UCLA PRESENTS THE BEST in arts and culture, community events, sports and entertainment throughout July and August. From film screenings to art exhibits, explore unique and interesting experiences all summer long. For more UCLA events, visit community.ucla.edu.

JULY 10 | 7:30 P.M.

Hammer Forum: Under the Gavel

​​​Once again, the United States Supreme Court is at the center of the nation’s most pressing issues, major legal debates and the future of policy. To analyze the implications of the latest Supreme Court cases, the Hammer Museum at UCLA has put together an all-star roster of panelists, from Washington to Westwood. The panel will discuss issues of social media regulation, gun rights, reproductive rights and presidential immunity, as well as how today’s most relevant matters will affect — and define — the presidential election this fall. Copresented with the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA Law, this Hammer Forum is free with no reservation required.  

JULY 18 AND AUGUST 15 | 5 P.M.

Third Thursdays

Spend your Thursday night watching the sun set, meeting new friends, enjoying the wine garden and kicking back to live music in Los Angeles’ most lush and verdant venue. Check out Third Thursdays at the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden on July 18 and August 15 to celebrate the summer twilight. Admission is $10 — purchase online or at the door.  


JULY 19–JULY 28

Queer Rhapsody

Presented all over Los Angeles at five iconic venues, the Queer Rhapsody film series centers on the queer community and its joy, defiance and creativity expression, with over 50 films screened over nine days. The UCLA Film & Television Archive has partnered with the following to present a roster of short films, documentaries and narratives at Los Angeles venues committed to celebrating queer culture and community: the American Cinematheque at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre, the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, the Eagle Theater at Vidiots, Oculus Hall at The Broad and the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum. Pick your favorites from the screening schedule and celebrate queerness from Joan Roughgarden’s bonobos to high schoolers seeing the dead to a Bollywood-inspired coming-of-age story. Screenings at the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum are free with no RSVP required; make sure to purchase tickets to all off-site screenings in advance.


JULY 20 | 6 P.M.

Sangre de Nopal Opening Celebration

The Fowler Museum at UCLA’s newest exhibition is seeing red — red dye, that is. Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal is a new project exploring the scientific and indigenous origins of cochineal, a red dying agent developed and used by the Zapotec peoples of Oaxaca around 500 B.C. The exhibition features fiber artists like Tanya Aguiñiga and Porfirio Gutiérrez, alongside the museum’s rich collection of Oaxacan textiles, in a greater inquiry of cochineal’s chemical ingenuity, stability, chromatic intensity and cultural heritage. 

The opening night will be one of Indigenous welcome, concert and exhibition preview. There will be a live performance by Filarmónica Maqueos Music in the spirit of Guelaguetza, the Zapotec word for offering or reciprocity, in addition to conversation about this multivocal exhibition. RSVP to the free celebration here or stop by the Fowler Museum Wednesday through Sunday; no tickets ever required.  


AUGUST 14–SEPTEMBER 8

The Brothers Size

The rich tradition of West Africa’s Yoruba people transforms into a tale of brotherly love in the Louisiana bayou in The Brothers Size, a modern-day fable and mythic drama at the Geffen Playhouse. Ogun Size, ever the steady older brother, must find a way to navigate their relationship when his younger brother Oshoosi returns from prison, bringing the drama of incarceration with him. When Oshoosi’s prison-mate Elegba arrives with a complicated gift, Oshoosi and Ogun must wrestle with loyalty, freedom, duty and humanity as mythic circumstances and crossroads test their bonds of brotherhood. Find your tickets here.  


AUGUST 1–15

JazzPOP 2024

The Hammer Museum invites you — and the premier luminaries of West Coast jazz — to its 17th season of summer JazzPOP. Featuring quintets led by three innovative California bandleaders, this edition of JazzPOP explores a vast terrain of contemporary jazz across three distinctive performances. Hear the shapeshifting original compositions of Jamael Dean and the Afronauts on Aug. 1, when they integrate genres such as hip-hop, electronic, R&B and ambient. Enjoy the lush harmonies and creativity of Beth Shenck and the adventurous improvisers accompanying her on Aug. 8. And celebrate the JazzPOP finale on Aug. 15 with the always intense and vibrant Dan Rosenboom’s Polarity Quintet, a linchpin of the Los Angeles creative music community known for its impromptu melodic twists. All JazzPOP showings — like the rest of the Hammer Museum — are free with no tickets required.  

