Friday, September 8, 2023
11 am to 2 pm
George Sherman Union Plaza (rain location – Ziskind Lounge)

Join the BU Arts Initiative, BU Arts Programs, academic units, and selected Boston area arts organizations to explore all that BU and Boston have to offer. Look for discounts, special offers, internship opportunities, and more!

BU students also have a chance to sign up for a pair of raffle tickets only during the Arts Fair, to see six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald!

Participating organizations include:

Boston Area Organizations at the 2023 Fair:

  • The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts that houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. The museum began as a private art collection curated by its namesake. Since opening in 1903, the museum has operated “for the education and enjoyment of the public forever”. Come learn about their community days, courtyard concerts, collaborations with local artists, and more!
  • The Coolidge Corner Theatre is New England’s most successful independent, nonprofit cinema. Built as a church in 1906, it was redesigned as an Art Deco movie palace in 1933 and has never closed its doors to the public since then. Located in the heart of Brookline, Massachusetts, it was the community’s first movie theater and now, a non-profit foundation since 1989, it celebrates the experience of cinema by presenting the finest international, documentary, animated, and independent film selections and series. Coolidge Corner Theatre will host a raffle at the fair!
  • Boston Swing Central is a dancer-formed, non-profit, volunteer-run organization dedicated to promoting positive and fun swing dancing experiences in Boston. Their primary objectives include hosting a weekly Friday Night dance for dancers of all levels and championing diverse voices within the Boston swing dance community. Come here more about their classes and special events!
  • The Boston Book Festival celebrates the power of words to stimulate, agitate, unite, delight, and inspire by holding year-round events culminating in an annual, free Festival that promotes a culture of reading and ideas and enhances the vibrancy of our city. Learn more about their 2023 Author Keynotes and win some free swag!
  • Handel and Haydn Society performs Baroque and Classical music with freshness, vitality, and creativity that inspires all ages. H+H has been captivating audiences for 208 consecutive seasons (the most of any performing arts organization in the United States), speaking to its singular success at converting new audiences to this extraordinary music, generation after generation.
  • The Institute of Contemporary Art is an art museum and exhibition space located in Boston, Massachusetts. The Institute of Contemporary Art strives to share the pleasures of reflection, inspiration, provocation, and imagination that contemporary art offers through public access to art, artists, and the creative process.
  • Jean Appolon Expressions is a contemporary dance company deeply rooted in Haitian-folkloric culture that nurtures a global community through professional performances, educational opportunities, dance training, and the joy of movement for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. JAE will offer discounted class passes and bring traditional skirts for pictures!
  • Boston Art & Music Soul (BAMS) Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that breaks down racial and social barriers to arts, music, and culture across Greater Boston. We celebrate and support both artists and audiences, with an emphasis on Black and Brown voices, perspectives, and artistry. BAMS Fest is a cultural movement led by Greater Boston Black and Brown artists, culture makers and creative entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of racial equity, spatial justice, and economic empowerment.​
    • Boston Lyric Opera is dedicated to creating compelling operatic experiences throughout the greater Boston area that welcome new audiences, break new ground, and enrich community life. Since its founding in 1976, Boston Lyric Opera has produced world and US premieres, Pulitzer Prize-winning operas, and notable commissions and co-productions, ranging from live stage shows to films streamed worldwide. They also present wide-reaching community and educational public programs and performances year-round.
    • Celebrity Series is a nonprofit performing arts presenting organization that presents artists who inspire and enrich the Boston community. They present world-class performers from around the globe in a variety of disciplines including classical music, orchestras, vocalists, jazz, folk music, ballet and modern dance, and theatre for around 100 presentations each year. They also work with schools and community organizations to introduce young audiences to performing arts.
    • 826 Boston is a nonprofit writing, tutoring, and publishing organization where students in grades K-12 and beyond can share their stories, amplify their voices, and develop as leaders in school and in life. They periodically recruit volunteers and interns to assist with their programs and community events. They also hire AmeriCorps fellows every summer!
    • SpeakEasy Stage is a non-profit theatre company located in the South End of Boston. Led by award-winning Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault, we produce 28 weeks of new plays and musicals each season at the Nancy and Ed Roberts Studio Theater in the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.
    • The Foundry is a self-sustaining center of creativity and collaboration in the Kendall Square neighborhood offering the Cambridge community opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. At 50,000 square feet with a 4,000 square foot exterior, The Foundry provides space and programs for the arts (visual and performing), crafts, technology, entrepreneurship, workforce education, and community activities.
    • GrubStreet’s Boston Writers of Color (BWOC) program focuses on artistic and career development for writers of African, Indigenous, Native, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander and Arab heritage in New England and beyond. Founded by author and GrubStreet Instructor, Jonathan Escoffery, this program includes literary support funding, free writing sessions, a network of BIPOC writers and artistic leaders, and a variety of free events that focus on community, artistic growth, and publishing. Our mission is to amplify the work of writers who are often marginalized and systemically undervalued in the existing publishing industry, and we strive for cultural, economic, and financial equity.
    • Now + There is a public art curator that challenges our city’s cultural identity by taking artistic risks and consistently producing compelling projects. Our projects are temporary and site specific, hence our name. At Now + There, we believe public art has the power to open up Boston. And we’re committed to fostering artists who break down biases and shed light on often-overlooked people and issues while also providing moments of joy and respite that enliven our neighborhoods and city.

