End-of-Year Recap: A Year of Creative Growth & Community Connection at the Arts Initiative

Written By Jess Jenks

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:

Creators on Campus: Artist-in-Residence

The Arts Initiative announced its inaugural Artist-in-Residence: acclaimed musician, composer, and scholar Rhiannon Giddens. Giddens, a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and multi-Grammy Award winner, performed with the Silkroad Ensemble in November 2024 at UMS’ Hill Auditorium. Giddens will continue to leverage U-M's vast library and archival resources during her artist residency in 2025, as well as lead workshops and masterclass while on campus. Giddens’ residency is part of the broader "Creators on Campus" initiative and will continue through 2025. For more information, visit arts.umich.edu.

Other Artist Residencies the Arts Initiative announced in 2024 include:

2024-2025 Arts Journalism Fellow

Anastasia Tsioulcas of NPR and The New York Times was announced as the Wallace House and Arts Initiative’s inaugural Knight-Wallace Arts Journalism Fellow. Tsioulcas spent the semester teaching undergraduate students, leading a year-long workshop for budding arts journalists and narrated a Gershwin Initiative production of the musical Of Thee I Sing alongside students from U-M’s School of Music, Theater and Dance. Tsioulcas also spent the semester researching arts organizations in the region to track recent diversity initiatives and examine how well these programs tackle challenges and opportunities for growth.

Recent student reviews from [art]seen students and journalists who are working with Anastasia Tsioulcas this semester include:

Community Engagement 

From participating in the Ann Arbor Art Fair to Ann Arbor SummerFest to public murals, touring arts performances and drag panels, the Arts Initiative has supported the creation of many new art and cutting-edge spaces essential to artistic innovation and rich public engagement.

Performances & Exhibitions

In 2024, the Arts Initiative continued its commitment to enriching the cultural landscape at U-M by supporting a diverse range of performances and exhibitions. Our involvement this year spanned a variety of artistic disciplines, from opera and live music to political satire theater performances and visual art exhibitions:

Arts Research 

In 2024, the Arts Initiative partnered with the U-M Office of the Vice President for Research to fund transformative programs like Artists in the Archive—a unique opportunity for faculty to create new artistic work inspired by the vast archival collections at U-M libraries—under the Arts Research: Incubation & Acceleration (ARIA) program, a joint effort conceived and funded through a joint collaboration that seeks to elevate and expand arts research and creative practice across U-M’s campuses and schools.

Take Care 

The "Take Care" 2024–25 academic year focus, presented by the U-M Arts Initiative and Wolverine Wellness, centered personal and community well-being and explored the power of art and art making to help us process the current moment: caring for oneself and others during challenging times; personal- and community-healing as a means of collective resilience, and how artistic expression can help create a world we all want to live in. 

This year’s workshops and community events provided a safe space for students, staff, and faculty to explore the ways in which art can foster mental well-being and resilience. We are excited to continue this program in Winter 2025 with new initiatives that focus on healing through the arts:

Take Care 2024 Workshops

The Fall 2024 “Take Care” workshop programming included a wide variety of mediums and artistic disciplines—such as painting, choreography, poetry, and screen printing—led by local and regional teaching artists.

After attending multiple art-making workshops, one U-M graduate student, Mikeila, said of their experience: “I loved the Arts Initiative workshops this semester! The variety of topics, from ballet to acrylic pour-painting, inspired me to sign up for several more just to try something new,” they added, “Each time, I got to meet people from outside my degree program, challenge myself creatively, and take a moment out of my day to destress.”

One U-M faculty member, Susanna, said: “The opportunity to dedicate time to an activity centered on self-care was incredibly valuable. It allowed me to focus on being fully present in the moment, explore artistic activities I had never tried before, and gain ideas to incorporate these activities into other areas of my life.”

Next semester, Winter 2025, the Arts Initiative will offer several additional free art-making workshops that will include bookbinding, pottery making, choreography, or an introduction to comic book drawing.

Funding for Graduate Student Arts Research

The Arts Initiative made new Graduate Student Arts Research Grants (GSARG) available in 2024 and announced its 2025 cohort. GSARG offers funding up to $2,500 for individual projects and group projects for U-M graduate students and promotes the integration of arts research across campuses, schools, and colleges. The program’s goal is to support projects that explore interdisciplinary boundaries through the arts. This year, the Arts Initiative funded 23 GSARG projects.

Looking Ahead: What's Next for the Arts Initiative

As we look to 2025, the Arts Initiative has many more exciting programs and projects on the horizon. From the continued success of the Take Care workshops to the launch of new creative projects and artist residencies, we are committed to fostering a vibrant, inclusive arts community for all at U-M. We also look forward to expanding our partnerships with local organizations, artists, and faculty, creating even more opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

Stay tuned for upcoming events, including the highly anticipated Arts Rx series, which will provide creative solutions to the ongoing challenges faced by our community.

Jess Jenks
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