The conversation drifted to my experience years ago acting in British playwright Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Inspector Hound,” a play-within-a-play that parodies theatre critics and English country home murder mysteries. Does the play effectively poke fun at the stuffiness in the arts? This question led to a discussion of the accessibility of the arts and humanities in general.

For those readers of a certain age, and even today, accessing the arts meant getting “dressed up,” particularly if the performance was indoors. As a child, it wasn’t OK to attend a symphony performance in old jeans and my beloved if ratty “Beware of the Bug” T-shirt my mother had reluctantly bought me at a Palo Alto supermarket in 1976. Pictures of events at the Kennedy Center, say, usually show men in black tie and women in evening gowns, not dressed in cartoonish T-shirts sporting fluorescent images of VW Beetle hotrods.

If you’re not entirely comfortable getting “dressed up” — though I know many love to do so — such events can be awkward. Photos from these events might suggest that only well-dressed folks can attend. Personally, being told “you clean up pretty good” every time I put on a jacket and tie irks me. How are you supposed to respond? It’s like a neighbor asking if you have stopped stealing their tomatoes. But I digress.

The academic language used at the university to discuss the arts and humanities also can be alienating. Opaque sentences from literary studies, such as “Foucauldian critiques of hegemonic discourses contextualizing Jungian archetypes bifurcate and marginalize gendered epistemological practices,” don’t exactly invite non-specialists to participate in the conversation.

The art world isn’t always much better. The Dire Straits song “In the Gallery” scorches London’s exclusive and commercialized art world, and some art exhibitions and high-end galleries make a person feel like they don’t belong — there’s a set of behaviors to follow or a certain size pocketbook required.

Artistic expression and accompanying critiques need not be about making people always feel comfortable, certainly. There’s a value in having visual art, literature or theatre take people out of their comfort zone. But you’ve got to get them there in the first place for that to happen.

Fortunately, Weber State has an impressive track record of engaging with the community to deliver accessible arts programming. It’s important to remember how much the university and universities in general contribute to the cultural life of the communities they serve!

This June, for instance, WSU co-sponsors Arts in the Parks. Directed by Alexis Kiedaisch, the program “offers opportunities for children to explore visual and performing arts through hands-on activities.” Nothing speaks more of access — one of the three pillars of WSU’s mission — than engaging with an activity as a child, when inhibitions are low and expressiveness is less fettered by social expectations.

Accessible art can also raise awareness of local challenges. WSU professors Kellie Bornhoft and Carey Campbell created an interactive installation blending science, sound, video and sculpture at Ogden’s Dumke Arts Plaza. Entitled “This was water,” such public installations help integrate the arts into everyday life: no designer gown required. “This was water” helps people from all walks of life feel the urgency of finding ways to halt and reverse the drying of Great Salt Lake. We’ve taken that glass of water, a full lake, for granted, so to speak.

Community engagement extends as well to the Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery on the Ogden campus. The gallery not only features the work of local and national artists, but it hosts K-12 students and provides an array of educational programs. The gallery engages WSU student artists, making clear they too can contribute to the arts. This fall, student talent will be showcased in the juried student exhibition Sept. 26 through Nov. 7, 2025.

Our robust theatre and music programs are delivered in numerous venues at affordable prices and sometimes for free, and our faculty perform at off-campus events as well. Professor and Director of Keyboard Studies Yu-Jane Wang performs locally and internationally, for example. Broadly speaking, the music department provides music and education to the region via its Community Music offerings.

Universities should work to make accessible their ideas, art and performances to the broadest possible audience. WSU is committed to that work. Take advantage of what we have to offer. Wear your pearls or wear your favorite T-shirt. We look forward to seeing you in the coming months!

Hal Crimmel is a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of English who served for nine years as chair of the English department at Weber State University. He currently serves as the academic director of Concurrent Enrollment. This commentary is provided through a partnership with Weber State. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent the institutional values or positions of the university.