The Arts on Our Portland Campus

Southern Maine’s newest cultural destination

Welcome to the Crewe Center for the Arts — a world-class facility and the vibrant new home for the arts at the University of Southern Maine (USM), located in the heart of Portland.

Building on over 70 years of artistic excellence from our Gorham campus, the opening of the Crewe Center marks a bold new chapter for USM, offering both undergraduate and graduate students an inspiring, state-of-the-art environment to learn, create, and perform.

A group of students at 3 barres with outstretched limbs.

Several rows of audience seats face a brightly-lit stage with musicians dressed in all black.

Purpose-built to blend innovation with tradition

The Crewe Center features:

Acoustically optimized spaces
Professional-grade recording technology
Spaces designed to bring the community together through visual and performing arts
The highest standards of innovation and sustainability, with LEED Silver certification

Every acoustical detail, down to the bone, has been designed for the full range of performance. For an artist, there is nothing like this in Portland.

Dr. Kyle Nielsen

Director, Osher School of Music

A Steinway Baby Grand piano sits alone in the Crew Center Rehearsal Hall.

State-of-the-art music spaces that inspire

Now home to the Dr. Alfred & D. Suze Osher School of Music — an All-Steinway Institution — USM and the Crewe Center offer our students:

seat performance hall where intricately designed acoustic reflectors suspended from the ceiling serve both aesthetic beauty and acoustic precision (not to mention, they are tuned by noted acoustician firm Jaffe Holden, the team behind Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and Seattle Opera)

practice & teaching studios

large rehearsal & performance spaces

All soundproofed with specialized acoustic treatment

performance and practice rooms, each enabled for instant, professional-quality recording via the Dante digital audio network

new Steinway pianos — ensuring that our students will learn and perform on the finest instruments available

Wenger instrument lockers — designed for every kind of instrument, so that students can come and go between classes and rehearsals

Looking out through the Great Hall Gallery entrance windows in the Crewe Center.

A home across the arts

In addition to music, the Crewe Center is home to:

Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts with indoor and outdoor workshop spaces centered around a giant printing press
The Great Hall Gallery, a soaring exhibition space at the heart of the building
Two interdisciplinary performance spaces — the ArtsLab and the outdoor Tony Shalhoub ’77 Performance Plaza — built with dance and musical theater in mind

These interconnected spaces not only support academic excellence but also position the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus as a thriving arts destination for the entire region.

Mapping the arts and beyond: Osher Map Library

The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education offers one of the nation’s finest collections of rare maps, atlases, and globes.

This premier academic and cultural resource enhances the interdisciplinary learning experience at USM and serves as a gateway to understanding the past, present, and future through the art and science of cartography.

One of the nation’s finest collections of rare maps, atlases, and globes, this premier academic and cultural resource welcomes everyone from local school groups to international scholars.

Through exhibitions, public programs, and educational outreach, the library brings the world of cartography to life, making it a cornerstone of cultural engagement not only for the USM community but for all of Southern Maine.

Three students examine maps within a glass case at the Osher Map Library.

Alum Marissa Joly laughs with a current student.

Discover hidden gems

Keep exploring our Portland campus to discover a rich mix of artwork that brings the environment to life.

From the vibrant Wabanaki art mural in the McGoldrick Center for Career and Student Success — tan wetapeksultiyiq (“where we come from”) by Mi’kmaq artist and USM alumna Marissa Joly, honoring Indigenous heritage and resilience — to TANGLE, a bold outdoor sculpture that evokes motion, energy, and entanglement, the campus transforms into an open-air gallery where contemporary expression and historical context meet in ongoing conversation.

A woman with extended arms sings in front of a grand piano on stage.

An audience in folding chairs face students playing musical instruments. A conductor stands on a platform in the middle.

Six bugle players with music stands in front of a row of windows outside.

Two people are framed by blue legs from a sculpture called "TANGLED."

Four students with red and black folding hand fans perform on a stage.

A man with a guitar stands in front of a projector screen teaching students.

A person standing over a table with colored paper in a brightly lit room.

A close-up of artwork featuring nature patterns.

A woman seated at a Steinway piano smiles at the camera.

A student wrapped in a strand of twinkle lights sings while a man accompanies on the piano.

A man in stocking feet plays a drum kid next to a bookshelf and a guitar.

Two people playing violins in a room with large windows.

Students standing by 4 barres hold a ballet pose with their arms extended.

A section of choral singers on risers holding their music.

A dancer wearing a maroon long-sleeved top and dark pants during a performance.

Alum Marissa Joly working on a mural inside the McGoldrick center.

An extreme close-up of two mallets on top of a wooden xylophone.

A student in a black leotard dances in a studio.

A student playing a power blue and dark red guitar.

Students playing flutes in front of a Crewe Center for the Arts sign.

A building with lots of windows is lit from the inside at dusk.

A trio of students sing into microphones in Corthell Hall.

An extreme close-up of the inside of a Steinway piano.

A woman teaches young art campers how to do a project.

A student in a dark green dress plays the violin.

A line of overturned 5-gallon buckets being used as drums.

Two students admire artwork featuring giant faces mounted on a white wall.

Students sitting at individual music stands with iPads on each one.

Two patrons examine exhibits encased in glass at the Osher Map Library.

A classical quintet performs in front of a large glass wall.

An extreme close-up of a diorama depicting a fancy bathroom.

Two students in dark leotards and tights dance on a darkened stage.

A student-teacher conducting a group of singers in front of a whiteboard full of music notes.

Join us for events and exhibits at the Crewe Center for the Arts, the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, and so much more!

View all Portland events