The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center 

by Meghan Stratman

The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center offers an alternative to commercial movie theaters and shows the critically acclaimed films you won’t see anywhere else in Lincoln.

Located at 13th and R streets, The Ross shows movies seven days a week and features two theaters with state-of-the art digital projection systems, a concessions stand, and film archive. The Ross plays an important role within the academic community and the city of Lincoln, bringing independent, documentary, international, and classic films to a wider audience.

What we know today as “The Ross” originally began with the late Norman A. Geske, original director of the Sheldon Museum of Art, who established a film program within the University in 1964. This program later became the Sheldon Film Theater in 1973 under the leadership of Danny Lee Ladely, who remained Director of The Ross for 50 years. In 1990, Mary Riepma Ross established a trust at the University of Nebraska Foundation for the purpose of building and endowing what would become The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center.

Mary Riepma Ross attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the 1920s and went on to start her own law practice in 1961, becoming one of the first female attorneys in New York. Throughout her life, she never forgot about her time in Nebraska. She loved film and the arts and started supporting the film programs at UNL in the 1970s.

“I love Nebraska. I love Nebraskans,” she told the Omaha World-Herald in 2003, the year the venue opened. Ross died in 2013 at the age of 102. Through her estate, she created a permanent endowment at the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the Media Arts Center for years to come.

The Ross also receives support from Friends of The Ross, a non-profit group established in 1981 that raises funds for programming, equipment,
and outreach. Friends members receive ticket discounts, complimentary passes, and invitations to special events.

The Ross showcases a wide variety of movies including critically-acclaimed independent films such as Thelma, The Zone of Interest, I Saw the TV Glow, and Poor Things; documentary films Remembering Gene Wilder, It Ain’t Over, and 32 Sounds; and international films Kneecap (Ireland), The Taste of Things (France), and RRR (India). The theater hosts frequent filmmaker visits and Q&A sessions through the Friends-supported Norman A. Geske Cinema Showcase, where audience members have a chance to interact with media artists from around the world. 

The Ross also shows broadcasts from the National Theatre in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York and hosts film festivals and retrospectives throughout the year including the summer Family Film Series, The Native American Film Series in partnership with Vision Maker Media, and October’s popular Fright Fest.

General admission tickets for regular Ross films are $10.00 for matinee screenings and $12.00 for evening screenings, with discounts available for students, military, seniors, and Friends of The Ross members. All regular film screenings and most Ross events are $5 for University of Nebraska students. General admission for National Theatre and Met broadcasts is $24, with discounts for seniors, members, and students.

The Ross website, theross.org, includes showtimes, upcoming films and events, online ticketing, and membership information.

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