Campus calendar

Masters works Tufts University MFA Thesis Exhibition Seven Tufts University master of fine arts candidates exhibit their work, from Alexis Adams’s screenprints depicting Earth 50 million years from now to photos and a video by Christine Rogers (above) documenting a ‘‘family’’ vacation she took solo. Reception: Thu 5:30-8:30 p.m. Gallery: Tue-Sun 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thu 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Free. Tufts University, Aidekman Arts Center, Tufts University Arts Gallery, Medford. 617- 627-3518. ase.tufts.edu/gallery

MassArt awards ceremony Massachusetts culminates its 23d annual All School Show highlighting art across 19 majors, from animation to sculpture, with an awards ceremony tonight. The show will remain mounted until Saturday. Awards ceremony: Tonight 6-9. Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. MassArt, Student Life Gallery, 621 Huntington Ave. 617-710-5123. massart.edu

Fifth Year Exhibition opening reception Tomorrow, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) hosts an opening reception for Lizi Brown, Evan Crankshaw, Wendy Jean Hyde, Rob Pettit, and Lori Schouela, the students on display in "Fifth Year Exhibition 2008." The annual event showcases the work of students in the SMFA fifth-year program. The exhibit will be on display through May 3. Reception: Thu 5-8 p.m. Gallery hours: Mon-Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thu 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Free. SMFA, Grossman Gallery, 230 The Fenway. 617-369-3718. smfa.edu/exhibitions

"Chess" at Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory resurrects the musical "Chess," which paired Tim Rice's musical talents with the music of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson from ABBA and re-imagines it as a concert performance. Chess tells the story of a love triangle involving American and Russian chess players at the height of the Cold War. If you think you don't know "Chess" you're probably wrong. In the 1980s, "One Night in Bangkok" hit the charts despite being what boiled down to a rap about chess because, heaven help us for saying so, it was catchy. Fri & Sat 8 p.m., Sat & Sun 2 p.m. $20, $10 seniors, $5 students. Boston Conservatory Theater, 31 Hemenway St. 617-912-9222. bostonconservatory .edu

Spectrum Arts Festival kicks off On Saturday, local band Love in Stockholm plays - with Rudy and the Pudding Pops opening - at the Prudential Center's Boylston Plaza to kick off Boston University's monthlong "Spectrum Arts Festival." The festival is a collaboration of Boston University's art communities and local and national theater, music, and fine arts organizations. Check out the website for a complete list of events, but be sure to swing by the Prudential just on the strength of the dueling harmonica and guitar in "Allston," a bluesy love letter to the college-infused Boston neighborhood by Love in Stockholm. 6-8 p.m. Free. Prudential Center, Boylston Plaza, Boylston St. bu.edu/SpectrumArts

Thierry Nlandu at MIT Congolese playwright, socio-political activist, and University of Kinshasa professor Thierry Nlandu will give a public talk titled "Picture Book on Participatory Democracy: An Art's Act of Resistance Against Façade Democracy" He will discuss the importance of basic knowledge in civic life and how a simple picture book evokes awareness. Marjetica Potrc, a Ljubljana-based artist and architect, will speak at 6 p.m. 7 p.m. Free. MIT, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames St., Cambridge. web.mit.edu/spair/ nlandu.html

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