Duke Arts Impact Report, 2010-2018
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!
—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…
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.
—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)
—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.
—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:
- duARTS (the umbrella for student arts organizations) includes such diverse groups as:
- Small Town Records (student-run record label)
- Hoof ‘n’ Horn (musical mheater)
- Asian American Theater
- Devils en Pointe (student ballet company)
- Nakisai African Dance Ensemble
- The Archive (literary magazine)
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.
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.