JULY 19–JULY 21

Women’s Wrex Coast Summer Tour

The Women’s Wrexham Association Football Club comes all the way from the U.K. to tide you over until the return of Bruin athletics in August. One of the top-tier teams in Wales, you may recognize Wrexham AFC from its dominant performance in recent seasons or from the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, in which owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchase and transform the team. The Wrex Coast Summer Tour brings this Welsh football club to Westwood, where it will compete in two friendly matches against SoCal FC and Tigres Femenil U19 in Drake Stadium. Get your tickets to Friday’s 7 p.m. game or to Sunday’s 3 p.m. game to see women’s football right on campus.  


AUGUST 10 | TBA 

Women’s Soccer vs. LMU (Exhibition)

You’ve been waiting all summer — UCLA athletics is back and better than ever. Kick off the new school year right with this exhibition game against the Loyola Marymount University Lions at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. Check the Central Ticketing Office for your tickets and come to campus to begin a whole new year of Bruin sports.  


AUGUST 25 | TBA

Men’s Soccer vs. James Madison

It’s the Bruins against the Dukes in the men’s soccer season home opener against James Madison University. With both UCLA and JMU finishing the 2023 season in the top 25 of all NCAA Division I programs, this match will definitely bring the energy from start to finish. Come down to Wallis Annenberg Stadium on campus and get your tickets at the Central Ticketing Office to cheer on the Bruins in their first home game of the season.  

JULY 9 | 5:30 P.M. 

The Classroom: Landing the Job 

The UCLA Alumni Association extends a warm welcome to the Class of 2024 via this exceptional career management course, tailored specifically for recent graduates like you who are gearing up to enter the job market. The two-part course, uniquely designed with Gen Z in mind, equips recent grads with the tactics and strategies needed to navigate the various stages of a job search, from application to negotiation. In Part II, delve into the intricacies of transitioning to the workforce and setting yourself up for a successful career. Instructor Amy Rueda, a 25-year veteran of executive search, brings her wealth of experience and knowledge to the classroom in this Zoom workshop. RSVP here


JULY 20 | 10 A.M. 

Everyday Mindfulness Workshop 

Mindfulness is defined as a state achieved by purposefully focusing attention in the present moment. In this workshop, you’ll experience a variety of mindfulness applications including mindful movement, body scan and breathing techniques, learning how to bring mindfulness to your everyday life. Led by Michal Rinkevich M.B.A. ’14, this program brings healing arts, meditation, physiology and neuroscience to the forefront while focusing on stress management.  RSVP to this online program here to start your journey in practicing mindfulness.  


AUGUST 2 | 11:30 A.M. 

Alumni Town Hall with Martin Jarmond  

This Alumni Town Hall will celebrate UCLA joining the Big Ten Conference in the 2024–25 season. Participate in a fireside chat with Martin Jarmond, the Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics, as he delves into the future of Bruin sports and what the Big Ten entry will mean for UCLA. A catered lunch by Newport Ribs will follow. Alumni, fans, donors and Bruin community members are invited to join UCLA Alumni on this big day as a new era of UCLA sports commences. RSVP to this free event here


AUGUST 29 | NOON  

Leveraging AI for Career Growth and Opportunities With Susan Chang ’93 

Explore how you can harness artificial intelligence to advance and future-proof your career in both technical and nontechnical professions. This Zoom workshop brings the expert skills of UCLA alumna Susan Chang as she addresses what AI skills will set you apart in the job market, how AI is shaping careers across industry sectors, and how to empower your own professional journey in an AI-driven world. RSVP to this free Zoom event here.