The Arts and Culture profile features courses from many disciplines, both hands-on studio courses and theoretical courses.  In addition, many courses in Arts and Culture, for instance Introduction to Arts and Culture in the first term, include attending classical concerts and the theatre, and visiting museums, libraries, and art galleries. Since Dawson is close to a variety of important cultural institutions in Montreal, these visits can be an important part of students’ cultural experience.

Dawson College houses the Warren G. Flowers Gallery, which hosts several exhibits every year. In addition, the newly inaugurated theatre on campus features high-quality student plays.  The English Department Reading Series brings in an interesting line-up of contemporary Canadian writers.  Guy Vanderhaeghe, Joy Kogawa, Elizabeth Hay, Drew Hayden Taylor, Nino Ricci, Rawi Hage, Vittorio Rossi,  and Heather O’Neill , to name a few, have all read from their work at Dawson. Raoul Bhaneja has also discussed Elizabethan theatre and performed excerpts from his one-man play, Hamlet (solo), at Dawson. Student reporters often cover these events for class or college publications.

Students in the Arts and Culture profile also participate in the ALC spring festival typically held in April at Dawson.  The festival involves all of the ALC disciplines and can include exhibitions of student-created artwork; readings of poetry, short stories or plays; and various types of literary, theatrical and musical performances. In the past, Arts and Culture students have made short films, organized their own exhibits, launched websites, and created zines for distribution in the greater community.  Many of these projects are developed in the context of the Integrating Activity course in the final semester, but first-year students have also participated, either as individuals, in groups, or as classes.

Artist: Alexandra Nadeau, C.A.L.L. student (2007)
Title: Passage Oblige
Medium: Polaroids, painting, brass