SCampus Student Guidebook

Student Activities

Arts at USC

Los Angeles is a dynamic center for the creative arts. This excitement is reflected at USC through diverse opportunities for involvement in the arts as a participant or observer.

USC Fisher Museum of Art

(213) 740-4561
Harris Hall
fisher.usc.edu

In 1937, USC accepted a gift from Elizabeth Holmes Fisher, the first woman to serve on the USC Board of Trustees, to construct the Elizabeth Holmes Fisher Gallery. Dedicated on November 14, 1939, it was renamed the USC Fisher Museum of Art in 2008. In addition, Mrs. Fisher, between 1939 and 1951, donated a total of 74 paintings, drawings, and sculptures by European and American artists.

The Fisher Museum also maintains a collection of some 1,800 individual works of art in a wide range of media, mostly painting, from old master works by Dutch, Flemish, British, French and Italian painters to contemporary Latin American and Mexican art. Fisher Museum is thrilled to collaborate with the Tutor Campus Center through the long-term loan of works of art from the permanent collection so that they may be viewed and enjoyed by thousands of our students and visitors to campus throughout the year.

The Fisher Museum of Art is also home to the USC International Museum Institute, or IMI. Created in 2006, IMI is a think tank for museum professionals, offering a wide variety of workshops and lectures broadening the discussion of museums, their impact on society and their future.

Accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM), the USC Fisher Museum of Art is an institution of intellectual inquiry and aesthetic enjoyment not only for USC, but also for the local community and the greater Los Angeles area. During each exhibition, the museum offers a number of cultural activities to enhance the experience of the current show. Some program series include:

• Yoga with Fisher@USC: yoga instructors use the paintings on display for inspiration and meditation.
• Concerts with Fisher@USC: musical events utilizing the museum’s ideal acoustic space.
• Films with Fisher@USC: regular film screenings in the galleries.
• Families with Fisher@USC: community events held for families.

Admission to the museum and related events and programs is free. Group tours are also available by appointment. Please visit Fisher’s Website and the USC Arts and Events Calendar for information on current exhibitions and events. The Fisher Museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., and Saturdays 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. It is closed on university holidays and during the summer.

Helen Lindhurst Architecture Gallery

(213) 740-2723
Watt Hall
usc.edu/about/visit/upc/event_venues/lindhurst.html

The USC Helen Lindhurst Architecture Gallery features the work of renowned architects and faculty members, students and alumni of the USC School of Architecture. The gallery hosts juried exhibits of architectural works, from the classic to the futuristic, with drawings, photographs, models and three-dimensional installations that blur the line between architecture and art. Recent shows have featured such leading architects as Renzo Piano, Santiago Calatrava, Alvaro Siza, Carlos Diniz and Herman Hertzberger.

Helen Lindhurst Fine Arts Gallery

(213) 740-2787
Watt Hall 104

The Helen Lindhurst Fine Arts Gallery offers the best in traditional and experimental arts. Weekly exhibits of artwork by fine arts students, faculty and guest artists span all media from sculpture and painting to graphic design and digital media.

Cinematic Arts

Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex
cinema.usc.edu

Various divisions within the School of Cinematic Arts conduct special seminars and screenings featuring distinguished artists and scholars from film, television and interactive media. Recent events open to all audiences included a major tribute to Dino De Laurentiis, an evening with John Waters, and Comedy@SCA, a three-day comedy festival with legendary comedians and filmmakers such as Steve Carell and Ivan Reitman, plus campus sneak previews of blockbusters such as The Avengers, 21 Jump Street, American Reunion, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Brave, The Help, Titanic 3D and many others. Recent guests included Werner Herzog, Jason Segel, Tim and Eric, Jonah Hill, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Mann, Mario Van Peebles, Kevin Feige, Brett Ratner, Diego Luna and others.

The Outside the Box [Office] film series is a weekly showcase for upcoming releases highlighting international, documentary and independent cinema, including recent screenings of Melancholia, Undefeated, A Separation, Margaret and Into the Abyss. The weekly screenings are in the Ray Stark Family Theatre in the Cinematic Arts Complex. The screenings are free of charge and open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. See the calendar of screenings at cinema.usc.edu/events.

Open screenings and displays of advanced student productions, including narrative, documentary, interactive, animated and experimental, will take place at various locations around campus. See cinema.usc.edu for details.

The Summer Program offers intensive film and video production, entertainment business, visual effects, computer graphics, gaming and screenwriting courses. For more information, visit cinema.usc.edu/summer or call (213) 740-3327.

