The University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative wrapped up 2024 with yet another transformative year of programming, engaging the U-M community in new and meaningful ways, illuminating the human experience, sparking joy through shared wonder, and creating space for critical conversations. Here's a look back at some of the highlights from this past year

American culture graduate student and stand-up comedian Julianna Loera-Wiggins is workshopping some new material about getting into her first fistfight on the rugby field. 

The Concussion Center at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology is using visual art to capture the experiences of concussion patients.

Uncovering the Financial Realities of Artists: The Artist Pay Project. The University of Michigan's Arts Initiative, along with the Ross Impact Studio, is proud to announce “The Artist Pay Project”: an immersive exhibition led by journalist and 2022-2023 Knight-Wallace Fellow, Makeda Easter.

The University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative has announced musician, composer and scholar Rhiannon Giddens will be its inaugural U-M Artist-in-Residence.

The new program aims to bring extraordinary, innovative artists to campus in order to create, grow and impact the world while engaging the university community in the transformative power of the arts.

The University of Michigan’s Gershwin Initiative is turning back the clock to showcase a pioneering work of American political satire that proves the more things change, the more they stay the same.

From the moment you walk into the gorgeous space Philippa Pham Hughes has created at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) the vibes are immaculate. Think anthropology meets your grandmother‘s kitchen. Visiting Artist for Art & Civic Engagement at UMMA, Hughes has curated the “Hey, We Need to Talk!” exhibition with extreme intentionality. Every artwork, furniture piece, and even the wallpaper has been thoughtfully selected, each element carrying its own significance. 

The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design is presenting a semester-long celebration featuring queer artists and artmaking around the theme of “Gender Euphoria.”

These performances, exhibitions, conversations and provocations explore how to make art and find queer joy in a state of emergency.

The University of Michigan has incorporated design thinking informed by behavioral insights to develop voting spaces for students — aimed at creating lifelong voters.

In addition to a history of democracy-focused initiatives on campus, this year marks the third election in which the Creative Campus Voting Project has partnered with the Ann Arbor city clerk’s office, U-M Museum of Art and the Duderstadt Center Gallery to design voting hubs on campus.

The CCVP is a nonpartisan initiative based at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, and a partner in the UMICH Votes campus coalition.

The University Musical Society (UMS) is set to challenge audiences once again with the return of its provocative No Safety Net series in the 2024-25 season. This cutting-edge program, known for presenting works that tackle contemporary issues head-on, will feature three interactive theatrical experiences that promise to spark dialogue and push the boundaries of traditional performance.

With students back on campus, the University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative and the Creative Campus Voting Project have ramped up efforts to encourage students to vote in the 2024 presidential election.

The University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative, Wolverine Wellness and other campus partners have joined forces to center personal and community well-being in the 2024-25 academic year with a focus on the theme Take Care.

The University of Michigan Arts Initiative’s Projects in Partnership program has awarded funding to four arts-based teams representing more than 18 units, schools and colleges across U-M’s Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses and in Detroit.

PiP projects are large-scale projects that activate the campus and community, increase arts engagement for students, faculty, staff and the region, and leverage interdisciplinary partnerships for impact that could not be achieved effectively by one partner alone.

The University of Michigan Libraries, in collaboration with the U-M Arts Initiative, are bringing book arts into focus at this year’s Ann Arbor Art Fair with Art + Science.

Visitors to the fair will be able to create their own flora-inspired prints using two historically important book art methods: cyanotype and woodblock printing.

The University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative has named Mark Clague, professor of music and associate dean for collaborations and partnerships in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, as its inaugural executive director following a national search.

Clague, who also is director of U-M’s Gershwin Initiative and has been the initiative’s interim executive director since September 2023, will begin his five-year appointment July 1.

In Ouroboros, artist Machine Dazzle presents a maximalist wonderland inspired by the ancient symbol of a snake consuming its own tail. Unfolding in three acts, Dazzle’s installation explores a journey of infinities and stories of eternal life and rebirth.

Dragademia featured drag queens Lola von Miramar and LaWhore Vagistan taking a deep dive into two books that examine the cultural narratives and social issues surrounding drag performances. And while their experiences as performers were more than relevant to the conversation, both had additional standing to speak about the books in question.

The Arts Research: Incubation & Acceleration grant program has awarded its second round of funding to seven arts-based research projects, led by teams representing nine schools across the University of Michigan campuses in Ann Arbor and Dearborn.

The ARIA program, a collaborative venture by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Arts Initiative, awarded more than $300,000 in April to support innovative projects that emphasize the pursuit of new methodologies and interactions that can reshape the role art plays in academic inquiry and social discourse.

Anastasia Tsioulcas, Culture Correspondent for NPR, has been named the inaugural Knight-Wallace Arts Journalism Fellow in a joint effort between the University of Michigan Arts Initiative and the Wallace House Center for Journalists.

The University of Michigan Arts Initiative has announced three master’s degree-level residents for its Creative Careers Residency, a transitional program providing support for full-time, self-directed creative practice in architecture and urban planning, art and design, performing arts, intermedia arts or creative writing.