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Duke Arts

Duke Arts Impact Report, 2010-2018

Published By Duke Arts / published on: May 15, 2018

A look back at the impact of contributions made to the arts across Duke during the Duke Forward campaign and beyond.

Ten Years of Growth for the Arts

In 2007, Duke launched the Arts Initiative to make the arts a vital part of the Duke education. Thanks to strategic investments by the university and its donors, the arts now thrive at Duke. Leading academic programs, critically-acclaimed presenting organizations, and premier visiting artists create connections between campus, the cultural momentum of Durham, NC, and international thinkers, makers, and performers. At Duke, the arts are an engine of collaboration and innovation.

The forward momentum of the arts at Duke is not possible without the amazing support of our donors. A glimpse of all you have helped make possible follows. Thank you!

“We are repositioning the arts from the margins of campus and establishing them as full partners in everything that goes on at Duke.”

—Scott Lindroth, Vice Provost for the Arts

Capital Projects

The rise of Duke Arts means demand for world-class spaces. Our supporters are answering that call.

 

RUBENSTEIN ARTS CENTER

The Ruby opened in January 2018 and encompasses 70,000 square feet dedicated to making, performing, and discovering art.

    • 10 studio spaces, 200-seat von der Heyden Studio Theater,
    • 100-seat film theater, high-tech makerspace, state-of-the-art
      radio studio, the Ruby Lounge
    • 550 students in 30 classes taught in the Ruby its first semester
    • 3,500 attended the Ruby’s community opening celebration
    • Learn more about the Ruby and its programs

 

BALDWIN AUDITORIUM

Baldwin was designed by African American architect Julian F. Abele in 1927 and renovated in 2013 to become a premiere venue for classical music.

ARTS EVENTS IN DUKE THEATERS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS…

GROWING SPACES FOR THE ARTS ACROSS DUKE

2010
Smith Warehouse is renovated and becomes a home for the visual arts.

2012
A former telecommunications facility just off of Campus Drive is transformed into the Arts Annex, Duke’s first dedicated space for student artists to create and rehearse.

2015
A major Page Auditorium renovation brings a new ceiling and cork floors, updated lighting and sound, refurbished seats and fresh paint to the 1931 lecture hall on West Campus.

Arts Education

The arts are integral to a Duke education. Students from all backgrounds, no matter what their major, are engaging with the arts in and out of the classroom.

“I learned that a social disease, such as HIV/AIDS, requires a social vaccine. Art can accomplish this.”

—Quang Nguyen '16,
“Global Narratives of HIV/AIDS” student, Cell and Molecular Biology major

DEPARTMENTS

Offering 18 undergraduate majors and minors

Art, Art History & Visual Studies
Dance
Music
Theater Studies
English (Creative Writing minor)

MFAs and MAs

Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis Experimental and Documentary Arts
Digital Art History
Computational Media

Doctorates

Art History and Visual Culture
Computational Media, Arts & Cultures
Music Composition
Ethnomusicology
Musicology

Certificates

Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Arts of the Moving Image
Documentary Studies
Theology & the Arts

Exceptional faculty and students stand at the center of Duke’s arts education—and make surprising connections.

Photo by Alex Boerner.

RECENT ARTS FACULTY HIRES INCLUDE:

  • 1 composer
  • 1 conductor
  • 1 set designer
  • 1 fiction writer
  • 3 poets
  • 3 dancer/choreographers
  • 1 cellist
  • 1 playwright
  • 2 filmmakers
  • 1 graphic designer
  • 1 painter
  • 1 media artist

RECENT COLLABORATIONS INCLUDE:

  • Music and the Brain (Music + Neuroscience)
  • Performance and Technology (Dance + Electrical and Computer Engineering)
  • Global Narratives of HIV/AIDS (Documentary Arts + Global Health)
  • Image Processing Algorithms for Art Conservation (Mathematics + Art, Art History, and Visual Studies)
  • THE_OPER& (Opera + Poetry + Video Technology)
“As a premed student who is passionate about the arts, I’m interested in the questions, ‘How does creativity work in the brain?’ and ‘Why do humans find things beautiful?’ With the way the world is evolving, it’s absolutely necessary to work across disciplines. My education at Duke has prepared me to use research, science, and the arts in tandem.”

—Kelsey Graywill '18, president of duARTS and a Program II student who has designed her own degree program in Evolutionary Neuroaesthetics

“Duke in Chicago was a life-changing experience for me. I took workshops at The Second City and The iO Theater, two centers of the comedy world where many Saturday Night Live stars trained. My fellow Duke students and I also built and staged a show from the ground up, doing all the writing, acting, business, and advertising. I came back with a new mindset about what I wanted to pursue in life.”

—HUNTER STARK ’18, Visual and Media Studies Major

Visiting Artists

Visiting artists engage students, create new work, and enrich the life of our campus and community.

"The JACK Quartet, a premier string quartet known for playing new music, played a piece I composed. We talked about it, then recorded it. It was amazing! This kind of experience is one of many ways the music department connects undergraduates to professional opportunities beyond taking classes.”

—Selin Ozcelik ’20 Music and Public Policy double major

IN THE PAST TEN YEARS…

Major Presenters

Duke’s critically acclaimed presenting organizations originate exhibitions, commission new work, and bring the arts to life in the classroom, studio, and stage.

NASHER MUSEUM OF ART

  • More than 1 million visitors have walked through the Nasher’s doors from 50 states and 66 foreign countries
  • 35,000+ Duke undergraduate students have visited the Nasher
  • 14 Duke faculty have guest-curated their own exhibitions at the museum

DUKE PERFORMANCES

  • 70 – 80 world-class performances each year
  • 35,000 tickets sold annually including 8,000+ discounted student tickets
  • Duke Performances partners with 30+ faculty members from across Duke to coordinate 100+ artist residency events each year, introducing 2,000 Duke students to practicing artists annually

CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES

  • 850 undergraduate and 600 continuing education students taught by practicing artists each year
  • 8,500 gallery visitors, plus millions of podcast and radio listeners, each year
  • The prestigious annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival draws 14,000 filmmakers, fans, and students from around the world

Student Experience

Duke’s flourishing arts community offers all students opportunities to explore their creative passions.

98 Student Arts Organizations offer something for everyone:

DUKECREATE WORKSHOPS

DukeCreate workshops in ceramics, screen printing, digital media, drawing and painting, and more are free for all students.

DEMAN ALUMNI NETWORK

DEMAN (Duke Entertainment Media & Arts Network) and StudioDuke connect students with stellar alumni— producers, screenwriters, composers, journalists, animators—for mentoring, internships, and job opportunities.

Explore how you can make an impact

Why give to Duke Arts?

At Duke, the arts build community, open new worlds of understanding, and inspire creative thinking. You can keep this
momentum growing by supporting Duke’s arts-rich education and provide students with exceptional experiences.

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