri Festival. Krishna will perform along with Sruti Sarathy on violin and Rajna Swaminathan on mrdangam (double-headed drum).

The day after his concert, Krishna will present “Politically Karnatik: Exploring Tradition, Freedom and Fraternity,” a conversation about art, education, and his activism around issues of caste, LGBTQ rights, and environmental justice in India with Hari Krishnan, Co-Chair and Professor of Global South Asian Studies, and Professor of Dance and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3VpShAG

09/26/2026

What does classical Carnatic music from South India sound like? Violinist Sumedha Mahesh ’27 and singer Saakshi Challa '27 perform a rhythmic composition combining three different ragas (scales), in the following order: Karaharapriya, Rasikapriya, and Shanmukhapriya. Mahesh studies under Sri. VVS Murari, while Challa studies under Sri. Palghat Ramprasad and Smt. Rasika Murali Mohan.

The two Wesleyan University seniors helped to organize a Student Carnatic Music Showcase, which will take place on Saturday, October 10, 2026 from 2pm to 5:30pm in Belzberg World Music Hall and feature Mahesh plus students from Yale University, Penn State, Rutgers University—Newark, the University of Michigan, and other schools. Savory Indian appetizers and refreshments will be served.

This event is part of the 50th anniversary Navaratri Festival at Wesleyan. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4AGVA6T

09/25/2026

How does creative practice adapt and thrive within the strict limits of a maximum-security facility? Wesleyan University Library is pleased to present "Drawn Between The Lines," an exhibition featuring works on paper made by students in the first college-level drawing course taught at Cheshire Correctional Institution through Wesleyan University's Center for Prison Education. Exploring observational art created under unique environmental constraints, the exhibition considers how artistic rigor, focus, and personal expression flourish within spatial limits. Curated by Julia Randall and Coline McEachern ’26, and co-presented by the Center for the Arts with the Wesleyan Center for Prison Education.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4y9Ka9P

Audio excerpts from Randall's interviews with students Jose and Muhammad.

cc: Wesleyan Alumni

09/24/2026

How can jazz serve as a communal language of trust-building, intergenerational connection, and collective artmaking? The Center for the Arts is starting our partnership with the collective Make Jazz Trill Again for the 2026–2027 academic year. A multi-faceted residency encompassing performances, workshops, film screenings, and town halls, the initiative examines process, practice, and community, creating spaces for shared dialogue, creative experimentation, and artistic exchange.

Founder, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Melanie Charles (seen here singing her tune "Jazz School" as filmed by Hourglass Sessions) will premiere her one-woman art installation, "The Lunacy of Not Believing," on Friday, October 2, 2026 at 7pm, 7:45pm, and 8:30pm in the Fries Arts Building's Lin-Manuel Miranda Theater, located at 56 Hamlin Street at Wesleyan University. Ahead of the highly-anticipated album of the same name releasing in 2027, the durational performances will be set within an immersive environment, examining what happens when we dedicate our lives to systems that fail to sustain us.

The next day (Saturday, October 3, 2026 at Noon), Charles will be joined by Make Jazz Trill Again leadership Darah Golub and Yunie Mojica (Musician) to introduce their organization and explore the meaning of community, collective artistic processes, and jazz techniques during a Town Hall centered on creative exchange in the same venue (the Fries Arts Building's Lin-Manuel Miranda Theater).

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4rrlx62

09/16/2026

Maryland-based dance school and company Kalanidhi Dance will make their Connecticut debut as the conclusion of Wesleyan University's 50th annual Navaratri Festival on Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 3pm in Crowell Concert Hall. Their work "Nritya Malika—A Garland of Dances" features the flowing, graceful, and theatrical Kuchipudi dance style.

From the sacred to the secular, the work is an immersive journey into the myths and magic of Indian mythologies, literature, and dance. Most of the dances uplift the divine feminine Shakti energy. The first piece centers Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom, and learning that will be honored earlier that morning at 10am during Wesleyan's annual Puja ceremony, marking the most auspicious day of the year for beginning new endeavors.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4htSVWh