Music Performances

(213) 740-2584 (concert information)
(213) 740-2167 (tickets)
usc.edu/music

The USC Thornton School of Music, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2009, presents more than 500 student and faculty performances throughout the year, both on and off campus. Ensembles present a variety of vocal and instrumental music in a broad range of musical styles.

The Thornton School presents a free weekly recital series, “Music at Noon,” on Wednesdays at the United University Church. The series showcases some of the school’s finest soloists and ensembles performing varied and interesting programs. The school also presents a free “Thornton Jazz Night” at Ground Zero, showcasing the school’s jazz studies program.

Thornton Center Stage, a weekly music magazine of performances from the Thornton School of Music, is broadcast Sundays at 8 p.m. on classical KUSC-FM (91.5). Hosted by KUSC radio personality Alan Chapman, each edition of Thornton Center Stage features the most exciting live performances of Thornton School ensembles, archival recordings from the school’s golden age and the latest releases from artist faculty.

Performing

Even if you’ve decided not to major in music, you can continue developing your skills by joining one of the many choral or instrumental ensembles at USC. Many of the Thornton School’s performance groups are open to all students, though most require an audition. Ensemble classes earn one unit of credit per semester. You can also continue musical instruction by registering for group or private instruction, learn about the technical side of recording arts in workshops offered by the school, or work on your songs in the popular songwriting courses. For detailed information, call the Thornton School’s Office of Student Affairs at (213) 740-4721.

Listening

USC Radio operates a network of five stations in Southern California and is building a network of stations to serve Northern California as well. USC Radio is providing the only classical music and arts service for both regions and supports USC’s mission by making classical music and the arts a more important part of people’s lives. USC Radio operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a professional staff and also offers internships for qualified students.

Classical KUSC has offices and studios in downtown Los Angeles at 1149 S. Hill St. at the AT&T Center and operates KUSC-FM (91.5) Los Angeles, KQSC-FM (88.7) Santa Barbara, KPSC-FM (88.5) Palm Springs, KDSC-FM (91.1) Thousand Oaks and KESC-FM (99.7) Morro Bay. Classical KDFC operates KDFC-FM (89.9) in Napa/Sonoma, 90.3 FM in San Francisco and Los Gatos.

USC Spectrum

Director: Dane Martens
(213) 740-2167
Student Union B-7
usc.edu/spectrum

USC Spectrum, a program of the Division of Student Affairs, presents an annual season of the finest in arts and entertainment by nationally and internationally known performers and speakers for the USC community and its Los Angeles neighbors.

Over the past 15 years, Spectrum has presented artists Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Wayne Shorter, Rufus Wainwright, Andrew Bird and Esperanza Spalding as well as distinguished guests Deepak Chopra, Tom Brokaw, Manu Chao, Sherman Alexie, Eva Longoria, Diego Luna, David Gergen and more.

Visit usc.edu/spectrum for a list of current events and programs.

Studio Arts

USC Roski School of Fine Arts
(213) 740-2787
Watt Hall 104
roski.usc.edu

The USC Roski School of Fine Arts offers a variety of art classes to students who are not fine arts majors. Day and evening courses are available in drawing and painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, photography, design, digital photography and video. The school also sponsors free lecture series, held throughout the year, featuring nationally distinguished artists and art critics.

Five galleries – the Helen Lindhurst Fine Arts Gallery in Watt Hall; the Gayle and Ed Roski MFA Gallery, 3001 Gallery, and STATION on 30th and Flower Streets; and Superhighway in University Gateway – host weekly art exhibitions. The galleries mainly feature the work of USC art students, but can also include the work of professional artists or students from USC Roski School of Fine Arts-sponsored art programs in local high schools and elementary schools.

Theatre

(213) 821-2744 (information)
(213) 740-2167 (tickets)
theatre.usc.edu

The USC School of Dramatic Arts’ season of performances is enjoyed each year by students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, as well as many Los Angeles theatre-goers. New and contemporary plays, innovative productions of classical works and a spring musical are featured each year.

School of Dramatic Arts performances are staged in five different venues ranging in size from 100 to 550 seats, including the Scene Dock Theatre, the Massman Theatre, the McClintock Theatre and the mainstage Bing Theatre. Student tickets are available at the USC Ticket Office in the Student Union building for the discounted price of $5 for mainstage productions and $6 for musicals.

Additional activities include special staged readings of plays written by Master of Fine Arts dramatic writing students.

USC Arts and Events Calendar

Email: webcal@usc.edu
usc.edu/calendar

The university’s online Arts and Events Calendar is the central source for listing cultural programming at USC. The calendar is searchable by keyword, by date or by type of event, and it can be accessed using RSS or Google Calendar. Anyone in the USC community may submit listings.