Arts

Whether you want to participate, be entertained or be inspired, an abundance of musical, theater, art, design and dance offerings take place on campus all year long.

Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts | UC Davis

Mondavi Center Administration Building
(530) 754-5000; http://www.mondaviarts.org

The Mondavi Center brings a wide variety of world-class performing artists to UC Davis to serve the campus and surrounding communities. During the academic year, Mondavi Center offers concerts and recitals by classical, jazz and folk music artists; drama; classical and modern dance; and lectures by eminent public figures. Tickets for events may be purchased at the Mondavi Center Ticket Office at (530) 754-2787 or toll free at (866) 754-2787.

Music

Department of Music
(530) 752-5537; http://music.ucdavis.edu

The Department of Music sponsors the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Chamber Singers, Early Music Ensemble, Gospel Choir, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band and chamber music groups. Music majors and other interested students can receive credit for participating in these groups, which perform at concerts and recitals open to the university community. The department sponsors artists-in-residence who give concerts, recitals and lectures. Free noon concerts featuring individual performers and ensembles—both professional musicians and music students—are a favorite weekly event during the school year. The Empyrean Ensemble is in residence on campus. The Department of Music sponsors nearly 100 public concerts each year.

Dramatic Art and Dance

Department of Theatre and Dance
(530) 752-0888; http://theatredance.ucdavis.edu

The Department of Theatre and Dance has one of the finest theater facilities in California, with an unusually good stock of scenery, props, costumes, and state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment. Facilities are complemented by an excellent faculty, the Granada Artists-in-Residence program (which brings a major director, choreographer or playwright to the department each quarter), Shakespeare's Globe, London, exchange program, and graduate students working on Master of Fine Arts degrees in acting, directing, choreography or design, and Ph.D. degrees in 20th Century Performance and Culture, all of whom contribute to the fine quality of UC Davis drama and dance productions.

Each year’s schedule includes undergraduate festivals in theatre, dance and film; opportunities to work with professional directors and choreographers in three main stage productions; and performance projects and established scripts developed by M.F.A. students. These productions take place on our proscenium (Main), thrust (Wyatt), black box (Arena), performance studio (University Club) stages as well as in the Mondavi Center’s Studio Theatre and Jackson Hall. These productions are part of the academic program of the department and serve an important purpose in the study of theatre and dance. Participation is open to all students.

Art Galleries

Memorial Union Art Gallery

Second floor of the MU; (530) 752-2885

The Memorial Union Art Gallery features a changing series of contemporary and historical art exhibits throughout the academic year. Works by professional artists as well as students are on display for periods of approximately six weeks. The gallery sponsors print sales, special programs and lectures, and offers internships for those interested in career work in an art gallery or museum.

Design Museum

First floor, Walker Hall;
(530) 752-6150; http://designmuseum.ucdavis.edu

The Museum features changing exhibitions of national and international design-related material, including architecture, clothing, graphic design, textiles, new media, and popular culture. Exhibitions reflect the curriculum of the Design Program and are dedicated to furthering our understanding of design, and the contributions design makes to shaping our experiences, environment and culture. The museum serves as a laboratory for experimental exhibition installation, interpretation and practice. The Design Collection is a supporting resource for the Design Museum.

Richard L. Nelson Gallery

First floor, Art Building; (530) 752-8500

The Richard L. Nelson Gallery, named in honor of the first chair of the Department of Art, organizes regularly changing exhibitions of historical and contemporary works of art. The gallery’s program reflects and complements the teaching program of the Department of Art and brings art to the university community and the Northern California area at large. The Nelson has a permanent collection of over 4,000 objects.

Fine Arts Collection

Art Building, adjacent to the Nelson Gallery; (530) 752-8500

The Fine Arts Collection, representing various historical periods and cultures, is the UC Davis campus’ major collection of art.

Basement Gallery

Art Building basement

The Basement Gallery is a student-directed gallery that exhibits the artwork of advanced UC Davis art majors. There are approximately three shows per quarter.

C.N. Gorman Museum

1316 Hart Hall; (530) 752-6567; http://gormanmuseum.ucdavis.edu
Monday–Friday, 12–5 p.m.

The C.N. Gorman Museum is committed to exhibiting contemporary artworks by leading Native American artists from throughout North America, as well as Indigenous artists globally. Established in 1973, the museum is named after Carl Nelson Gorman, a Navajo artist, World War II code talker and one of the founders of the Department of Native American Studies.