World-class venues, more than 400 performances and concerts, numerous gallery exhibitions, readings, brand-new works, and talented artists working in various disciplines—it sounds like a list of things you’d find in a major city. But in fact, it’s all on the University of Iowa’s immense arts calendar, which brings enriching programming to students and the greater community each year.

Nearly all student performances and exhibitions on campus are free for UI students, with premier events costing only $5, thanks to the small arts-and-culture fee included in the university’s tuition. Data collected from similar institutions shows that such broad student access to the arts on campus is unique to Iowa.  

“In my first semester teaching at the University of Iowa, I was amazed at the quality and quantity of opportunities for students to experience the performing arts across a diverse array of disciplines,” says Mary Beth Easley, head of directing and chair of the Department of Theatre Arts. “From classical music to world music to avant-garde jazz; from re-imaginings of classic plays to premiere productions of new plays out of the Playwrights Workshop; from classic ballet to new choreographic visions embracing cutting-edge digital media, the depth and variety of experiences here is unmatched among universities of our kind and size.”

With numerous venues a short walk or brief bus ride away from where students live and highly respected programs in music, theater, dance, visual arts, as well as the diversity of outside acts staged by Hancher Auditorium, students are regularly exposed to artistry of a remarkably high caliber, enhancing their education while offering entertainment at the same time.

“The experience of the arts enlarges us all,” Easley says. “It exposes students to different cultures and forms of creative expression, offering new avenues to understanding our human condition.  Immersion in a live arts event can both challenge and broaden one's sense of identity, while fostering introspection into our own cultural sensibilities and values. Experiencing the arts opens one up to seeing, hearing, experiencing things differently. It can change one's perspective. For students, this creates the potential to open them up to new ways of approaching their own work, no matter what academic discipline they are pursuing.”

It’s not only important for students in the arts to be exposed to these performances, though. As the world becomes increasingly digitized, it may never be more important for people to watch live performances, says Alan MacVey, professor of directing and acting and director of the Division of Performing Arts.

“For the audience, not only are you seeing a work of art as fine as we can make it, but you’re in the same room as the people who are performing,” says MacVey. “The experience is different. If you listen to something on headphones or watch a video, it can be very good, but it’s not live. If you listen to a concert in a room where people are playing or you’re at a play with the actors, your experience is not just sonic and visual, it’s personal.”

UI students have the opportunity to learn and experience the arts outside of the classroom.

“Every one of our plays, in one way or another, intersects with something else,” says MacVey. “I always ask my directors, ‘So, what is it you want people to come away with?’ Most of them say, ‘We want them to learn something, to expand their knowledge of the human experience.’ That’s what goes on here.”

Audiences and viewers are also exposed to new student productions, works of art, and dances, which makes the UI unique. As the first university to allow students to provide creative work for their theses, encouraging and fostering new work is a big part of the institution’s rich history in the arts.

Ali Hval, who graduated with an MFA in painting and drawing, says she found producing work for UI galleries offered her more freedom to explore her creativity.

“You’re in a safer environment where you can try new things and experiment,” says Hval. “You think about how you can make your exhibition better on your own, but you’ve also got peers and faculty to help too.”

In theater, about 20 productions per season are written by student playwrights and performed, designed, lit, and directed by students. During the department’s gallery series, audiences are able to attend the premieres of new plays written by graduate students and alumni. The performances offer audience members a unique glimpse into the creative process when a production is still finding its footing.

“This is like going to see what an engineering student is designing,” says MacVey. “It’s pretty amazing to watch a work in progress. You don’t know what’s going to happen. The audience doesn’t know the story. It’s brand new and can be very exciting.”

In addition to seeing the artistry of the students, attendees can view works created or performed by internationally renowned faculty. Many pieces performed during the annual Dance Gala are created and choreographed by faculty and performed by students.

While there is clear educational value to attending arts events, MacVey reminds students that the personal experience can’t be overlooked.

“I say this to students all the time: Allow the event to happen to you,” says MacVey. “Thinking about what the themes are, or how the music is constructed, or how the painting is done is fine. But what happens between you and what’s in front of you? Art events are like meeting a person for the first time—a person who is different than you.”