    BU Organizations:

    • History of Art & Architecture at BU boasts a faculty of expertise that spans the full range from antiquity to the present and virtually worldwide, allowing us to offer a global curriculum in the history of art and architecture. Their location in Boston also brings with it the opportunity to benefit from the world-class museums of Boston, Cambridge, and the greater metropolitan area.
    • BU Study Abroad offers students from Boston University and over 100 other colleges and universities nationwide including multiple arts-focused programs. 
    • BU Global Music Festival is an all-day outdoor festival on Saturday, September 16. Enjoy extraordinary international music, educational events, and a global bazaar at Boston University – all free and open to the public.
    • Creative Writing Program offers students the opportunity to complete the MFA degree in fiction or poetry in one year (two to three semesters) through a rigorous combination of creative writing workshops and literature courses.
    • Center for Career Development aims to empower students and alumni to make intentional decisions about their professional futures by helping them with all aspects of career-related help.
    • BU Libraries house more than 2.4 million physical volumes, over 45,000 current unique serials, and 77,000 media titles. They provide research tools and services that include library tutorials, library instruction from research basics to graduate-level classes, reference services in all their major libraries, access to digital resources, specialist consultations, and librarian-created guides with curated resources.
    • BU Bands is dedicated to providing fun, worthwhile, quality music-making opportunities to all students of Boston University, regardless of major. Our ensembles are built to provide a great musical outlet for busy college students, and the venues and places in which we perform add to the excitement of college life.
    • Boston Playwrights’ Theatre is a professional theatre that advances the development, production, and promotion of new plays to continue theatrical achievement in Boston and New England.
    • BU Dance Program is all about lifelong learning and serves students, the BU community, and the general public. From learning to performing to attending events, they have something to offer. Students can take our classes for academic credit and/or as recreational dance classes.
    • Innovate@BU  is a University-wide initiative to enable all BU Terriers to become drivers of innovation in their own lives, careers, and communities. Through its physical home on the Charles River campus, the BUild Lab IDG Capital Student Innovation Center provides a variety of signature programs that foster an entrepreneurial mindset and help students turn their ideas into something real.
    • BU Student Wellbeing is a campus-wide initiative to support students’ health and wellness during their time at BU. We believe that everyone deserves to feel good and that how students feel matters. Our collective goal – as administrators, faculty, and staff – is to inspire our students to feel fulfilled each day, despite the ups and downs of life on campus.
    • BU School of Visual Arts offers a personal, supportive program centered on a rigorous fine arts curriculum deeply rooted in studio practice. Find your voice in experimentation and exploration through studio work, electives, internships, minors, and exposure to visiting artists.
    • The Newbury Center opened its doors in January 2021 with the goal of fostering the holistic success of first-generation students at Boston University—students they refer to as “Terrier Firsts.” The center aims to become a highly visible, transformative unit of the University, offering programming and services designed to ensure that first-generation students experience the same sense of well-being, belonging, self-efficacy, and academic accomplishment as their continuing-generation peers. The center is located in the heart of campus, at 755 Commonwealth Ave.

    Stay tuned for more!