Arts Undergraduate Society

Previous/other names: Arts Union (? - 1958); Arts Society (1959 - ?)

Prominent date(s) of activity: 1931 - 1947; 1959 - 1991; 1996 - ?

History: The Arts Undergraduate Society was established in 1931 to stimulate curiousity and passion in Arts students.

Activities: In 1959 the Arts Society held their first Arts Week, which consisted of a formal, a banquet, athletic competitions, and a Bacchanalia. The Society published Intervales during Arts Week, which was a collection of UNB Arts students' writings. Later Arts Weeks included live musical performances, poetry readings, the introduction of the Arts Queen, photography contests, and the announcement of the winners of the Arts Week Contest. 

In 1984, the Society held its first Annual Arts Cabaret in an attempt to bolster the reputation of Arts students on campus. The first cabaret was called, "Greater Middle European All-Time Blow-Out Cabaret." It was not well attended, but the producers were hopeful that the event would gain in popularity as more students learned about it.

The group struggled with member participation due to the fact that many members were also participating in other active clubs around campus, or clubs specific to their majors. In the early 1990s the club was dormant for a number of years before it was revived in 1996.

Note(s): The group started their own publication, The Torch, which they believed would replace The Brunswickan as the primary UNB newspaper because their voice represented that of the largest faculty on campus.

In 1946 the Arts Undergraduate Society became a member of the National Film Board.

Source(s):

• UA Case 173.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 66, no. 4, October 1946, p. 8.
• Up the Hill, 1947, Organizations.
• Up the Hill, 1959, p. 82.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 96, no. 11, 1963, p. 13.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 118, no. 15, January 1984, p. 3.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 123, no. 20, 1989, p. 14.
• ​Up the Hill​, 1995, p. 132.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 130, no. 11, November 1996, p. 1.

© UNB Archives & Special Collections, 2014