NEXT Festival
NEXT Festival 2026
April 16 - May 14 | Wednesday - Saturday, 1 - 5 pm
Flagg Building | 500 17th Street, NW
Please join the Corcoran School for its annual NEXT Festival! For over a decade, NEXT has showcased the work and skills of Corcoran School students, featuring performances, exhibitions, and symposia throughout the campus.
Attendees are able to view and engage with the vast displays of the end-of-year projects and appreciate the contemporary arts, dance performances, musical pieces, and research that the students have to offer.
NEXT 2026 CALENDAR
About NEXT Festival
Students at the Corcoran have exhibited their thesis work for more than 30 years. In 2011, the exhibition came to be known as NEXT in a nod to the public seeing “what’s next” in contemporary art and scholarship. In 2023, NEXT evolved into a festival format to encompass the diversity of all the school’s programs and provide more public facing programming for the DC community. The festival offers an opportunity to highlight the school’s dynamic programs and cultivates more interdisciplinary partnerships among the students and faculty.
Attendees are able to view and engage with the vast displays of the end-of-year projects and appreciate the contemporary arts, dance performances, musical pieces, and research writing that the students have to offer.
NEXT Festival projects take many forms in the fields of theatre, dance, music, studio arts, design, art history, interior architecture, museum studies and more. They all represent a culmination of a student's learning experiences at the Corcoran and a glimpse of future promise. Their work also reflects the care and commitment of our faculty and staff in supporting, teaching and mentoring our students’ work. Students exhibit their theses and presentations to an audience of their peers, faculty and the George Washington University and D.C. arts community.
Explore NEXT
See NEXT shows from the last few years, including exhibition books, virtual projects and tours of the Flagg Building.
News Highlights
Walking Inside a Kaleidoscope
April 28, 2026
Annual NEXT Extravaganza draws more than 1,000 revelers to the Flagg Building for a celebration of art.
Corcoran students commemorate America’s 250th year with interactive art exhibit
April 23, 2026
As part of the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design’s annual NEXT Festival, a group of graduate students in the museum studies and interactive design programs teamed up to commemorate America’s semiquincentennial with an exhibit examining the country’s collective history.
Graduating Art Students at GW Prepare to Show the Community What’s NEXT
April 16, 2026
Annual spring celebration presents an artistic smorgasbord plus a lavish party.
Corcoran’s NEXT Festival Showcases the Next Generation of Artists, Designers and Scholars
April 13, 2026
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University is proud to present NEXT Festival 2026, an annual celebration showcasing the work of our graduating students. The festival, which runs from April 16 to May 14, 2026, will feature performances, exhibitions, and symposia throughout the campus.
NEXT Festival Extravaganza Lives Up to Its Name
April 30, 2025
More than a thousand people attended GW’s annual celebration of the arts.
For the Corcoran’s Annual Celebration, Artists Spring into High Gear
April 18, 2025
More than 170 GW students of the arts prepare to show audiences what comes NEXT at festival.
Corcoran’s NEXT Festival Returns Bigger & Bolder with Expansion to Second-Floor Galleries
March 19, 2025
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University is proud to present the NEXT Festival 2025, an annual celebration showcasing the work of our graduating students.
Snapshots: Photos of NEXT Festival 2024
May 2, 2024
Here are just a few photos from the NEXT Exhibition, events and performances throughout the month of programming.