Student Mini Grants are turning bold ideas into unforgettable experiences—from haunted houses to art exhibitions, U-M students are bringing their creative visions to life with the Arts Initiative’s support.

An artist and American culture alum returns to Ann Arbor to focus on “a place within the place” that is her creative foundation.

The LSA Residential College inspires two generations of artists to see motion in metal and to hear music where there is no sound.

The Arts Research: Incubation & Acceleration program has awarded grants to six faculty-led projects focused on topics ranging from the experiences of disabled communities to representations of plants and ecosystems in Great Lakes Indigenous artwork.

Impact Institutes, a seed funding initiative launched in May 2025, has awarded its first cycle of funding to 10 new institutes from across the University of Michigan.

As the University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative closes out 2025, we’re reflecting with gratitude on the unforgettable arts experiences we created together this year.

Fourteen Stamps artists, graduating between 1982 and 2026, created new work about the history of the Michigan Union and League, as centers of university life.

On a warm summer afternoon, Adi Behar, a junior in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, sat contemplating the Rampant Unicorn statue outside the Michigan League. 

Art Outta Town trips—six free annual excursions offered by the University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative—give students access to unique off-campus arts experiences they might not otherwise have.

We all had a favorite board game growing up. The University of Michigan’s Clements Library is highlighting familiar and unique toys and board games from throughout American history in their new exhibit, “For All Ages.”

Student organizations focused on a variety of art forms tabled at the Student Arts Org Fair held on The Diag near the School of Kinesiology and Chemistry Buildings. Hosted by the University of Michigan Arts Initiative, the fair brought about a hundred students to explore the clubs. 

The University of Michigan’s campuses are now immersed in the Michigan Arts Festival, a celebration through Oct. 26, 2025 to increase exposure, attendance and participation in the arts.

"Between Voice and Silence" Opens at Duderstadt Gallery. Featuring a faculty-led project from Irina Bondarenko, supported through the Winter 2025 Arts Initiative Project Support (AIPS) grants.

The University of Michigan’s inaugural Michigan Arts Festival will shine a spotlight on the vibrant arts scene at the university and invites students, faculty, staff and the public to engage with the arts through over 100 events, many of which are free.

Thousands of students descended on Ingalls Mall on Central Campus on Aug. 27, 2025 for the annual Festifall, featuring a multitude of student organizations and vendors.

A broad coalition of University of Michigan arts and health units is launching Michigan ArtsRx, a new campus-wide program designed to support mental health and well-being through active engagement with the arts.

With just four weeks, excitement for the Michigan Arts Festival is mounting across the University of Michigan campus and beyond.

Now in its second year, the Knight-Wallace Arts Journalism Fellowship—a collaboration between the University of Michigan’s Wallace House and the Arts Initiative—continues to elevate arts reporting at a time when coverage is diminishing in U.S. newsrooms

After more than two decades of fostering creativity, connection and opportunity for artists who are formerly incarcerated, the Linkage Community will officially transition into an independent initiative.

The University of Michigan Museum of Art will bring “Both Sides of the Line: Carmen Herrera & Leon Polk Smith,” an exhibition uniting two of the 20th century’s most visionary abstract artists, to Ann Arbor next month.