The Latest
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the U-m Arts Initiative
Capturing Campus: Four Years
Erin Knape wraps up four years at Michigan—and four years of writing for arts, ink.—with her final post.
Michigan Arts Festival announced for fall
The University of Michigan will celebrate the beauty, wonder and delight of the arts across the entire university this fall during the inaugural Michigan Arts Festival.
(U-M Symphony) Band on the run; first tour since 1990s
The University of Michigan's Symphony Band is hitting the road for the first time in decades.
Eleven faculty projects receive U-M Arts Initiative support
The University of Michigan Arts Initiative has announced its winter 2025 recipients for the Arts Initiative Project Support grants, awarding funding to 11 faculty-led projects across the university.
Finding Her Voice: How One Student Found the Arts at U-M
University of Michigan student Allison Wei didn’t come to Michigan intending to study the arts. That all changed when she took a class her freshman year with poet, author, and professor Carlina Duan.
Symphony Band takes show on the road in statewide tour
The University of Michigan’s Symphony Band will embark on a 2025 State of the Arts: Symphony Band Tour, bringing the transformative power of music to communities across Michigan.
Arts Initiative announces 2025 Creative Careers Residents
The University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative has announced the 2025 cohort of its Creative Careers Residency — a pioneering transitional program designed to support emerging creatives as they move from academic study into full-time, professional creative practice.
Spotlight on recovery: U-M alum pioneers concussion protocol for performing artists
As a doctoral student at the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology and its Concussion Center, Allyssa Memmini identified a critical need in concussion management.
Creativity and connection across prison walls: 29th annual exhibition features Michigan artists
One of the world’s largest and longest-running exhibitions of incarcerated artists is back with new programming designed to foster connection and deepen public understanding of incarceration in Michigan.
President Ono commits $5M for U-M public art over five years
President Santa J. Ono has committed $5 million from central University of Michigan funding to further develop U-M’s public art collection over the next five years, in support of the university’s Vision 2034 goals.
Rhiannon Giddens appointed inaugural U-M Artist-in-Residence
Rhiannon Giddens, the Grammy-, Pulitzer Prize- and MacArthur “genius” grant-winning musical artist and composer, has been appointed as the inaugural University of Michigan Artist-in-Residence.
Arts Initiative grants awarded to seven research teams
The Arts Research: Incubation & Acceleration grant program has awarded a new round of funding to seven faculty-led research projects that range from the role of artists in disability culture to art generated by AI models trained on bird nests.
End-of-Year Recap: A Year of Creative Growth & Community Connection at the Arts Initiative
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
What’s So Funny?
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.
Visualizing concussion experience through new research-informed mural
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
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.
Rhiannon Giddens named Arts Initiative’s first U-M Artist-in-Residence
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.
Political Satire Meets Musical History: Gershwin's Pulitzer Winner Takes the Michigan Theater
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.
Hey, We Need to Talk: Common Sense Diner at UMMA
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.
Semester of ‘Gender Euphoria’ celebrates diversity through art at U-M
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.