About

In celebration of UCLA’s centennial, 100 for 100 brings together stories that span the history of the arts at UCLA.

Standing on Vermont Avenue in 1919, it would be hard to imagine the arts at UCLA today. Even then, the arts were an essential foundation within the University. Our budding university on UCLA’s original Vermont Avenue campus featured art courses and an art gallery. Classrooms were filled with young Bruins drawing, painting and designing.

A century later, the School of the Arts and Architecture—one of twelve prestigious professional schools at UCLA, offers leading programs in four degree-granting departments: Architecture and Urban Design, Art, Design | Media Arts and World Arts and Cultures/Dance; seven research centers; the Visual and Performing Arts Education program (VAPAE); two world class museums; and one groundbreaking performing arts program. 

Our classrooms, studios, galleries, and performance spaces are thriving with artists, designers, architects, dancers, and scholars whose creative work enlivens our Westwood campus and beyond. Guiding this transformation over the past 100 years has been the belief that the arts are not only a critical part of the cognitive, critical, inquisitive life of a public research university but, that the collaboration, practice, and presence of the arts are a cornerstone of the creative, innovative thinking that the 21st century demands. 

The arts are essential to UCLA and the university is essential to the UCLA vision of the arts.

The story of the arts at UCLA is inextricably interwoven with the story of the arts in Los Angeles. The longstanding tradition of the teaching artist, a distinguishing quality of the west coast arts community, means that UCLA has served as a touchstone for the city’s vibrant cultural ecosystem since the beginning. The university’s commitment to the arts has attracted the best and brightest students as well as artists and creative practitioners working at the top of their fields to Los Angeles, and UCLA has served as a center for these artists to conduct research, find community, innovate in their fields, and create new work. The robust public arts programming that has been an enduring hallmark of UCLA has ensured that the rich artistic resources—not only of the university but of the world—have been shared with the Los Angeles community and beyond.

Standing in Westwood in 2019, what does the next hundred years hold? Almost by definition, we cannot begin to imagine what UCLA's future graduates will create; how their vision will alter the world; how their education will guide their passion; the global challenges they will face; how their work will engage and enrich our world. The possibilities are unbounded, fueled by the creative energy and vision of our students and the inspiration and commitment of our faculty. We have the opportunity to continue to nurture an environment where individuals can flourish—where discovery, creativity, and innovation prosper. Over the next 100 years, we will broaden our reach and strengthen our reputation as the best, most dynamic and accessible public arts university in the world.