Fine Arts at Lake Forest College
Fine arts at Lake Forest College
At Lake Forest College, we understand that the fine arts are a key part in nourishing the student as a whole as well as supporting the cultural enrichment of our campus. Our students study and apply foundational creative and expressive skills they learn in the fine arts so they graduate equipped to effect change in the world beyond our gates.
The fine arts empower our diverse population of students with foundational social, practical, emotional, and creative skills employers are seeking. Practicing the fine arts enhances a Forester's connection to the wider world and helps us find our place in it.
We help our students achieve academic excellence and find success through the fine arts with small class sizes, attentive instructors, and experiential learning opportunities.
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Selected spring events
More Than Meets AI
January 15 – February 15, 2026
Opening reception: Thursday, January 15
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Sonnenschein and Albright Galleries, Lake Forest College
Performance and Screening: Friday, January 16
6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
The Flats at East-West University
829 S Wabash Avenue, Chicago
Gallery hours and location
M/W/F 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Sat/Sun 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
By appointment: 847-735-5194
Sonnenschein and Albright Galleries
Durand Art Institute
Lake Forest College
555 N. Sheridan Road
Lake Forest, Illinois
"More Than Meets AI" is an international art exhibition examining how AI technologies reshape perception, creativity, and human meaning-making. Hosted in paartnership with the Center for Digital Narrative at the University of Bergen, Norway, the show features interdisiplinary artworks exploring the sensory and cultural effects of artificial intelligence.
In collaboration with the Center for Digital Narrative and the School of the Art Institute, this is a live performance and screening program expanding on the exhibition's themes, featuring multimedia works engaging with human/AI interaction, embodiment, and hybrid creative processes.
Musical performances
All music concerts are free and open to the public; no registration is necessary.
February 27, Band and Orchestra Concert
7:00 p.m., Gorton Center
March 4, Choral Concert
7:00 p.m., Calvin Durand Hall
April 20, Jazz Concert
7:00 p.m., Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel
April 14, West African Drumming Ensemble Concert
8:00 p.m. Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel
April 22, Choral Concert
7:00 p.m., Calvin Durand Hall
April 24, Band and Orchestra Concert
7:00 p.m., Gorton Center
Noises Off — A Farce by Michael Frayn
The show where the backstage drama is… actually, the comedy.
March 26-28 and April 2-4
Hixon Theater, Lake Forest College
Thursday, Friday, Saturday performances at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Noises Off takes you behind the curtain of a hapless theater troupe as their show slowly — then spectacularly — derails. Relationships crumble, egos collide, and mayhem multiplies in this legendary backstage farce.
Art and Art History
Studio students learn painting, drawing, video, multimedia, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and more. Our students of art history learn how to use visual material in the analysis of society, economics, politics, and religion.
Music
Through opera or hip hop, violin or harmonica, music students at Lake Forest collaborate with professors whose own interests range from world music to electronica.
Theater
The theater program at Lake Forest College merges active learning, creative expression, artistic development, and historical and theoretical understanding. Majoring in theater puts students in a dynamic and immersive learning environment where they make connections and learn skills that lay the foundation for a career beyond graduation.
Music Education
The study of music education at Lake Forest combines music theory, history and culture of music, and music performance with rigorous study in the practical art of teaching strings, winds and percussion, elemental and secondary general music, and instrumental and choral ensembles.
English and Creative Writing
The Department of English and Creative Writing offers courses for all students who wish to enrich their understanding of literature and language and to develop their skills as readers and writers, enabling them to lead constructive and imaginative lives.
Museum Studies
Lake Forest College’s minor in museum studies provides students from a wide range of majors a chance to study the theory and practice of displaying such collections for educational and cultural purposes.
Print and Digital Publishing
The Print and Digital Publishing Program prepares students for careers in the publishing industry as well as in fields that require exceptional skills in expository writing.
Cinema Studies
Cinema Studies courses focus on the history, theory, culture, and criticism of film and video, in addition to encouraging hands-on experience in digital video production, setting students up for successful cinema careers.
Digital Media Design
Our interdisciplinary Digital Media Design program bridges the arts and sciences by providing students with both technical knowledge and an understanding of aesthetics.
Make your mark and make great art
Our students have a wealth of opportunities to engage in the fine arts while studying at Lake Forest College. Whether you're majoring or minoring in the fine arts or just exploring your passion for the arts while working toward a different degree, there are endless ways to sustain your involvement in creation, performance, and enjoyment of the arts.
Here are just a few ways our students engage with the arts:
- Participating in one of the eight music ensembles on campus
- Taking part in a theater performance as a cast member, musician, or production member
- Attending on-campus exhibits in the Sonnenschein and Albright galleries
- Creating art in one of our many studio classes
- Taking trips to Chicago to soak in the vibrant culture of the nation's third-largest city
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My education helped validate my artistic ideas and inclinations through the devoted study of methods I use to design my own projects. I understand that there is a historical lineage of artists and movements that came before me, and I am able to interpret and re-purpose an eclectic array of methods to speak my own informed truth.
Nick Zazove ’20, Musician and Audio Engineer
Access to a world of art
The College’s art collection numbers over 1,200 pieces and is eclectic in nature. It consists of paintings, drawings, 19th and 20th century prints, both digital and printed photographs, modern art glass, Asian ceramics, Meso-American artifacts, African masks, and monumental outdoor sculptures. Works of art are used for teaching purposes through formal exhibitions and informal class visits of the gallery storage facilities. Pieces from the collection are used to aesthetically enhance almost every building on campus. In the true spirit of the liberal arts, we believe in the importance of living with art on a daily basis.
Fine Art at Lake Forest College
At Lake Forest College, we understand that creativity is the foundation for innovation. We give our students tools and skills they can bring to their lives beyond graduation to push normative boundaries, encourage critical thought, and express their place in the wide world around them. Our fine arts programs prepare students for meaningful careers.
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For my senior thesis, I experimented with various mediums and processes until I was able to develop a cohesive and unique final body of work. Although there were moments during the project where I doubted my ability to complete it on time or create something that I was proud of, my thesis became the center of one of the most impactful moments of my college career. During the exhibition's opening night, I invited a select group of friends and professors, which made for an intimate and emotional experience I will never forget.
Emily Wachter '23
Fine Arts Scholarships
We believe that the artistic vision and talent students bring to campus enriches our community. That's why Lake Forest College offers talent-based scholarships in music, studio art, and theater. Scholarships are available to both majors and non-majors.