American University Arts

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American University Arts

A home for the arts at American University. Visual and Performing Arts come to life at the Katzen

American University Arts hosts the Department of Art and the Department of Performing Arts, which encompasses the creative activities of fine arts, design, art history, music, theatre, dance, arts management, and audio production and technology. Please follow us for information on upcoming performances, exhibitions and other events, as well as faculty, student, and alumni accomplishments, and a be

hind the scenes look at what happens in the Arts at AU! Box Office:
202-885-ARTS (885-2787) | [email protected]
Tickets Online: american.edu/auartstix
Open: Mon-Fri, 11 AM - 4 PM, & one hour prior to performances

AU Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
202-885-1300
http://www.american.edu/museum
Open: Friday-Sun, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Greenberg Theatre
4200 Wisconsin Ave, Washington, DC
Open: Tue-Sat, 3 PM - 6 PM, & one hour prior to performances

04/17/2025

Upcoming Exhibition: TRANSIT– 2025 MFA Thesis Exhibition
On view: April 19 – May 18, 2025
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center .

Six dynamic artists from American University’s Studio Art MFA program explore themes of passage, memory, and identity in TRANSIT, their final thesis exhibition. From ritual installations and ceramics to poignant paintings and sculptural works, this diverse show reveals how art acts as both vehicle and destination.

Featuring work by:

– Phaedra Askarinam ()
– Pooja Campbell ()
– Patricia Edwine Poku ()
– Connor Gagne (.photographs)
– Andrés Izquierdo ()
– Julia Cheng Zhang ()

Join us for the Opening Reception: Saturday, April 26, 6–9 PM. https://bit.ly/3Ets8ZA

04/02/2025

April at American University will be filled with the sounds of music – and dance! From Bach and Brahms to big band swing and contemporary dance, there's something for everyone. Celebrate the arrival of spring by supporting and enjoying the breadth and brilliance of the performing arts at AU.

Tickets: $10-15, FREE for AU students with ID. Reserve your seat now: https://bit.ly/3X4pwro

Dance photos by Michael A. Clark

04/01/2025

🎶 From Bach to Big Band: April is Music Month at American University !
Experience the full spectrum of sound this April at American University—from Haydn’s stirring Lord Nelson Mass to swinging big band jazz.

📅 Upcoming highlights:
🎼 Apr 5–6: Chamber Singers – Haydn, Bach, Pärt
🎹 Apr 11: Chorus – Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem
🎺 Apr 13: Symphonic Band – Spring Concert
🎷 Apr 25: Jazz Orchestra & Combos – Some Spring Swing
🎻 Apr 26–27: Symphony Orchestra – Classical Collage

🎟️ Tickets: Free for AU students | $10 AU community | $15 general
📍All concerts at Katzen Arts Center
🔗 Reserve your seats now: https://bit.ly/41WHQ8J

03/31/2025

April at American University will be full of the sounds of music! 🎵 🎶 🎵

From choral harmonies to big band energy and orchestral grandeur, this month-long series of performances showcases the breadth and brilliance of AU’s music community. This weekend, April 5-6, the American University Chamber Singers will perform Joseph Haydn's Mass for Troubled Times, commonly known as the "Lord Nelson Mass." Hailed by scholar H.C. Robbins Landon as "arguably Haydn's greatest single composition," this concert will also feature Bach's monumental motet Der Geist hilft and Arvo Pärt's stirring Salve Regina.

🎟️: FREE for AU students or $10-15. Reserve your seat now: https://bit.ly/3X4pwro

03/27/2025

🎧 Bringing Sound to Life: A CAS Conversation with Samantha Farace

When American University student Samantha Farace (CAS ’26) took on the role of sound designer for Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea, she brought more than technical skill—she brought heart, storytelling, and a love of music.

Samantha shares how she got into theatre tech, what sound means to her, and how motifs helped shape the world of this imaginative play.

🎭 “There’s a culture to theater that I just really understand... I always thought I wanted to be a director, until I realized how much I care about sound.”

🔗 Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4l5YTN3

03/26/2025

⭐ It's almost showtime! ⭐ 9 to 5, The Musical hits the Greenberg Theatre stage TOMORROW and runs through this weekend. Featuring the iconic music of Dolly Parton, this hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era is about three unlikely friends who conspire to take control of their company and learn there's nothing they can't do—even in a man's world!

Do you have your tickets yet? https://bit.ly/484wmQr

📸 by Jillian Skara

03/18/2025

⭐ 9 to 5, the Musical opens at Greenberg Theatre on March 27! ⭐ Presented by AU Theatre and featuring the iconic music of Dolly Parton, the musical explores the struggles women faced within a frustrating workplace culture in the 1970s, portraying their journey toward empowerment as they challenge the status quo, seize control of their destinies, and forge deep bonds of friendship and community along the way. Secure your seats: https://bit.ly/3X4pwro
📸: byJillian Skara

02/25/2025

Happy opening night to the cast of A Game of Love and Chance! 🎲 ♠️ ❤️

Did you know that the actors don't know which character they play until the dice are rolled?

