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Start the new semester by sampling these arts events across campus
dancers performing on stage

Emory’s Atlanta and Oxford campus art scenes are wasting no time kicking off the new academic year in creative ways, including a program on Sept. 20 and 21 featuring Aztec dance, Folklórico and contemporary dance.

— Photo by Shannel J. Resto

This September, there’s no better way to welcome the fall semester than by immersing yourself in the arts on campus. Between cinematic offerings, literature readings, live music and exciting performances, there are plenty of arts events to kickstart the academic year.


Watch thoughtful cinema

The Emory Cinematheque kicks off its fall 2024 programming with a screening of A Streetcar Named Desire on Wednesday, Sept. 4. The Cinematheque, currently in its 43rd season of programming, is a series of free film screenings open to the public.

This season’s series is “Southern Gothic,” curated by Lydia Fort, assistant professor in theater studies. All screenings are held on Wednesdays in White Hall, Room 208, at 7:30 p.m. This month’s Cinematheque screenings will also include “Night of the Hunter on Sept. 11, “The Young One on Sept. 18, and “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte on Sept. 25.

Alongside the Cinematheque’s screenings, the Center for Ethics presents Bulls and Saints at 7 p.m. in White Hall, Room 207, on Thursday, Sept. 26, as a part of their Ethics at the Movies series. Tickets must be reserved ahead of time.

For documentary fans, Oxford College will show “Saving the Chattahoochee on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. in Humanities Hall, Room 202. The film dives into the life of Sally Bethea, a fierce advocate for the Chattahoochee River who is one of the first women riverkeepers in the U.S. Focusing on how Bethea stepped up to protect the river as the city around it quickly developed, the film also details her partnership with former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin and how the pair changed the course of the river’s future. 


Enjoy compelling live performances

In September, The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta (ECMSA) kicks off its 2024-25 season. The first Cooke Noontime Series concert happens Friday, Sept. 6, at 12 p.m., featuring a performance by the Vega Quartet. The free program is in Emerson Concert Hall of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.

The Emerson Series opens with a 40th anniversary performance from ECMSA founder William Ransom on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 8 p.m. This special program will be in the Schwartz Center’s Emerson Concert Hall and is free to attend.

The Schwartz Center’s Candler Concert series opens Friday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m., featuring Sarah Chang on violin and Sonya Ovrutsky Fensom on piano. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time.

Emory’s Department of Music hosts various performances throughout the month. These include cellist Roee Harran on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 4 p.m.; mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 8 p.m.; a showcase featuring Emory voice faculty and artist affiliates on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m.; guitarist Luther Enloe Sunday, Sept. 22, at 4 p.m.; music ensemble The Sebastians Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m.; and organist Jack Mitchener Sunday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. Each program takes place in the Schwartz Center’s Performing Arts studio and is free to attend.

Emory Dance faculty member Julio Medina presents “return//de vuelta a los ancestros,” a concert featuring Aztec dance, Folklórico and contemporary dance. Performances take place Friday, Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Dance Studio. Tickets are required for this event.

Telugu Studies and Asian Art at Emory host “Songs of Praise,” a South Indian Dance Performance about the Telugu Poet Tallapaka Annamayya, on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. in the Emory Performing Arts Studio. The event is free and open to the public.

Also on Saturday, Sept. 21, the Center for Native and Indigenous Studies welcomes the all-Native American stand-up comedy show Good Medicine to campus. Two ticket slots are available; one at 7:30 p.m. and one at 9 p.m. The show will be held at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Theater Lab.

Oxford College will showcase plenty of live programs as well — and they’re each free and open to the public. Storyteller Andy Irwin will perform at Oxford College’s Tarbutton Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Hear live music at “An Evening of Music with Peter and Brendan Mayer at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, in the Greer Forum. Or, enjoy classical guitar with Duo Cantanza on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. in the Oxford Chapel.


Pay a visit to the Carlos Museum

Experience the Carlos Museum in a sensory-friendly way during a Relaxed Morning on Saturday, Sept. 7, beginning at 10 a.m. Relaxed Mornings occur on the first Saturday of each month and are designed for adults who prefer a calmer and quieter museum experience. Sensory-friendly bags will be provided, which include fidget toys, emotion/needs cards and noise-canceling headphones.

The Carlos Museum’s Student Studio, held Friday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m., invites students to create a collage button out of recycled materials in the Tate Room. The studio is inspired by the Carlos’ upcoming exhibit “Come Ruin or Rapture,” which opens Thursday, Sept. 19, and features works by La Vaughn Bell. Materials will be provided on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Admission to the Carlos Museum and access to the Student Studio is free for all Emory students.


Listen to artist conversations

As part of the Billops Hatch Artist & Influence Programming series, The Rose Library will host actresses Anna Maria Horsford and Victoria Rowell on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. The event will take place in the Jones Room of the Robert W. Woodruff Library.

On Friday, Sept. 20, the Emory campus will host a series of workshops, exhibits, conversations and readings as a part of the dECOlonial Feelin Symposium. This series of workshops will run throughout the day beginning at 9:45 a.m. and will include a short story reading by Emory creative writing professor Tiphanie Yanique. 

The creative writing program hosts 2022 American Book Award winner Phillip B. Williams in a reading of his latest novel, Ours, on Monday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m. A book signing will follow. Come back the next day, Tuesday, Sept. 24, for a colloquium on the novel at 1 p.m. in the Callaway Center’s Kemp Malone Library.

Additionally, join the Carlos Museum and Guatemalan poet and scholar Daniel Caño (Q'anjob'al) for a reading of his poetry at the Carlos Museum’s Ackerman Hall, on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. The reading will be conducted in Q’anjob’al Maya, Spanish and English. Stick around afterward for a conversation between Caño and Emil' Keme (K'iche' Maya Nation), professor of English and Indigenous Studies. Registration will be required for this event.


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