Museum

The University's museum is also widely used by the people who live in Los Angeles and in the surrounding smaller towns. Last year the museum showed a major exhibit of Picasso's works in conjunction with a special series of lectures in honour of that artist's 80th birthday, as well as other exhibits of modern art.

Many American colleges and universities are not able to support so many cultural affairs, but all contribute something to their communities. The major universities in the larger cities—New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington—all offer rich cultural programs which complement the varied spiritual life of these cities.

The programs of colleges and universities in smaller cities through out the country—although more modest—are seen as equally, if not more important, since they form the community centre of cultural life. Lectures, concerts of the university orchestra and of visiting artists, exhibitions, plays presented by students who study the drama are often the only cultural events in smaller places. Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, all located in small ns, are good examples. They present classical and modern plays, lectures by world renowned scholars, writers, artists and scientists and concerts open to the public.

In Appleton, Wisconsin, Lawrence College with a student body of only 900 plays an important role in the cultural life of the town. The "Centre for Music and Drama" on the college campus offered in 1960-61 some 70 concerts, and the theatrical group of Appleton used this centre to present 44 evenings of drama. Since Lawrence College places special emphasis on promoting new American music it commissioned and performed in 1960 works by nine young American composers. Recently new compositions by 29 college composers were presented in a series of six public concerts. The year's cultural program offered, in addition, lectures, and 20 different art shows.