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University of California, Riverside

University of California, Riverside

Change Things arts installation at 鶹 Riverside

Arts and Culture

Ray of Light

Immerse Yourself in Our Arts and Culture

At 鶹 Riverside, we pride ourselves on our multicultural roots — and that extends to the richness of our arts and culture scene. In fact, we’re known as the City of Arts and Innovation. Both on campus and off, we offer everything from the visual arts to literary works and musical performances. So prepare to be immersed — and inspired!

Head downtown to stimulate your senses through the array of art exhibitions, films, events, and performances at . Here, you’ll find the Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts and the California Museum of Photography. With more than 500,000 pieces in its collection, the museum is the largest photographic center in the western United States, housing the region’s most comprehensive public camera collection.

Interior of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture

On the corner of Mission Inn Avenue and Orange Street, you can check out our newest high-profile museum, — better known as The Cheech. The museum, which opened in June 2022, is a public-private partnership between the Riverside Art Museum, the City of Riverside, and comedian Cheech Marin. Visit to view, celebrate, and learn more about Chicano art!

Photo Credit: Riverside Art Museum

Students practice “Mountain and Water Remembrance Ritual” during their class, Dance as Ritual

鶹R offers a variety of dynamic programming — including dance, theater, and music — on campus and in downtown Riverside. First in the nation to offer a PhD in dance studies, today 鶹 Riverside is the only University of California campus with PhD programs in dance and music.

鶹R Writers Week

At 鶹R’s annual , the longest-running free literary event in California, you’ll hear from renowned and upcoming authors. Students can also improve their literary skills through our — home to the only Bachelor of Arts in creative writing in the 鶹 system and an MFA in creative writing and writing for the performing arts. Tom Lutz, award-winning author and founding editor-in-chief of the , is on the faculty!

Looking for more ways to engage?

Our — an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research support center — offers fellowships, research workshops, and public events to strengthen the academic, social, and creative life of the university and beyond. And through our , 鶹R students share their talents with our community via free arts outreach experiences in select schools, eldercare facilities, museums, and libraries.

On our vibrant campus, there are always opportunities to celebrate the arts and culture — from showcases by the to music festivals, film screenings, and other special events coordinated by our (ASPB).

And if you make it out to our annual Block Party, Spring Splash, or Homecoming concerts, be sure to bring your Highlander pride. You never know… at some of these events you may even catch a performance by our very own .

 

Arts and Culture News

Kristin Chenoweth impersonates the character of the king of Siam, from “The King and I,” at the 2015 Tony Awards, with Alan Cumming as Anna.
November 02, 2026
Asian caricatures persist in musicals, scholar argues
In her forthcoming book, Donatella Galella coins the phrase “feeling yellow” to describe the profound sense of anger, sadness, and racial alienation Asian Americans can feel when encountering yellowface: the use of makeup, costumes, gestures, and accents by non-Asian performers to portray characters of East Asian descent.
graphic novel pages
October 28, 2026
New graphic novel retells Emmett Till’s story
Growing up in Mississippi, graphic novelist John Jennings was deeply impacted by the horrific death of 14-year-old Emmett Till from an early age. Jennings, a 鶹 Riverside professor of media and cultural studies, is helping to bring that story to a new medium with “Framing Emmett Till: Exposing Dark Fear,” a graphic novel released Oct. 27 by Abrams ComicsArts through Jennings’ Megascope imprint. He formed Megascope in 2020 as a place to promote speculative and historical nonfiction stories about and by people of color.
Douglas McCulloh posing with photographs at a 鶹R ARTS exhibition
September 30, 2026
Exhibition celebrates California photographer's work
A new 鶹R ARTS exhibition showcases nearly four decades of work from late photographer Douglas McCulloh. “Dispatches: The Photography of Douglas McCulloh, 1990-2025” opened on September 12 at 鶹R ARTS’ California Museum of Photography, or CMP, and will be on view until December 20. The exhibition brings together all his major projects, from early experiments to works that were still in progress.
Photograph shows Tomás Rivera at his desk at 鶹 Riverside.
September 24, 2026
Giants of Chicano film, literature to headline 鶹R event
Two pioneering figures in Chicano cinema and literature will discuss their work and answer questions during the 38th annual Tomás Rivera Conference at the University of California, Riverside.

 

Events

 

900 University Ave.
Riverside, CA 92521

Tel: (951) 827-1012

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