Fall 2025
Columbia University School of the Arts Presents...
Joan Jonas, Moving Off the Land II, Untitled, 2019, UV prints on JetTex Polyester, 69 x 54 inches (175.3 x 137.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery.
“Please join us—during the 60th anniversary year of the School of the Arts—for a season of readings, screenings, exhibitions, conversations, and more, with these and other extraordinary artists.”
–Sarah Cole, Dean of Columbia University School of the Arts and Parr Professor of English and Comparative Literature
–Gavin Browning, Director of Public Programs and Engagement
Schedule of Events
September 2–December 21
On view: Daily, 11 AM–5 PM
The School of the Arts is proud to present Joan Jonas: Moving Off the Land II (Excerpts) by illustrious alumna Joan Jonas '65 as a highlight of its yearlong 60th anniversary celebration. The stunning drawings of red fish—each digitally scanned, scaled up, printed in banner form, and installed in the lobby of the Lenfest Center for the Arts—invite viewers to contemplate oceanic environments alongside the educational one that fostered Jonas’ pathbreaking career 60 years ago.
Saturday, September 13–Friday, September 19: Free Lantern-Building Workshops
Saturday, September 20, 8 PM: Procession from Morningside Park to Columbia University
Morningside Lights, a procession of awe-inspiring handmade lanterns floating through Morningside Park to Columbia’s campus, returns this fall with a celebration of the images, icons, and influences of the year 1965—also the year that Columbia University School of the Arts was founded. This event is produced by the Arts Initiative and Miller Theatre. The concept and direction is by Processional Arts Workshop.
Thursday, September 25, 7:30 PM
Tania León is a lauded composer, conductor, educator, arts advocate, and the newest recipient of the William Schuman Award of Columbia University School of the Arts. This concert celebrates her transformative contributions to the field with a program showcasing the vitality and depth of her vibrant body of work.
Tickets starting at $20. Columbia University student tickets are just $10. (Valid CUID required; maximum 2 tickets per ID.)
Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4
Alumni across all programs and disciplines are invited to return to the Columbia campus for a weekend celebration of the 60th anniversary of the School of the Arts. Featuring Alex Abdo, Esteban Cabeza de Baca '14, Fabio Bertoni (JRN '95) (LAW ('97), Timothy Braun '02, Carolyn J. Casselman '03 (LAW '03), Lisa Cholodenko '97, Shayok Misha Chowdhury '16, Dean Sarah Cole, Kate Dial '15, Noah Fischer '04, Hugh Hayden '18, Heidi Howard '14, Katrine Øgaard Jensen '17, Tali Keren '16, Christina Macchiarola '13, Chris Maddox '03, Geronimo Mercado '17, Chie Morita, Nathan Xavier Osorio '16, Cha Ramos '21 (CC '12), Greg Schicker-Taubman '13, Professors María José Contreras Lorenzini, Rivka Galchen '06, Gary Shteyngart, and Rirkrit Tiravanija, and work by Dineo Seshee Bopape '10, Deborah Chow '03, Adam Davidson '91, Joan Jonas '65, Déa Kulumbegashvili '18, Greg Mottola '91, and Saim Sadiq '19.
Hosted by Nako Adodoadji '18, Ron Brown '20, Harty du Pont '76, Kate Flanagan '12, Rita Pietropinto Kit '96, Sanaë Lemoine '15, Kayla Maiuri '16, Alece Oxendine '11, Karlee Rodrigues '20, Mina Seçkin '18, Kim Weild '07, and Shawn Wines '12.
Tickets for School of the Arts alumni: $40
Thursday, October 16, 6:30 PM
Celine Song '14, the celebrated Writer and Director of films such as Materialists and Past Lives, returns to the School of the Arts for a conversation about her creative practice with her teacher, Theatre Professor Anne Bogart, as part of Dean Sarah Cole’s signature series, Speak Now.
Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 PM
“In this wondrously unusual memoir,” by Writing Professor Anelise Chen, “a woman retreats into her shell in the aftermath of her divorce, and must choose between the pleasures and the perils of a closed-up life.” Reading followed by a conversation between Chen and Associate Professor Leslie Jamison, Writing.
On view: Friday, November 7–Sunday, March 15, 2026
Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery presents the first solo retrospective of celebrated feminist Chilean artist Lotty Rosenfeld in the United States. Co-curated by Natalia Brizuela, University of California, Berkeley, and Julia Bryan-Wilson, Art History and Archaeology.
Saturdays: September 27, October 24, November 22, and December 13
Lenfest Kids celebrates 60 years of the School of the Arts with a season of wonderful family movies, all made by School of the Arts alums, including: Frozen and Encanto, Jennifer Lee '05; The Outsiders, Anne Goursaud '73; Hook, Malia Scotch Marmo '88; and Klaus, Jinko Gotoh '82.
On view: Thursday, November 13–Friday, December 19
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 13, 5–7 PM
The LeRoy Neiman Gallery presents twelve works by Dennis Scholl that explore the fragility and persistence of cultural memory by drawing from an archive of tabloid newspapers, Civil War letters, draft cards, Olympic memorabilia, fashion ephemera, and more. Curated by Rafael Domenech '19.
Fridays: September 26, October 24, and November 21, 7 PM
This series invites Film and Film and Media Studies Program faculty members to show the films they love and that have influenced their study on the big screen. This semester, they showcase films created by their graduates: Associate Professor of Professional Practice Jack Lechner presents Point Break by Kathryn Bigelow '81; Professor of Professional Practice Ramin Bahrani (CC '96) presents Joyland by Saim Sadiq '19, which Bahrani also Executive Produced; and Professor of Professional Practice Bette Gordon presents High Art by Lisa Cholodenko '97.