Columbia University School of the Arts’ Lenfest Center for the Arts is a dynamic hub for cultural and civic exchange in Upper Manhattan. Featuring four flexible venues and a public plaza, this state-of-the-art facility offers unprecedented opportunities for the presentation and generation of contemporary art and ideas across disciplines.

From readings and installations to performances, screenings, and symposia, the vibrant array of activity at the Lenfest Center for the Arts aims to strengthen local partnerships while highlighting contemporary scholarship, global perspectives, and compelling voices of our time.

Recent guests to Columbia University School of the Arts include visual artists Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson, and Carrie Mae Weems; filmmakers Trey Ellis, Amandine Gay, Greta Gerwig, and Laura Poitras; writers Richard Ford, Douglas Kearney, and Patti Smith; theatre artists Oskar Eustis, Raeda Taha, and Julie Taymor; composers Vijay Iyer, Missy Mazzoli, and Him Sophy; journalists Jelani Cobb, Chenjerai Kumanyika, and Touré; historians Romi Crawford, Kellie Jones, and James Naremore; neuroscientist Richard Axel; theorists Fred Moten and Astra Taylor; landscape architects Walter Hood and Kate Orff; clinical psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison; and curator Paola Antonelli. In addition, the School of the Arts has spearheaded university-wide programming around issues of water justice and climate change; organized residencies with visiting artists Joan Jonas, Young Jean Lee, and Rebecca Solnit; and hosted readings by New York City high school students who have produced original work in collaboration with young artists from Columbia University.