Current & Upcoming Exhibits
All Exhibits
Each floor of the Anderson Academic Commons hosts a number of different exhibitions that change almost every quarter. These include fine art installations, student-curated shows, displays of faculty, student, and staff scholarship, and exhibitions curated from Special Collections & Archives and the Beck Archives.
Scroll down to see all current exhibitions, upcoming installations, and events.
UPCOMING:
OPEN•SET
Lower Level, Main Level, and Upper Level Built-in Exhibit Cases
May 2 - August 10, 2025
Sponsored by the American Academy of Bookbinding, Open•Set is a prestigious triennial exhibition and competition celebrating the art of finely crafted design bookbindings. The exhibition opens in two parts, reflecting the Open•Set namesake and the two categories the binders complete; the Open Category, in which the artist chooses which textblock to bind, and the Set Category, in which participants bind the same textblock.
ON DISPLAY NOW:
Frank Stella: Had Gadya
Upper level, The Dean's Suite Area
January 27- April 7, 2025
The University of Denver Libraries, in collaboration with the Center for Judaic Studies, is proud to present Frank Stella’s Had Gadya series. Frank Stella, an influential American artist of the 20th century, reinterprets Had Gadya—a centuries-old Passover song—through bold abstraction, intricate layering, and dynamic color. His striking visual compositions transform this story into a compelling study of movement, structure, and storytelling through form.
Special Event:
An Evening of Art and Story: Frank Stella’s Had Gadya in Conversation
Tuesday, April 2 | 6:00–8:00 PM
Panel Discussion at 6:30 PM
University of Denver | Anderson Academic Commons, Room 290
See more information: https://library.du.edu/content/evening-art-and-story-frank-stellas-had-gadya-conversation
"125 Years of Student Journalism at the DU Clarion"
Main Level, New Book Area
October 14, 2024 - Spring 2025
For over a century, DU students have strived to faithfully represent the happenings on campus and around the world in print – from the very early years of the 1890s broadsheet to the digital representations of the 21st century. This exhibit attempts to distill 125 years of blood, sweat, tears, and hard work, highlighting the unique aspects and historical moments throughout the decades.
“Feast on Art”
Upper level, The Loft Walls and the Faculty Reading Room
February - March 30, 2025
This exhibition will showcase various cookbooks owned by Anderson Academic Commons, inspired by art, literature, and museums. Art is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, and the art of cooking belongs on this list. The emergence of the ‘Art(ists) Cookbook’ -a recipe book authored by or featuring artists – forms an intersection of art and culinary creation that is a feast for the eyes, as well as the stomach. Some artists cookbooks blur the line between cookbook and art book entirely, functioning as a collectable art object sin their own right. Artist’s cookbooks challenge traditional notions of what constitutes a cookbook, inviting readers to explore the intersection of food and art through unconventional formats and avant-garde presentation. The lives and passions of these artists leak from the pages, offering us a glimpse of what life was like beyond their artistic endeavors.
"Bibliomysteries"
Upper level, Quinette Reading Room
Bibliomystery is a subgenre of mystery fiction that centers around books, manuscripts, libraries, bookstores, or the literary world. The plot often involves a crime related to rare books, literary artifacts, or the book trade. Protagonists are frequently scholars, librarians, authors, and book collectors.
This exhibit presents 48 selected bibliomysteries, showcasing the variety of this genre. These covers represent a small portion of the 1,000+ bibliomysteries in the Libraries' collections. While most are in the DU Special Collections & Archives, some are available to check out from the circulating collection.