Research & Expression

Galleries and Performing Arts Centers

Whether your passion takes shape through a brushstroke, a note of music, a line spoken on stage, or movement across a floor, the School of Arts & Sciences offers spaces where creativity can truly come alive. Here, your ideas are nurtured, your artistry is celebrated, and your voice becomes part of a larger conversation that inspires the entire URochester community.

Step into our galleries and performance spaces to discover moments of beauty, brilliance, and connection—whether you’re showcasing your own work or experiencing the artistry of others. Explore our exhibits and events to see how imagination transforms into shared experience.

Galleries

The School of Arts & Sciences is home to several galleries showcasing student artists, as well as nationally and internationally recognized artists.

A student is shown peaking around their artwork in the gallery.

ASIS Gallery at the Sage Art Center

The Sage Art Center maintains a rotating exhibition of works by students currently enrolled in studio classes. Undergraduate students occasionally showcase thematically-based exhibitions, managing all aspects of gallery operations, from installation to advertising and reception planning.

Visit the Sage Art Center

A view of the gallery space from inside.

Frontispace

Frontispace engages the URochester community with thought-provoking exhibitions. The gallery’s year-round schedule and summer residency program stimulate dialogue and connect the University to the broader Western New York artistic landscape, with a focus on local and emerging artists. The gallery also hosts special exhibitions of work by visiting artists, seniors, and alumni.

Visit Frontispace

A view of the inside of Harnett Gallery during the senior showcase.

Hartnett Gallery

The Hartnett Gallery is a professional art gallery showing contemporary work, including that of nationally and internationally recognized artists. Hartnett presents six or seven exhibitions each academic year, including the Annual Juried Student Exhibition.

Visit the Hartnett Gallery

Performance Spaces

The School of Arts & Sciences offers several performances spaces for dance, music, and theater.

Actors in front of mirrors in a dressing room making last minute adjustments to their costumes.

Sloan Performing Arts Center

Housing the Smith Theater, scene shop, costume shop, prop shop, conditioning lab, Perlberg Green Room, dressing rooms, and more—the Sloan Center encourages creative expression, skill building, and community activity.

Visit the Sloan Performing Arts Center

A group of students on stage posing in different positions.

Spurrier Hall

Spurrier is home to the Department of Dance and Movement's dance studio, a gymnasium, music practice rooms, and more. It serves as an academic space during the day and a hub of student organization activity in the evenings and on the weekends.

More About Spurrier Hall

Students during a performance acting on a darkened stage.

Todd Theater

Located in the historic Todd Union building, Todd Theater is home to the International Theatre Program, which puts on two to three performances every semester. Students serve as actors, stage managers, set creators and more at Todd Theater.

See Upcoming Performances

A student playing sheet music on the carillon.

Hopeman Memorial Carillon

The bells atop Rush Rhees Library, collectively called a carillon, are played daily by students and faculty. Although a few bells automatically chime every 15 minutes throughout the day, music is also played live through the library dome.

More About the Hopeman Carillon

Film Festivals

The School of Arts & Sciences hosts two different film festivals every year.

Gollin Film Festival

The annual Gollin Film Festival gives University of Rochester undergraduates the opportunity to gain recognition, see their films on the big screen, and win cash prizes. All prize money is sponsored by a generous endowment from Mr. Gollin.

More about the Gollin Film Festival

The exterior of the Little Theater on East Avenue in Rochester.

Polish Film Festival

The Polish Film Festival is an annual, two-part festival that presents classic Polish cinema as well as contemporary works produced by the newest generation of the country’s filmmakers. It showcases internationally recognized films that might not otherwise be seen in the area and attracts renowned Polish actors, directors, screenwriters, and critics to Rochester.

More about the Polish Film Festival