Artscapade 2026 starts the semester off with art

Arts Initiative

Oct 9

a giant puppet — Festifools parades a giant artist puppet on the front lawn of UMMA

A new semester brings endless opportunities for learning, growth, and creation. There is no better way to set the tone for the start of the fall semester than with Artscapade. The Arts Initiative and UMMA partner every year to host Artscapade, a Welcome Week event designed to introduce students to arts on campus and encourage participation in student arts organizations and events. Surrounded by UMMA’s beautiful exhibits, students were invited to get their hands dirty with crafts and activities or to sit back and relax while student organizations performed.

This year, part of the event was held outdoors in front of the museum, and music and laughter echoed down State Street. The high energy drew a strong turnout, with an estimated 1,500 attendees. Adrienne Frank, a program specialist for the Arts Initiative and one of the event’s main organizers, expressed a hope for this momentum to continue beyond Artscapade and translate into greater engagement with the campus arts community.

“Artscapade is an opportunity for students to see all the ways they can engage with the arts during their time at the University of Michigan. It also gives them the resources to take the next steps in their arts journeys, whether that’s visiting UMMA again, joining a student org, taking a class, or lots of other types of arts engagement,” Frank said.

Wearing a cardboard creation, courtesy of Festifools, and showing off a new Michigan Arts Festival tee.

The Arts Initiative partnered with several groups and organizations to make Artscapade possible, including Arts Rx, Festifools, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Center for Campus Involvement, Arts & Ideas, Stamps, Library Book Arts Studio, and the Kelsey Museum. Each group contributed something unique to the event. Festifools invited students to build cardboard creations, and many folded together fun hats and accessories they wore for the rest of the event. Nearby, Arts Rx supplied materials for students to mold their own worry stones and gave out small care packages with ice packs, candy and mini journals.

Inside the museum, students explored UMMA’s collection and visited more Artscapade activity spots. Every type of artist had a place to shine. Storytellers could try their hand at comic book making upstairs, while film inclined students headed to the lower level for screenings of student-made films in the auditorium.

Artscapade is a reminder that art is abundant on the U-M campus, and new and returning students alike emerged with a renewed appreciation for everything it has to offer.

“It was a fun experience where there was a taste of everything. So many different mediums and projects were explored, and it was a great way to meet new people and learn about student orgs,” one student said after the event.

“I love Artscapade!” said another. “The student films in the basement, the funny comics people make, the concerts outside, an excuse to see the art galleries, everything!”

Based on student feedback, Artscapade was able to meet its initial goals in getting students excited about the arts on campus. In fact, 80% of students surveyed expressed interest in visiting UMMA again. Beyond UMMA, students can keep the Artscapade energy alive by attending ongoing events with the Artscapade partners, joining arts organizations, and taking arts classes.

Artscapade is just a glimpse into the many opportunities the Arts Initiative and UMMA offer students at U-M. Students can also look forward to the annual Michigan Arts Festival this October, and so much more.

Artscapade is only the beginning of what is sure to be a colorful, exciting year of art.