Collaged letters spell out "Artful UW. A bimonthly newsletter for showcasing the arts across campus."
Typewriter style text reading "Dear campus arts supporters..."
Hello, campus! Samara here. My windows are open, the birds are singing and we’re closing out another year of astounding artists, exhibitions, literature, residencies, and performances. The absolute best part of my work is getting to know you — sharing ideas during a lakeside stroll, sitting in your studios surrounded by creativity, and taking in the breadth of work happening across the arts.
Headshot photo of Samara Frame, Advancement Manager.
On a campus as large as ours, connection doesn’t happen automatically; it takes intention, curiosity, and time. You’ve been clear about wanting more opportunities to understand, support, and share each other’s work. That spirit showed up in this year’s Arts Convening Series, six gatherings that brought together a deeply engaged community of faculty, staff, students, and artists — we even got a surprise glimpse of Provost John Zumbrunnen’s improv skills at the Creative Arts Awards!
My role is creating strategic partnerships, linking people, ideas, and units that don’t always overlap. Often it starts with simple questions: What do you need? Who could help? How can we connect the dots? What continually stands out is the scale and ambition happening here. I see you carrying remarkable ideas in your back pockets — projects not yet born, collaborations waiting for the right moment — while you and your students continue to push boundaries, take on social and global challenges, experiment with new technologies, and redefine creativity. Let’s keep connecting — over coffee, in a gallery, or wherever your work lives. I’d love to hear from you.
Your partner in the arts,
Samara Frame
UW–Madison Division of the Arts
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Design students make waves across the state in pursuit of the Wisconsin Idea, Creative Arts Award winners explaine the impact of their grants, a peek inside the best college radio station in the nation, and a look at how UW students are helping turn Wisconsin's weather into music — and more!
Collaged letters spell out "Spotlight On: Feature stories from the Division of the Arts"
  Flow State                                              
Professor Marianne Fairbanks displays a hand woven water cloth.
Professor Marianne Fairbanks and her School of Human Ecology Design students weave together the state’s waterways, two cultural tours, and the Wisconsin Idea to create the textile gifts that keep on giving. Read More
Collage style image shows Professor Laura Schwendinger and MFA candidate Mariah Moneda against a colorful background.
  Bringing Visions to Fruition                      
Another Creative Arts Awards celebration is in the books! To open this year's ceremony, awardees and their guests enjoyed a video by Aaron Granat highlighting two previous winners. Watch Here
WSUM Music Director Allison Lukas with two colleagues. Photo by Ted Hyngstrom.
  Beneath the Airwaves                                    
Three UW–Madison Communication Arts students exemplify the unseen labor powering the ‘best college radio station in the country.’ Read More
Musicians perform at “Earth Signals,” which translated Wisconsin’s weather data into a musical performance. Photo by Ted Hyngstrom.
  A Perfect Storm                                              
How students teamed up with professors from Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Mead Witter School of Music to transform Wisconsin weather into musical performance. Read More
Digital rendering of the future "One-Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo" Gallery at the Chazen Museum of Art.
  In Case You Missed it                                    
Chazen Museum of Art was featured in The New York Times! While the museum is temporarily closed this summer, this fall's reopening will reveal a reimagining so innovative that the NYT sent a writer to cover it. Read More
Keep up with breaking news from the Division of the Arts here!

Plus, tell us what cool things you're up to – reach out to the Division of the Arts at info@arts.wisc.edu
Hello good people of the campus arts community! Welcome back to Social Butterfly, the section where I, Rainer, share about my work as the Division's Social Media Specialist.

During a typical day at the office, I might be designing graphics, editing an Instagram reel, or gallery hopping around campus. Read on for the people, places, and events that have stuck out to me in the time since our last issue.
  Take a hike!                                            
Artists in academia know that time is a luxury. The arrival of summer grants us a season to play, tinker, and generally recharge our creative batteries at our own pace. For me, the creative process starts with taking extra good care of my body and mind. Here are my recommendations for some R&R with a UW–Madison focus:
A Rec Well student employee strikes a tree pose in the Bakke meditation room.
Pause to think with Rec Well, where mindfulness meditation is offered twice a week at the Bakke and Nicholas Recreation Centers. When I’m stressed, my creative thinking feels totally stifled. Thankfully, campus has two gorgeous meditation studios with strict no-phone policies.
Supplies for a flower pounding workshop at Allen Centennial Gardens.
Try something new at Allen Centennial Gardens, where art workshops are happening every week throughout the summer! I’m planning to engage my senses at garden mocktails on June 13 and try my hand at indigo massage dyeing later in August. I fully expect to be mediocre at both of these brand new endeavors, and that’s okay. Research supports the idea that trying something new helps you perform better in your typical area of specialty.
“Beefriend Nature” — original artwork by Theresa Berrie
On your next brainstorm walk through the Arboretum, head to the visitor’s center to check out The Steinhauer Trust Art Gallery, which celebrates the connection between visual artists and the land that inspires them. This May and June, see “Nature’s Canvas: Tiny Expressions of Landscapes, Life, and Learning,” an exhibition featuring artwork smaller than 6" x 6" x 6" exploring Wisconsin’s natural world. See something you like? Good news! All art will be auctioned this fall with proceeds benefiting UW–Extension’s Wisconsin Master Naturalist program.
  Online and On My Mind:                       
The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection’s semiannual Community Day is Saturday, May 2, at Nancy Nicholas Hall. Recently, I had the pleasure of touring the textile collection, and was moved to tears (!) by a centuries’ old chasuble. This collection is massive, and stewarded by a friendly team of staff members with a knack for connecting textile arts to just about any academic subject including financial planning and botany. Sign up for your own behind-the-scenes tour here.

Back in October, I reported on Anne E. Stoner’s exhibition at the Art Lofts which used data visualization to tell a haunting story of the environmental impact of capitalism. I was pleased to see Stoner won this year’s Russell and Paula Panczenko MFA Prize, but hadn’t made it to see her newest work, “Infrastructure Bodies/Injury Systems,” until this week. The exhibition is a timely and incisive act of countersurveillance. Anything I could say about its themes has been covered thoughtfully by juror Tyler Blackwell and Urgent Matter founder Adam Schrader, so all I can say is: Visit “Infrastructure Bodies” before it closes on May 22!
Want to reach our audience of 8,000+ followers? Message the Division at @uwmadisonarts on Instagram and tell us what arts activities we should feature!
Collaged letters read "Curtain Call: Shouting out excellence in the arts on campus"
Allee Willis poses with a wall of gold and platinum records. Photo courtesy of the Willis Wonderland Foundation.
From Bascom Hill to Hall of Fame:
UW–Madison Libraries announced the donation of the Allee Willis Archive — including photographs, lyrics, and her 1986 Grammy — to Mills Music Library. The donation is coupled with a $1.5 million gift to campus from the Willis Wonderland Foundation. Read More
Members of Barrio Dance pose on the set of America's Got Talent. Photo courtesy of Barrio Dance.
Barrio's Got Talent:
UW–Madison Dance Department lecturer AJ Juarez is also the founder of Barrio Dance Studio on Madison's east side. Barrio's pre-professional dance crew (who recently performed at the Creative Arts Awards) had the experience of a lifetime this month when they auditioned for America's Got Talent. Read More
Designer Bruce Mau leading a workshop in the Washburn Observatory. Photo by Shannon Vanomy.
Inside UW–Madison's new design class:
Can a seven-week class change how you see the world? That is the central question explored in a new, unconventional course, “Design for Non-Designers.” Learn all about it on the School of Human Ecology's website, including a video story by Aaron Granat. Read More
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UW–Madison Division of the Arts
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