College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

HNRS 360 The Silkroad and the Railroad is the kind of course that could only happen at Mason. With artists-in-residence Silkroad Ensemble as partners, 25 Honors College students from 17 majors are exploring cultures and histories, music and narratives, impacts and legacies of the Transcontinental Railroad.

ARTS by George! returned on Saturday, September 30, 2023, hosted by the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at George Mason University. The benefit event, which was headlined by GRAMMY and Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, raised more than $275,000 for student scholarships in visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

“The Road to the End,” a play written and performed by the School of Theater's alumni and students, won Best Drama in an audience vote at the recent Capital Fringe festival.

Nikyatu Jusu, an assistant professor of directing and screenwriting in Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, talks about her hit movie “Nanny,” which won the grand prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The horror genre is not all “jump-scares,” she says. Just as often, the monster is a commentary on human nature and the way we treat each other and ourselves.

Kyle Finnegan’s short documentary film “MSG: Mysterious Savory Grains” was partially funded by Mason’s Young Alumni Commissioning Project (YACP) and was recently screened at the Johnson Center Cinema.

The Edges of What I Feel, an exhibition by the Healing Artist Collective curated by recently retired Mason professor Peter Winant, features the artwork of an eclectic group of Mason School of Art students and alumni. The diverse group of artists participated in the exhibition with the common goal of healing.

Just weeks after a massive tornado destroyed their high school and half of their town, music students in Wynne, Arkansas, were able to continue their music education and even keep some performance dates, thanks to Mason’s Instruments in the Attic program.

As a movement and concept, ecological art, or eco art, stretches back decades. And EcoArt has been a part of George Mason University’s School of Art since 2010, thanks to Mark Cooley, associate professor and director of new media.

In addition to honoring Carlos Castro and the Jacquemin Family Foundation, the 13th Anniversary Gala raised more than $200,000, which will support performances and programs at the Hylton Center

Game Mason: Hosted by Student Involvement and the Center for the Arts (CFA), in collaboration with GMU Esports and the computer game design program, this year’s event at the Fairfax Campus on March 3-4 had classic arcade games like Pinball and Ms. Pac-Man, an Esports tournament, and more.