Cultural Programs
Many diverse and exciting cultural programs are offered throughout the year at Kean University. Numerous concerts, lectures, plays, films, dance programs and bus trips are scheduled to enhance a student’s educational experience.
Kean Stage, the University's professional presenting arts series, features a world-class lineup of professional artists, including Broadway legends, classical music, rock and roll, comedy, dance, and music in the prestigious Enlow Recital Hall and the large touring venue, the Wilkins Theatre. The On School Time Series includes an assortment of entertaining shows for the family. Kean Stage also supports the President's Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings renewed speakers to Kean's campus. For more information on Kean Stage events, please visit: https://www.kean.edu/kean-stage
Kean’s professional Equity theatre company in residence, Premiere Stages, offers a comprehensive season of new play premieres and NJ premieres, numerous education initiatives for on-campus and off-campus partners, and professional development opportunities for Kean University students. Premiere provides master classes and student enhancement projects through their Premiere Artist and Play Factory programs, including the Bauer Boucher Awards - two cash prizes awarded annually to a promising Kean student playwright and an emerging alumni playwright. Kean students are also afforded priority inclusion in Premiere's summer Internship Program, Understudy Showcase and New Jersey Theatre Alliance Combined Auditions. For more information, please visit: https://premierestagesatkean.com
The Kean Theatre Department offers 4 undergraduate degrees in theatre. Graduates work as actors, directors, designers, technicians and educators in theatre programs and classrooms throughout the nation. The Department presents outstanding productions each semester, a sample of which includes: Urinetown, Tartuffe, Rent, Detroit '67, Alice By Heart, Indecent, The Tempest, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and Animal Farm. For more information, please visit: https://www.kean.edu/academics/programs/theatre
The Kean Theatre Council is a student-run organization that sponsors cabarets, staged readings, social events, a 24-hour theatre festival, and an annual fully-mounted production produced, directed, designed, and performed by students from across the University.
Kean's Dance Minor program offers coursework in a wide variety of styles. For more information, please visit: https://www.kean.edu/academics/college-liberal-arts/department-theatre/our-programs#Dance
The Kean Music Department offers many concerts and recitals throughout the year. Students, alongside community members and regional professionals, perform in the Concert Choir, Chorale, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, Flute Ensemble, and Chamber Music. Renowned artists are also introduced to students through student engagement projects sponsored by Kean Stage. For more information, please visit: https://www.kean.edu/academics/programs/music
The Galleries at Kean host nationally and internationally recognized artists who are featured in solo and group presentations, traveling exhibitions, and immersive experiences in six unique exhibit spaces across campus. There is also a dedicated gallery space for exhibits by Kean students, providing them with a unique opportunity to showcase their work. The Galleries at Kean feature work by historical figures, contemporary, and ultra-contemporary artists presenting all types of art. New exhibitions are featured in each gallery twice a year. Kean is also home to a Special Collections Research Library and Archive, an array of outdoor sculptures and an extensive contemporary art collection which is highlighted across campus. The Liberty Hall Academic Center Gallery serves as a destination for major traveling exhibitions that build awareness of local, national, and global issues, past and present. The center is shared with the Department of History and provides undergraduate and graduate learning spaces as well as an urban green space. https://galleries.kean.edu/