Why Study the Arts?

Source: https://arts.princeton.edu/about/prospective-students/why-study-the-arts/ Parent: https://arts.princeton.edu/courses/fabric-logics-textiles-as-sculpture-fa-20/

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Why Study the Arts? ---

“By participating in the arts, our students develop cognitive abilities and forms of intelligence that complement training in other disciplines, and in some cases they discover talents and interests that will shape their careers and principal avocations.”

– Shirley M. Tilghman (Princeton University President, 2001 – 2013)

The Princeton campus is always buzzing with creativity: plays, readings, a capella concerts in the archways, breakdancing and bhangra and everything in between. But art isn’t just for kicks—it’s a cornerstone of the academic life of the University. Art makes us human. It helps us to make sense of our own lives and identify with the lives of others. It is also increasingly recognized as a driver of the innovative thinking needed to solve our world’s most pressing problems. Learning and practicing art, and tapping into your creativity, can make you better at whatever you do. So in your four years at Princeton (which will race by), do yourself a favor: take a in the Lewis Center for the Arts. You have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore and make art with some of the best working artists who will ever set foot in a classroom, as well as unparalleled resources to make your creative visions a reality.

Princeton students perform "Ti Jean and His Brothers" by Derek Walcott. Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Students participate in a one-day workshop with guest artist Caitlyn Min-ji Au. Photo by Jon Sweeney

Princeton students perform the Rebecca Lazier choreographed Blink. Photo by Larry Levanti

Princeton Atelier students perform new works. Photo by Denise Applewhite

A creative writing student reads from their work. Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Viulka de Jesus Cruz and John Venegas Juarez perform Luna's Neon Nightmare: The Horrors of Migration during a Princeton Atelier course showing. Photo by Jon Sweeney

A 2014 production of Mel Brooks' and Thomas Meehan's hit musical, The Producers. Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Visual arts students enjoy the annual Open Studios event at 185 Nassau Street. Photo by Kemy Lin

Princeton Playhouse Ensembles perform during their spring 2025 concert. Photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Sam Yamashita ’26, Andrew Hwang ’25, Tierra Lewis ’25 and Phia Dennis ’28 perform in the senior dance thesis project, “Sync”. Photo by Larry Levanti

Students work on their comics and graphic novels during the Atelier course "How To Write a Graphic Novel" taught by visiting lecturer Everett Glenn on October 25, 2023. Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson

Seniors in Princeton’s Program in Creative Writing read from the screenplays or collections of poems during an April 21, 2025 senior reading event at Chancellor Green Rotunda. Photo by Daeun Kim

Students participate in the Painting I taught by Colleen Asper at 185 Nassau on Nov. 5, 2024. Photo by Zohar Lavi-Hasson