Welcome to UC Berkeley! As a student here, you have access to world-class art exhibits, theater
and dance performances, concerts, film screenings, poetry readings, and much more.  Here are a
few ways to start exploring the arts at Berkeley.

First, sign up for a free subscription to UC Berkeley Arts News, a monthly e-mail bulletin published
by the Consortium for the Arts that announces arts-related events across the campus, many of them
free or discounted for students. You will receive Arts News at the start of each month, so you won't
miss a thing! Simply send an email addressed to: artsnews_ucb-join@lists.berkeley.edu.

Next, let this page take you on a virtual tour of the arts across the UC Berkeley campus.

Berkeley Art Museum (BAM): Let’s begin at the southeast corner of the campus. Housed in a
distinctive Modernist building just across Bancroft Avenue from the main campus, BAM is one of
the largest university art museums in the country, with a collection that ranges from ancient Chinese
paintings to internet-based interactive art. In addition to exhibits, the museum hosts many special
events, including talks by artists and curators. Admission to the museum is always free to Berkeley
students.

Pacific Film Archive (PFA): Just down Bancroft Avenue in the sleek-looking “temporary” Hearst Field
Annex, the Pacific Film Archive is one of the most respected film centers in the country. Screenings
range from early cinema rarities and international classics to contemporary experimental works, often
accompanied by in-person appearances by filmmakers or film scholars. Berkeley students can access
the PFA library and study center, and receive discounted admission to all PFA screenings.

Cal Performances: As you continue down Bancroft and enter lower Sproul Plaza, you’ll find Zellerbach
Auditorium, home to Cal Performances, one of the best performing arts centers in the world. Here you
can see distinguished dance companies, musicians, and speakers from around the world. Berkeley
students receive a 50% discount on admission and are eligible for additional rush discounts.

Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies (TDPS): Just around the corner from Zellerbach
Auditorium is Zellerbach Playhouse, one of several venues where the Department of Theater, Dance &
Performance Studies presents student theater, dance, and performance art throughout the year. Berkeley
students receive discounted admission to all TDPS productions. TDPS also presents many free lectures
and workshops. Auditions and courses are open to all Berkeley students.

Student Musical Activities (SMA):  If you hear music floating out the windows of the César Chavez
Student Center, you know you have found the headquarters of Student Musical Activities. Do you play
an instrument or sing? Interested in performing with other students while at UC Berkeley? Through SMA
you can find out more about the UC Choral Ensembles, UC Jazz Ensembles, and the Cal Marching Band.

ASUC Art Studios: Also located in the César Chavez Student Center, the ASUC Art Studio offers hands-on
classes in art forms ranging from drawing to knitting to video-making. Facilities include a ceramics studio,
darkroom, and digital lab. Class fees are discounted for Berkeley students.

Consortium for the Arts & Arts Research Center: Just across the creek in the quaint Dwinelle Annex
building are the offices of the Consortium for the Arts, the interdisciplinary arts organization on campus,
and its sister organization, the Arts Research Center (ARC). The Consortium gives grants to students,
faculty, and staff to advance interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts, and sponsors a variety of free events
across campus. ARC brings major artists to campus each year to create new work in collaboration with
students and faculty.

Lunch Poems: As you head up into the center of campus, you’ll find the majestic Doe Library. Here,
under the direction of English professor and former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, a free noontime
poetry reading is presented on the first Thursday of each month in the stunning Morrison Reading Room.
These events are often standing room only, so arrive early to get a seat. Across the way in Wheeler Hall,
the free Holloway Poetry Series, held by the Department of English in the elegant Maude Fife Reading
Room, is another venue where you can hear poets read and discuss their work.

Department of Music: At the top of Faculty Glade, you’ll reach Morrision and Hertz Halls, where dozens
of concerts are hosted by the Department of Music every year, including the extremely popular free
Wednesday Noon Concerts. Performance groups include the University Symphony, Wind Ensemble,
University Chorus, Chamber Chorus, Collegium Musicum, Gospel Chorus, Contemporary Music Chamber
Ensemble, African Music Ensemble, and Central Javanese Gamelan. Participation in these ensembles is
not limited to music majors; auditions are open to all students.

College of Environmental Design(CED): Next door to the Department of Music is the controversial
Wurster Hall (is it ugly or cutting-edge?), home to the College of Environmental Design. CED hosts rotating
exhibits of work by students, faculty, and visitors, as well as lectures series that bring internationally renown
figures in art, architecture, design, and planning to campus. Admission to exhibits and events is free.

Department of Art Practice: As you continue past Wurster, our tour has come full circle.  At the edge of
campus, just across the street from the Berkeley Art Museum, is Kroeber Hall, home to the Department of
Art Practice and its Worth Ryder Gallery, where you will find rotating exhibits of work by students, faculty,
and visiting artists. Opening receptions are free and open to the public, as is the “Interventions” series of
evening lectures by visiting artists. Kroeber Hall is also home to the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of
Anthropology, where you can view art and artifacts from around the world. Museum admission is free.

That’s just a beginning. Here are some other resources you may want to explore:

Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT): Another music venue, tucked away in the foothills just
north of campus, CNMAT is the place to go to witness cutting-edge innovations at the intersection of music
and computer technology. Some CNMAT concerts are free; at others, Berkeley students receive discounted
admission.

Superb Productions: The student entertainment organization presents a variety of free and low-cost
events, including outdoor concerts by local and touring bands on Lower Sproul Plaza.

In-Person Appearances: Artists’ talks and arts-related lectures take place on campus almost every week.
In addition to the venues listed above, artists and arts scholars frequently speak at events sponsored by the
Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium (ATC) , Department of History of Art, Film Studies Program,
and Townsend Center for the Humanities.

Student Groups: There are more than eighty student groups at UC Berkeley that focus on the arts. Whatever
your special interest–anime, hip hop, improv theater, Indian film, Mexican dance, poetry writing–you can find
a group of kindred spirits somewhere on campus. To learn more about existing student groups or how to start
your own, contact the Office of Student Life.