Upcoming Events at Columbia College Chicago

Learn more about our performance spaces at www.colum.edu/spotlight
Ongoing Events
Cecilia Beaven: Flickering Cocoon
On display through June 1
Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Avenue
Admission: Free
In “Flickering Cocoon,” artist and Columbia faculty member Cecilia Beaven creates a vibrant sanctuary where spirituality and physicality intertwine. Influenced by her Mexican heritage, her work explores life, death, and transformation with neon-hued imagery of animals, plants, and female forms, playfully embracing the cycle of life. Blending traditional illustration with modern murals, textiles, and sculpture, Beaven brings Mesoamerican myths to life and reinterprets Cipactli, a mythical crocodile, as a powerful symbol of creation.
April 2025
Wildcard Experiments in Circus
April 4, 7:30 p.m.
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave.
Admission: $30 public; $10 students; free for Columbia students
Science fiction is the art of the possible—an idea that doesn’t exist yet but soon will, changing everything. This electrifying circus showcase delivers a thrilling lineup of solo, partner, and group acts on the ground and in the air, with never a dull moment in between. Featuring Columbia College Chicago senior Kaya Gross (Silks) alongside Natalie Cook (Lyra, Acro), Cindy Hui (Hair Hanging, Lyra, Straps, Acro), Sabrina Isabella (Sling), Eric Robinson (Diabolo, Trampoline, Acro), Amy Rooney (Straps, Acro), and Daniel Trinidad (Straps, Acro).
Spring Forward: Student Performance Night
Apr. 10-11, 7:30 p.m.
Admission: Free with RSVP
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave.
Tap into the energetic lift of early spring harnessed through the soaring creativity of student choreographers collaborating with Theater lighting designers on original, brand new, short works.
Tatreez Embroidery Workshop
April 10, 9 a.m.-noon
Admission: Free with RSVP
HAUS, 623 S. Wabash, First Floor
Join the School of Fashion and Bayan Collective for an immersive, hands-on workshop exploring the history and techniques of Palestinian tatreez embroidery. Learn about its cultural significance and receive step-by-step instruction in cross-stitching and other techniques. No experience necessary. Email goyoung@colum.edu to register.
Allium Release Party
April 17, 3:30 p.m.
Admission: Free
Columbia College Chicago Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash, first floor
“Allium, A Journal of Poetry & Prose” is a multi-genre print and online journal published by Columbia College Chicago’s School of Communication and Culture. Three issues are published yearly: two digital issues in the Fall and Summer and one print issue in the Spring. This event will feature Columbia faculty member, writer, and poet Lisa Fishman, plus contributors from the Spring 2025 issue.
Red Clay Dance Company Presents “16”
April 17-19, 7:30 p.m.
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave.
Admission: $20 public; free for Columbia students
Red Clay Dance Company makes their highly anticipated return to the Dance Center stage with a work by legendary, award-winning choreographer Bebe Miller alongside Artistic Director, Columbia alum, and inaugural Walder Platform awardee Vershawn Sanders-Ward’s re-staging of “Written on the Flesh.”
May 2025
RENT
May 1, 7:30 p.m.; May 2, 7:30 p.m.; May 3, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; May 7, 7:30 p.m.; May 8, 7:30 p.m. (ASL-interpreted performance) May 9, 7:30 p.m.; May 10, 2 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago Getz Theatre Center, Courtyard Theatre, 72 E. 11th St.
Admission: TBA
“RENT” follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
DELVE: Faculty & Alumni Concert
May 8-9, 7:30 p.m.
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave.
Admission: $15 public, free for Columbia students
The Dance Center’s renowned professional dance faculty and alumni choreograph new works performed by students.
WITH INCANDESCENCE: BFA Capstone Concert
May 15-16, 7:30 p.m.
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave.
Admission: Free with RSVP
The Dance Center’s Season 51 culminates with the graduating class of Dance BFAs Elizabeth Abel, Kayla Hansen, Konnie Kakridas, Aly Owens, and Rhianna Young’s original works drawing upon their years of study and practice.
Recent News
- AIDS Memorial Quilt Sections to Be Displayed at Columbia During “RENT” Production
- Columbia Professor Recognized as 2025 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Award Winner
- From Columbia to the Kentucky Derby: Jacey Rhorer’s Journey in the Art of Hatmaking
- Dance Students Premiere New Works at Student Performance Night, April 10-11
- Columbia Once Again Designated a Voter-Friendly Campus