Long a focus in campus life, the arts gained greater visibility and heightened interest with the opening of the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts in 1995. The new facility brought programs in art, music, theatre, and the Brauer Museum of Art together under one roof for the first time. In addition to enhancing the relationship among the departments, the facility provides a central location where arts lovers from campus and the surrounding community gather for plays, concerts and public presentations in the 275-seat University Theatre and 170-seat Duesenberg Recital Hall.
The center fosters an interdisciplinary spirit of the arts and provides valuable cultural and educational opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and residents of the region. There is a spirit of collaboration and energy, as the arts departments share a commitment to a comprehensive, coherent and ambitious visual and performing arts program.
For music lovers, recitals by faculty and guest artists supplement an extensive schedule of vocal and instrumental student concerts. Whether it's choir and orchestra combining in performances of some of Bach's greatest works or the swinging sound of the Jazz Band, there is something for everyone. Student-directed studio presentations and opportunities for students to perform in outreach programs supplement mainstage theatrical productions. Other student artistic endeavors are showcased annually in an Art Student Exhibition.
The Brauer Museum of Art is one of the gems of Northwest Indiana. It gained consideration attention in 1997 with the unprecedented Old Masters exhibition from the National Museum of Art of Romania, and has continued to be a popular attraction with exhibitions such as Ansel Adams photographs and arts and artifacts from New Guinea.