Annie May Swift Hall
Home to the department of Radio/Television/Film, as well as a film library, black-box theater, and an auditorium.
Arts
Experience world-class instruction, facilities and events.
Arts Disciplines and Degrees
Our colleges and schools train the next generation of artists, writers, musicians, designers and scholars.
Listen to the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.
At Northwestern, arts training is not limited to a single school. It is seen across many academic programs and offerings.
Writers study their craft in journalistic, marketing and creative writing programs. Artists explore traditional media, digital platforms and design. Performers hone their skills as musicians, singers, dancers and actors. Media producers can try audio, video and multimedia creation. Our students may focus deeply on one field or try multiple creative disciplines.
Art Events
The Arts Circle website consolidates art events across Northwestern, from book readings and exhibits to concerts and performances.
500+
Concerts and events each year
40+
Musical groups and ensembles
30+
Performance and arts venues
Explore Events at Arts Circle
Upcoming Events
Arts Research and Scholarship
Our arts-affiliated research centers and institutes expand scholarship around the fine, performing and literary arts and humanities.
Northwestern faculty and students focus on subjects that range from music cognition to journalistic innovation to performance culture.
Featured Centers and Institutes
Museums and Collections
Through exhibitions, archival collections and student works, Northwestern has become a destination for scholars and art-lovers.
Explore some of Northwestern's distinctive museums, galleries and collections.
Arts Venues and Spaces
Explore a few of the places our students create on campus.
Cahn Auditorium
Northwestern’s largest performance space is home to the annual Waa-Mu show and other productions.
Department of Art Theory & Practice
Students work in a former school designed by a Prairie School architect.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Thanks to excellent acoustics, the concert hall hosts major orchestral, band and choral performances.
Regenstein Hall
School of Music students practice in Regenstein's studios and take master-classes in its lecture hall.
Ryan Center
The state-of-the art center for musical arts includes a rehearsal hall, opera theater, and choral and recital rooms.
University Hall
Home to the Department of English, University Hall is also a common venue for events like lectures and readings.
Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Centers
Located in Evanston and Chicago, our centers for the performing arts boast multiple performance spaces.
Block Cinema
The Art of the Moving Image
Block Cinema's free public screenings showcase perspectives and filmmakers rarely seen in mainstream venues. A unique hub for media arts at Northwestern, Block Cinema pairs groundbreaking works with live conversations that inspire scholarly insight and public dialogue.
Arts and Culture News
Read about student and faculty artists, upcoming events and more.
Featured Stories
Evanston photographer evokes a ‘sense of common humanity’
September 25, 2025
Dittmar Gallery presents Ann Kogen’s street photography taken in cities from Chicago to Cairo
Things to do at NU: September
August 29, 2025
This month, see the return of national champs, hear history and more
Who you can hear at Bienen this year
August 29, 2025
Piano, guitar, chamber music and jazz concerts feature acclaimed artists and exciting debuts