In an effort to strengthen the connection of arts-related activities across campus, we at the Division of the Arts bring you news of the thriving arts community at UW–Madison. Three times each semester, we will email you a round-up of original articles, curated events and featured highlights from us and all of our talented campus partners — music, theatre, communication arts, studio and visual art, creative writing, arts administration, design studies, landscape architecture, art history and more.
We pride ourselves on spotlighting and championing the prolific, thriving arts community at UW–Madison, and amplifying the work of talented communicators and their teams. If you are a student, staff, faculty, alumni, or arts unit leader with a story to share, please reach out! We’re here to shine light on our vibrant arts community, and deeply appreciate your participation in this shared effort. On Wisconsin!
Visit past newsletters: Issue 5 – 03.25.26 | Issue 4 – 02.04.26 | Issue 3 – 12.03.26 | Issue 2 – 10.08.25 | Issue 1 – 08.20.25
Recent News
2026 Creative Arts Awards recipients announced! | March 23, 2026
The Division of the Arts at UW–Madison has awarded more than $120,000 to a select a group of outstanding faculty, staff, and students.
What can visiting artists do? | March 9, 2026
Dismantle tropes, illuminate exclusion, and ‘See Memory’: Astria Suparak, Anila Agha and Viviane Silvera join a rich legacy of visiting artists to challenge and inspire UW–Madison students.
The Room Where It Happens | February 4, 2026
Not all aspiring screenwriters can go to Hollywood. Luckily for UW–Madison, Communication Arts alum Jason Rothenberg (’89) is bringing the Hollywood TV Writer’s Room to them.
Why Wisconsin? | January 29, 2026
UW–Madison’s vibrant, interdisciplinary campus arts culture attracts students and professors from around the world. But don’t just take our word for it.
A New Spin on Centuries-Old Music | January 12, 2026
From post-Soviet Siberia to Baroque castles to the Hamel Music Center in Madison, Taya König-Tarasevich is putting her futuristic touch on historical performance.
Designing Restorative Spaces for Everyone | December 2, 2025
Why is this Landscape Architecture class drawing students from all over campus?
Prizewinning Nigerian poet once again chooses Madison | November 13, 2025
Maryhilda Obasiota Ibe, the UW Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing’s 2025 Hoffman-Halls Emerging Artist Fellow, isn’t ready to leave just yet.
A Recital 75 years in the Making | October 3, 2025
Two years after beloved pianist Sarah Jamieson’s passing at age 103, seven doctoral students will take the bench of her prized Steinway and reprise her 1951 senior concert.
Connected by Common Threads | August 29, 2025
Four Textiles & Fashion Design students are back in Wisconsin after a new internship in Vietnam reconnected them to the Hmong diaspora.
Six Takeaways (and two job landings!) from a newly mastered Arts Admin grad | August 4, 2025
Madelyn Stewart (MA ’25) shares how her Bolz Center for Arts Administration master’s degree helped her gain valuable skills and insights, and what she’s giving back to Madison’s arts community in return.
Taking Dance Education Back to School | July 30, 2025
Now in its third summer, UW Dance Exchange is bringing dance instruction into public schools. Dance Department Teaching Faculty Chell Parkins hopes to keep it there for good.
Curating Cass: Iconic Drag Queen’s Life is On Display For the First Time | June 12, 2025
‘Living, Not Just Surviving,’ an exhibition featuring Cass Downing — a.k.a. Cass Marie Domino — is now open at Memorial Union.
Student Spotlight: From Microscope Slides to Sliding Scales | May 13, 2025
Six beats with keyboardist Isaiah Dobbins, the double neurobiology and jazz studies major who is improvising life as he goes.
The Exquisite Poetry of Place | May 7, 2025
Erika Meitner, one of this year’s Creative Arts Award recipients, talks about going analog, changing minds by breaking hearts, and the power of telling our own stories.
Eight band members, two professional dancers, one epic performance | April 2, 2025
Aruṇ Lūthrā and a curated mix of multigenerational musicians convene to play live music for LaTasha Barnes’ “Swing into Spring” event on April 12.
Acclaimed swing dance artist and scholarly force LaTasha Barnes storms into Wisconsin | March 17, 2025
Watching LaTasha Barnes perform is difficult to put into words, and that’s OK. The tenured Arizona State University professor and multi-Bessie-award-winner’s work is meant to be experienced in community, her joy breathlessly embodied by everyone who witnesses it.
Student Stories
Keeping Watch in the Galleries
November 29, 2025
On Stage and Off: The Many Roles of Jameson Milhaupt
October 3, 2025
More Than Moves: Omari Carter’s Dance 115 Changes Perspectives and Perceptions
May 2, 2025
Stepping Out of Comfort Zones: The Joy of Social Dance
April 4, 2025
Finding Her Mark: Freshman Jenny Duarte Castillo
March 7, 2025
College Woodworking: Where Creativity Dovetails with Craftsmanship
February 25, 2025
ENGL695: The Creative Writing Capstone Experience
December 6, 2024
Taking Pride in UW-Madison Theatre: One Student’s Experience
November 27, 2024