2025 Festival of the Arts Updates
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This year's Festival of the Arts runs from April 23-29.
Brandeis Features
Fest Kickoff: Wednesday April 23, 2025
SCC Atrium | 12 - 5 p.m.
Sponsored by the Students for Environmental Action (SEA) Club
Signs for Change: The Students for Environmental Action (SEA) Club is proud to present 'Signs for Change,' an interactive climate justice exhibition showcasing recycled artworks that express emotions surrounding the state of our planet.
Thursday April 24, 2025
Slosberg Lobby | 12-4 p.m.
Join us for a afternoon of visual storytelling at Captured Moments, a student photography showcase proudly sponsored by the Chesterbrook Community Foundation.
What to Expect:
- A curated gallery of original student photography
- Meet-and-greet with the artists
- Light refreshments and a welcoming community atmosphere
- Opportunities to support youth arts initiatives
Whether you're passionate about the arts, curious about student creativity, or simply looking for an inspiring way to spend the afternoon, we invite you to be part of this meaningful showcase.
Admission is free, but RSVP is highly encouraged.
2:30 p.m. | Rose Art Museum
Join us for a student showcase of original poems inspired by "Hugh Hayden: Home Work." Hayden’s surreal sculptures and installations engage with foundational aspects of the American dream: home ownership, labor, sports, and, significantly, education. Explore the exhibition as students read their original compositions, the culmination of a semester-long collaboration with the English Department’s Poetry Workshop led by Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence Krysten Hill.
Friday, April 25, 2025
Slosberg Recital Hall | 6 p.m.
This intimate performance blends folk, roots, and world music traditions. Throughout the spring semester, the Roots Music Ensemble explores and performs diverse roots styles including blues, country, swing, bluegrass, and Appalachian folk.
Spingold, Laurie Theater | 7 p.m.
Max and Maggie sit on their fire escape trying to process the absurdity of life. With a rat and a bird as their closest companions, the girls rage against the stupidity of the world—or maybe they’ll just smoke and scream.
Additional Performances: Saturday, April 26 | 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Spingold, Laurie Theater | 9:30 p.m.
A man named Eugene meets a Boy. Eugene teaches the Boy how to smoke. The Boy teaches Eugene how not to smoke alone. Through conversations, silence, and music, they discover truth in grief.
Additional Performances: Saturday, April 26 | 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Saturday April 26, 2025
Fellows Garden | 12 - 5 p.m.
The Craft Market celebrates student talent, featuring handmade crafts, artwork, and creative displays. This year's market will offer an exciting opportunity for students and vendors to showcase their work in a lively, community-centered environment. Join us for a day of creativity, local artistry, and unique finds!
Slosberg Recital Hall | 7:30pm
The Lydian String Quartet presents the world premiere of “Barbaverde en Mineralis” by Lydian Commission Prize winner Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon as well as Renee Esmail’s string quartet “This Is It.” Guest artists include soprano Leah Brzyski and guitarist Dieter Hennings.
All are welcome! This event is free and open to the public.
We enourage you to support the Lydian String Quartet and their residency at Brandeis. Learn more: Help Support The Lydian String Quartet!
Sunday April 27, 2025
Slosberg Recital Hall | 3 p.m.
Sponsored by Brandeis University and Wellesley College
The Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra will feature the winners of the Brandeis and Wellesley concerto competitions, showcasing Emily Richardson performing Ravel's Introduction & Allegro (harp) and Max Ansonoff performing Strauss' Horn Concerto No. 1.
Slosberg Recital Hall | 7 p.m.
The Brandeis Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Robert Duff, will perform a variety of a cappella and accompanied works representing both Western and Non-Western vocal traditions.
Monday, April 28, 2025
Slosberg Recital Hall | 7:30 p.m.
The Brandeis Improv Collective (BIC) is an inclusive musical ensemble designed for students interested in exploring the art of improvisation. Open to all Brandeis students, regardless of their musical background or experience level, the collective focuses on creativity through
collaborative music-making.
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
1 p.m. | Skyline Commons
Who we are: We are two trans students at Brandeis University, creating the Gallery of Trans Joy as part of a course on Creative Arts and Social Transformation (CAST). We believe that art has the power to create hope and change. We know that trans lives are beautiful, and are excited to create a space to share that beauty.
Join us as we celebrate trans identities and experiences through art! We will be featuring various art pieces from trans artists at Brandeis.
Laurie Theater, Spingold | 3 p.m.
As a special preview for festival attendees, Nancy Armstrong’s Advanced Undergraduate Singing Class invites you to an open dress rehearsal on April 29 ahead of their Sondheim Singing Party (officially on May 1). Featuring 12 students performing selections from Stephen Sondheim’s greatest musicals, including Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Company, and more — with piano accompaniment by Noriko Yasuda.
Beyond the Festival of the Arts
One week can't possibly encapsulate the entire artistic essence of Brandeis.
In the spirit of 'Art Lives On,' we are proud to highlight additional Brandeis events that carry the Festival’s creative energy beyond a single week.
Oys To Men: A Performance & Conversation with CCF Fellow Neta Weiner
Tuesday, April 30 | 7:00 PM | Levin Ballroom
Join acclaimed Jaffa-based musician and spoken word artist Neta Weiner for an intimate performance exploring the intersections of language, identity, and place. Weiner, founder of the multilingual Jewish-Palestinian hip-hop collective System Ali, blends original songs and spoken word in Hebrew, Arabic, Yiddish, and English to create a powerful artistic experience rooted in social engagement and cultural resistance.
Following the performance, stay for a post-show talkback with the artist.
This special event is part of the “Art Lives On” extension of the Brandeis Festival of the Arts—celebrating that creativity can’t be contained in just one week.
This event is presented as part of the Community Creative Fellowship, a partnership of CJP and JArts, now part of The Vilna Shul, Boston's Center for Jewish Culture.
Current exhibitions
Leonora Carrington: Dream Weaver
Through June 1, 2025
"Leonora Carrington: Dream Weaver," the artist’s first-ever museum exhibition in New England, brings together over thirty works of art, some rarely seen, that span over six decades of Carrington’s prolific art-making career.
Through June 1, 2025
"Hugh Hayden: Home Work," the artist’s first solo exhibition in New England, surveys Hayden’s extensive body of work over the last decade, including a bold, site-responsive installation newly conceived for the Rose Art Museum.
Through June 1, 2025
Drawn from the museum's permanent collection, "Surrealism(s) – Then & Now" celebrates the centennial of the Surrealist movement. The exhibition traces Surrealism’s evolution from its early 20th-century origins to its lasting influence.