Fairfield University Arts and Minds programs
Fairfield University offers its students and the population of southwestern Connecticut a wide array of opportunities to enjoy the arts and enrich their lives through study and performance, appreciation and thought.
Performing Arts: The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, the cultural hub of the campus, hosts dozens of music, dance and theater performances each year in both the acoustically superb 740-seat Kelley Auditorium and the Wien Experimental Theatre, an intimate black box space that seats 150.
Art Exhibits: The Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, located in the Quick Center, features free, year-round exhibitions of noted artists from around the world, while offering ample space for annual student and faculty exhibits.
Art Collections: Among the remarkable holdings of the University are a collection of Italian Renaissance Paintings from the Kress Foundation Collection; a Plaster Cast Collection of over fifty pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a select Asian Art Collection; a remarkable Japanese Garden designed in the 1920s by renowned landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff, as well as his original watercolors of the formal gardens designed by him at Bellarmine Hall. There are also numerous works in the Permanent Collection displayed across campus which have been generously donated by alumni and friends over the years.
Lectures: The popular Open VISIONS Forum lecture/discussion series, a program of University College, features some of the most intriguing speakers in the worlds of art, culture and international affairs.
The University also hosts the world's most respected thinkers through several endowed and special lectures that take place throughout the year, many of which are free and open to the public.
Musical and Theatrical Opportunities: Students may get involved in the arts through many active companies on campus. An internationally known traveling glee club, a popular jazz ensemble that regularly plays with world renowned guest artists, Theatre Fairfield and the student orchestra, band and dance ensemble are just some of the options.
Lifetime Learning: Educational opportunities reach beyond undergraduate and graduate degree programs into Fairfield's vibrant Learning for Lifetime Programs offered by University College. There are a multitude of additional activities including summer programs and offerings through the DiMenna-Nyselius Library, all of which are open to full-time students and the greater Fairfield community.