College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Art and visual technology major Keryssa Ward credits her parents for helping her get through a health crisis after her first year at Mason. It's just part of the reason she nominated her family for the Family of the Year.

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.

Mason Arts' “digital venue” is evolving once more with a new name for the online platform: Mason Arts Amplified. Formerly known as Mason Arts at Home, this curated collection features arts experiences, including digitally released performances, panel discussions, behind-the-scenes talks with artists, and more.

Prior to the special performance of Renée Elise Goldsberry in Concert headlining the evening, College of Visual and Performing Arts students showcase their talents in visual arts, music, game design, dance, and more. Read on to learn more about some of the stellar performances and experiences you can partake in when visiting ARTS by George!

Two generations and as much as two millennia removed from their sources, the artworks in “Metamorphosis” are paper-pulp castings of plaster replicas of sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome. Previously the property of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the nearly 70 plaster pieces now belong to George Mason University.

“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.

Returning on September 30, ARTS by George!, an evening that showcases the remarkable talents of Mason students amid an array of spectacular food and beverages, culminates with a special performance by Broadway superstar Renée Elise Goldsberry in Concert. Best known for her Tony and GRAMMY Award-winning performance as Angelica Schuyler in the original cast of Broadway’s blockbuster musical Hamiliton, Goldsberry is anything but a stranger to New York City.

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.