Arts and leisure
Kent offers a thriving arts scene, with the Gulbenkian Theatre and Cinema, art exhibitions and other events running throughout the year.
The University also runs a series of open lectures during the academic year. The lectures are given by a mixture of public figures and recently-appointed professors giving open inaugural lectures.
Music
The University has a flourishing programme of music-making open to all students, together with staff and the local community.
Activities include an unauditioned chorus of around 200 singers, a symphony orchestra, concert band, big band and chamber choir. Concerts are held in venues on campus, in Canterbury Cathedral, around Kent and across the Channel.
Student Music Scholarships are available each year.
Sport
The Sports Centre is at the heart of University of Kent life providing for over 30 different sport activities
The Canterbury Sports Centre is one of the best and cheapest ‘on-campus’ sports facilities in the whole university sector and operates a sport-for-all policy to encourage everybody to keep fit and healthy – nearly half the population at the University are Sports Centre users. You can enjoy real benefits whether you are a recreational user or a serious athlete. Members of the local community are welcome to join the centre.
There are a growing number of sports teams based at Medway, which welcome both serious athletes and beginners. Students make use of the on-campus Sports Centre, and can also take advantage of Medway’s range of opportunities for swimming, golf, athletics, climbing and sailing activities.
Gulbenkian Theatre
The Gulbenkian, on the Canterbury campus, is a meeting place for students, staff and the general public. The theatre seats 340 and presents student, professional and amateur shows throughout the year.
It’s possible to see a full range of productions in each season, varying from stand-up comedy, with performers such as Mark Thomas or Rich Hall, to dance from Henri Oguike or Union Dance, to drama from the National Theatre or Trestle Theatre Company. World music, jazz, folk and classical music also feature regularly in the programme.
Take a virtual tour or visit Gulbenkian Theatre website
Gulbenkian Cinema
The Gulbenkian Cinema is open both to students and the general public. It is Canterbury’s independent film theatre, showing new mainstream and non-mainstream releases as well as archive and foreign language films not otherwise available in the region.
The Cinema works closely with Film Studies and other University departments. Students from all subjects can work as ushers. The cinema runs seven nights per week during term-time.
Fine arts
The Canterbury campus has a number of exhibition spaces for artwork. The Rutherford Panoptican exhibitions are usually curated by students, and the Keynes Atrium and Gallery display work by nationally known figures, local artists and alumni.
Student societies
A good way of following a current interest or taking up a new one is to join one of the many clubs and societies run by Kent and Medway Students' Unions.
Societies at Canterbury reflect the wide spectrum of student interests at the University and include national (eg Hellenic), subject (eg Italian), arts (eg music), religious (eg Islamic), sports (eg kick boxing, rugby) and general interest societies. The list is ever-changing – www.kentunion.co.uk/display/kentstudentactivities/Societies
In Medway the union runs a campus student newspaper and has a growing number of affiliated societies including the Medway Law Group, Dance Society, RAG (Raise and Give), Afro-Caribbean Society and Christian, Hindu and Muslim societies. Alternatively, if you can’t find something that reflects what you’re interested in, UMSA offers help and financial support to start a society.
Events
Kent runs an annual summer Artsfest day that includes a mix of music and drama venues around the campus and ends up with a spectacular fireworks display overlooking the Cathedral. Other events include regular Open Lectures, given by a mixture of public figures and newly appointed professors.