Tickets for this show are selling fast! Get yours now: https://bit.ly/40K2jvz

📸: by Ethan Kauffman

02/18/2025

One week from today: A Game of Love and Chance opens at the Katzen Studio Theatre! 🎲

Silvia has never met her fiancé, so she switches places with her maid to observe him. Her husband-to-be has the same idea, trading identities with his valet. This hilarious comedy will be improvised – with a different cast selected by the audience for each performance!

By Pierre Marivaux, directed by Karl Kippola. February 25-March 1, 2025 in the Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre.
🎟: $10-$15, free for AU students. Reserve yours now! https://bit.ly/3X4pwro

02/06/2025

⭐ One week from today ⭐ Dance Nation opens at the Greenberg Theatre! On stage February 13-15. Tickets are going fast. Get yours today: https://bit.ly/40K2jvz

Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay.

Dance Nation is a Pulitzer-Prize nominated play about ambition, growing up, and how to find our souls in the heat of it all. Directed by Tara Giordano and choreographed by Jennifer Hopkins.

“Dance Nation” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.

02/03/2025

AU Music Program faculty will take the stage on February 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Katzen Arts Center for the 🎶Faculty Music Concert 🎶! Get your tickets now! 🎟: $10-15, free for AU students: https://bit.ly/42Axoo0

01/31/2025

🎨✨ Visiting Artist: Melissa Joseph ✨🎨

Join us for an inspiring evening with Melissa Joseph, a New York-based artist whose work explores memory, family history, and the politics of space. Through textiles, sculpture, and mixed media, she reflects on diasporic life and the labor of women.

📅 February 6, 6:00 p.m.
📍 Katzen Arts Center 201
🎟️ Free & open to the public

Melissa’s work has been featured in Hyperallergic, Art Forum, Artnet, CNN, Vogue, and more—don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of today’s most compelling contemporary artists! https://bit.ly/3WHJ2cV

01/30/2025

📯🎶 American University musicians are tuning strings, oiling valves, and warming up their vocal cords for a thrilling competition!

Join us at the Concerto and Aria Competition as talented students compete for a chance to perform solo with the AU Symphony Orchestra this spring.

📅 February 1 at 6 p.m. & February 2 at 3 p.m.
📍 Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
🎟️ Free admission

Support our incredible student musicians and experience an evening (or afternoon!) of breathtaking performances. See you there! 🎻🎤✨ More info: https://bit.ly/42FPCVj

01/27/2025

We absolutely loved having a snowy winter wonderland across American University the last few weeks. ❄️ ☃️ Which season is your favorite on campus?

01/17/2025

🌟 The American University Spring 2025 Performing Arts Calendar is here! 🌟

Get ready for a season of unforgettable performances at American University:

🎭 Dance Nation & 9 to 5, The Musical
🎶 Haydn’s "Lord Nelson Mass" & Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem
🩰 DANCEWORKS 2025

🎟️ Tickets are available now!

📅 Secure your seats today! https://bit.ly/4alk3Se

12/17/2024

Thank you to American University President Alger and Ms. Alger and for cheering on our student performers this semester! We loved having you in the audience and look forward to seeing you in 2025.

📷: Cast and crew of "As You Like It" photo: Elena Zimmerman; Cast of "Overture 2024," photo: Jillian Skara.

12/13/2024

This fall was a masterpiece thanks to YOU! 🎭🎶💃

You joined us for 13 music, theater, and dance performances with 3,373 tickets sold. See you in 2025 for more art at American University !

📷: Choreo-Lab, photo: Jeff Watts; Gospel Choir, photo: Elena Zimmerman; "Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea," photo: Elena Zimmerman; AU Symphonic Band, photo: Ethan Kauffman; Choreo-Lab, photo: Jeff Watts; "As You Like It," photo: Ethan Kauffman.

12/04/2024

It's the perfect moment to unwind with Mira Hecht's luminous paintings in the exhibition "in the center thereof rose a fountain" on view at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center . The museum's eight current exhibitions close December 8, but you can visit with free admission now through Sunday, 11AM-4PM.

🎨: Works by Mira Hecht, "Gratitude," 2023. Oil on canvas, 62 x 52 in. Courtesy of Addison Ripley Fine Art. "Luminous Heart," 2021. Oil on canvas, 40 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Page Bond Gallery. Photo: Brandon Webster. "Weaving the Rainbow," 2021. Oil on canvas, 17 x 15 inches. Courtesy of Addison Ripley Fine Art. Photos: Brandon Webster.

Address

4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington D.C., DC
20016

Website

https://www.american.edu/arts

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