UMass Fine Arts Center

With deep respect, we remember Sonny Rollins, the visionary tenor saxophonist whose innovative approach and magnificent, commanding onstage presence made him one of the most influential voices in jazz. The Fine Arts Center was honored to present Rollins on our stage in 1980.

The Fine Arts Center hosted a powerful conversation at UMass this week on the arts as a tool for mental health and wellbeing. Leaders and advocates from across the Commonwealth came together to spotlight the effect of creative practice.

Read more below.

McGovern highlights art’s mental health role at UMass event Rep. Jim McGovern spoke this morning at UMass Amherst as part of the “Art for the Common Good” campaign.

Our Director of External Relations, Kelsey Rode, spent an inspiring morning today at the UMass Fine Arts Center for their Art for the Common Good conference. The conference featured researchers, practitioners, and leaders who spoke about the strong relationships between arts access and health. It won’t come as a surprise to creatives and arts advocates that a growing body of research clearly shows the correlations between arts participation and increased wellbeing.

In Massachusetts, we’re fortunate to have elected leaders like Congressman Jim McGovern, Senator Jo Comerford, and State Representative Mindy Domb, who understand the vital role that art plays in public health outcomes. It was a pleasure to see so many statewide arts leaders and funders in Amherst to discuss this urgent topic.

Thank you UMass Fine Arts Center, Barr Foundation, and Mass General Brigham for sponsoring today’s conference.

The Fine Arts Center is honored to have brought monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery to campus this week.

Since Monday, they’ve been crafting an intricate sand mandala in the Old Chapel, sharing a tradition that dates back centuries.

Read more in the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s feature below.

A masterpiece meant to vanish: Tibetan monks create — then destroy — intricate sand mandala at UMass to symbolize impermanence - Daily Hampshire Gazette AMHERST — A work of art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will be gone on Friday afternoon — not relocated elsewhere intact, but physically destroyed. Throughout this week, as part of their “Mystical Arts of Tibet” tour, Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery in Geor...

For fifty years, the Fine Arts Center has brought world-class art to the community through performances, exhibitions, education, and cultural experiences.

As we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary season, we are expanding that vision by launching an arts and wellbeing initiative that bridges world-class art with a deeper commitment to community health.

Last week, The Fabulous 413 featured a conversation with Fine Arts Center Director Jamilla Deria, alongside Dr. Jean King, Dr. Tasha Golden, and Betsy Cracco about the ways in which arts and creativity can support healing and build stronger communities.

From Massachusetts leading the way in social prescribing (where providers prescribe art experiences to support mental health), to UMass efforts through the Okanagan Wellbeing Collective, the conversation highlights a growing movement: treating creativity as essential to human wellness.

This Friday, the Fine Arts Center brings together artists, healthcare practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders for a sold-out statewide convening on arts, health, and wellbeing.

Listen to the full interview now! https://umassarts.site/41QG3Rx