Arts
Arts at W&L
At Washington and Lee, our arts program is more than just a major or minor. It goes beyond the classroom, playing a role in campus life, performances and projects, on-campus museums, and downtown exploration.
Performances in Lenfest Theater. Art installations and exhibitions in Staniar Gallery. Musical ensembles and visiting musicians. Collections of paintings, porcelain, and historical documents. All of these things are accessible to students, staff, faculty, and visitors to the Washington and Lee campus.
Arts at W&L
Small town. Big culture.
The Lenfest Center for the Arts
The Lenfest Center for the Arts is a multi-use facility designed and equipped to accommodate a broad spectrum of the performing arts, including theater, musical theater, opera and operetta, choral and band music, dance and performance art in one energizing complex.
Museums at WLU
The Museums at Washington and Lee University support the university as an interdisciplinary teaching resource through the preservation, study, interpretation and exhibition of its collections. The Museums at WLU are composed of three areas: The University Chapel & Galleries; the Reeves Collection; and the Art Collection.
Galleries
W&L's campus has several art galleries to showcase both our own collection of art, as well as rotating exhibits comprised of student, faculty, and visiting artist pieces.
Japanese Tea Room
Our campus is home to an authentic Japanese Tea Room for performing Japanese Tea Ceremonies. This piece of art is open for viewing, as well as public tea demonstrations throughout the year.
Historical Sites and Markers
As the ninth oldest institution of higher learning in the nation, Washington and Lee boasts a long history. Much of this history is recognized across our campus in our historical sites and markers. We encourage all visitors to explore these areas and learn more about W&L as an institution and its past.
Wilson Concert Hall
Wilson Hall contains a 300 seat, state-of-the-art concert hall which hosts the University's many student and faculty ensemble groups, as well as world renowned concert artists. Most of these performances (both free and ticketed) are open to all members of the campus and wider Lexington community.
Keller Theatre
The Keller Theatre is a 415-seat proscenium theatre located in the Lenfest Center for the Arts. Equipped with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, full fly tower with slip weight counterweight rigging, trapped stage floor, and an orchestra pit elevator, the Keller boasts an impressive stage house capable of handling most performances.
Johnson Theatre
The Johnson Theatre is a 170-seat black box theatre located in the Lenfest Center. Equipped with audience seating that can be set up in multiple configurations providing students the opportunity to work in arena, alley, thrust, and other dynamic set ups.
Stackhouse Theater
Located in the Elrod Commons, Stackhouse Theater functions not only as a gathering place for club meetings, but also as a movie theater for weekly free movie showings (popcorn included) and student performances, as well as guest speakers and club-sponsored film viewing nights.
W&L Student Performs at Havana Jazz Festival
A meeting with a Broadway legend allowed engineering major Zaria Daniels ’26 to take her vocal talents to Cuba.
Alumni and Students Connect Through Choreography
The W&L Repertory Dance Company’s alumni-student dance performance in New York City’s Center for Performance Research returned after a four-year hiatus.
W&L Celebrates the 2023 Holiday Season
’Tis the season for holiday events on campus and in the local community! Check out what’s happening and make your plans to ring in the holiday season.
W&L’s recent staging of ‘Speech & Debate’ brought its cast, crew and audience an opportunity to engage with an innovative, collaborative approach to theater.
W&L Students Curate Fall Art Exhibition
“Mohammad Omer Khalil: Musings,” co-curated by four Washington and Lee students as part of a seminar course in museum studies, will be on display in the Watson Galleries Sept. 28, 2023 through June 1, 2024.
Washington and Lee’s Museum Artist-in-Residence Program welcomed photographer Stephanie Shih to campus in May to create new work based on the Museums’ art collection.
W&L students in this Spring Term’s “Swedish Theater” course were immersed in culture during their three weeks in Stockholm, Sweden.
W&L neuroscience students recently partnered with an innovative art-making program offered at Kendal at Lexington.
New Exhibition Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
“OPEN FLOWERS BEAR FRUIT” opens May 1 in the McCarthy Gallery in Holekamp Hall.
Staniar Gallery Presents Delilah Montoya: Contemporary Casta Portraiture
The solo exhibition will run from April 24 to May 25 in Staniar Gallery inside Washington and Lee University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts.
The Museums at W&L invites visitors to reflect on “Born of Fire: Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists,” on display through April 29.
Museums at W&L Expands Its Collection
W&L’s most recent museum exhibition, “Mother Clay: The Pottery of Three Pueblo Women,” brought new artists into the university’s collection and connected the campus community in unexpected ways.