Arts Initiative
The arts are transformative. They inspire and instruct by inviting us to experience the world through all of our senses. They transcend boundaries, promote continuity across generations, motivate empathy, and incite joyful, communal experiences. The arts reveal mysteries of faith and raise imaginative possibilities for our collective future.
Notre Dame’s commitment to the arts dates to the time of Fr. Sorin. Now, a cross-campus Arts Initiative brings together the people and programs of the University’s extended arts community to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and define the arts as central to campus and community life. By transcending conventional boundaries — between art forms and across disciplines — we are mobilizing the transformative power of the arts to advance knowledge, invigorate learning, and foster human solidarity.
Status Update
Throughout the 2025-26 academic year, the Arts Initiative continued to advance interdisciplinary arts research and creative practice through campus-wide collaboration. In partnership with the Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, the initiative awarded funding to 13 individual and collaborative faculty-led projects, resulting in research activities such as publication, solo exhibition at a major museum, a worldwide album release, and community-engaged practice-as-research. Faculty PIs represent 10 departments and programs across the College of Arts & Letters. The Arts Initiative also co-hosted 19 visiting artists and arts scholars this year, increasing public impact and enriching student learning through supplemental programming that bridged seemingly disparate fields such as neuroscience and theatre or visual art and ecology. And after a successful search, additional scholar-practitioners will join campus in the fall through the initiative's Postdoctoral and Post-MFA Fellowship in the Arts. Fellows advance original research in the arts while teaching undergraduate courses in the core curriculum.
The initiative also continued to foster the development of student-led research. Four student delegates selected from a campus-wide pool participated in the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) 2026 Emerging Creatives Student Summit at Michigan State University. Studying art history, finance, English, neuroscience, and anthropology, these emerging artist-scholars exemplify the future of interdisciplinary arts research. The inaugural cohort of 16 Student Arts Fellows concluded a fellowship year that produced over 25 group and individual projects and resulted in seven exhibitions and three multimedia arts activations. Over half of the cohort are already committed to developing their projects beyond the fellowship in upcoming conferences, exhibitions, and thesis work. Applications for the next class of fellows will open in August 2026.
The Arts Initiative awarded 38 grants to cultivate sustained growth in the arts through partner programming. Awardees include 16 community partners, 19 campus units, and four Notre Dame Global locations, with another 60 campus units and external organizations involved as collaborators. Projects include theatrical premieres, regional dance and music festivals, multimedia installations, visual art and architecture exhibitions, high-impact arts education programs, international artistic exchange, and more. Other opportunities to collaborate remain open through April 30, 2027. To be the first to hear about biennial performances and exhibitions, sign up for the biennial newsletter.
The Notre Dame Arts Initiative is Breaking Down Barriers, with Rebecca Struch
In this episode of For Good, Rebecca Struch, managing director of the Arts Initiative, joins Lou Nanni, Vice President of University Relations, to discuss how Notre Dame's investment in the arts is shaping a new generation of artists, scholars, leaders, and global citizens.
Notre Dame announces inaugural Arts Biennial featuring prominent artists from around the world
The inaugural biennial, which runs January through June 2027, will feature more than 100 public events, including exhibitions, performances, community workshops, and guest artists slated to visit the South Bend area for a six-month festival of visual, literary, spatial, and performing arts. Most events are free to attend.
Find the arts across campus
Explore the arts events and experiences happening at Notre Dame through this dedicated arts calendar — from architecture to theatre and everything in between.
