Across the Arts: Weekly event highlights
A curated glimpse at programs that welcome you to participate in UCLA's educational mission by way of the arts and humanities. Most events are free.
Nov. 1 | Fowler Festival: Día de los Muertos
Honor loved ones through hands-on artmaking with artist Maria Elena Cruz, including mini ofrendas and sugar skull piñatas, and enjoy a closing performance by Mariachi Alta California. Free | 1–4:30 p.m. | Fowler Museum at UCLA.
Nov. 1 | Steve Reich @ 90
Celebrate the visionary American composer with performances of Eight Lines, WTC 9/11, Tehillim and more, plus a preceding symposium exploring Reich's music and Minimalism. Presented by the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience. Free with RSVP | 4 p.m. | Schoenberg Hall.
Nov. 1 | How to Save a Dead Friend / A Ghost Story
Two haunting films explore love, loss, memory and the ways the dead remain with us. Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive's The Trouble with Ghosts series, with an introduction by scholars Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli and Martine Beugnet. Free | 7 p.m. | Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum.
Nov. 5 | Type-In at the Library: Typewriter Extravaganza
Step away from your screen and rediscover the pleasure of writing by hand ... well, almost. Try vintage manual and electric typewriters, pick up maintenance tips and take home an original poem composed on the spot by a poet-on-demand. Presented by UCLA Library and UCLA Writing Programs | 2 p.m. | Charles E. Young Research Library, Main Conference Room 11360
Nov. 5–21 | Bruin Fringe Festival 2026
The curtain rises Nov. 5 on three weekends of original, student-generated theater, featuring short plays, experimental performances and plenty of creative surprises. The opening bill, running Nov. 5–7, launches the festival with five works written, directed and performed by UCLA theater students. Free, first come, first served | 7 p.m. Nov. 5 | 2 p.m. | Whitney Family Studio Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
Nov. 6 | Obsession
A wish for romance takes a terrifying turn in writer-director Curry Barker's darkly funny horror film about desire, fixation and the perils of getting exactly what you want. Presented as part of the Hammer Museum's MoMA Contenders 2026 series. $20 general admission, $10 members | 7:30 p.m. | Hammer Museum.
