Arts & Culture
Unleash your creativity.
WashU isn’t just an academic powerhouse; it’s a cultural hub. From renowned museums and performance spaces to student-driven initiatives, WashU offers a dynamic environment to explore your creativity, engage with diverse artistic expressions, and become a well-rounded individual.
Visit the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
The museum features one of the finest university art collections in the United States and showcases world-class exhibitions of leading modern and contemporary art.
Attend campus cultural events
Engage with diverse cultures through film festivals, international music nights, and thought-provoking lectures.
Join a student group
Find your artistic niche in student-run theater troupes, a cappella groups, art exhibitions, and more.
Participate in guest artist workshops
Learn from the visiting artists who regularly come to campus.
Galleries and performance spaces
With a vibrant network of galleries showcasing diverse works, performance spaces pulsating with artistic energy, and dedicated studio spaces fostering creative expression, WashU empowers students to fully immerse themselves in the visual and performing arts.
Campus museums and galleries
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
With some 8,700 artworks in its collection, the museum has especially strong holdings of 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century European and American art and a growing diversity of international art.
Des Lee Gallery
The Des Lee Gallery provides Sam Fox School students and faculty with a formal gallery space for exhibitions in addition to showing work by local and internationally known contemporary artists.
Steinberg Gallery
Steinberg Hall Gallery is a dynamic and flexible space that hosts art, architecture and design student exhibitions in addition to serving as a primary review space for architecture.
Weitman Gallery
Weitman Gallery is a small gallery space where students, faculty and guests are invited to produce photography exhibitions.
WashU Library exhibitions
WashU Libraries regularly displays items from its vast collections.
Campus performance spaces
Edison Theatre
Edison Theatre serves as a teaching facility for the Performing Arts Department, which produces three mainstage shows each year, and as a performance venue for student organizations and local presenting arts organizations such as The Black Rep.
A. E. Hotchner Studio Theatre
The intimate A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre is a 125-seat state-of-the art “black box” theater.
Annelise Mertz Dance Studio
The Annelise Mertz Dance Studio doubles as a rehearsal and dance performance venue. Seating up to 125 people, this informal theater features lighting capabilities, a sprung floor and a Marley overlay.
E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall
This traditional auditorium is suitable for a large orchestra concert or a smaller musical event. The room features a partial-thrust stage and two Steinway Pianos and seats up to 1,092 guests.
Pillsbury Theatre
A recently renovated classic art-deco space, the Pillsbury Theatre features a terrazzo floor and a Steinway Piano. Seating up to 200 guests, this spacious room allows for a variety of layouts and uses.
Recital Hall
Suitable for a small piano recital or ceremony, this room features one Steinway Piano and can seat up to 50 guests.