Dear campus arts supporters...
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Eagle-eyed readers of this newsletter might notice a fresh font or two in this, our second Artful UW edition of the Fall 2026 semester. But that is just a taste of what we’ve been up to behind the scenes these last few months. In July, the Division of the Arts welcomed Kate Pahl to the team, our small-but-mighty staff’s first full-time web designer. We immediately put Kate to work, building on Lisa Spierer’s ongoing efforts to consolidate and migrate decades of institutional content. Kate didn’t just upgrade the user experience of this newsletter and our written arts features—she also took on the near-Herculean task of redesigning our entire website in her first two months on the job. Naturally, she far exceeded our expectations.
We’re so proud to introduce both Kate and our newly redesigned website, now optimized to better support current and prospective students, staff, faculty and community members. Hopefully you will find it easier to access information about funding opportunities, artist residencies, arts-related majors, and our ongoing original video, print and social media storytelling about the good work of our arts campus and community partners. Please poke around the new website and let us know what you think!
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The "invisible" hands at the Chazen fabricating a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed frame for Japanese prints, a video story about the new program connecting Badgers with careers in Hollywood, a magazine profile of Creative Writing alumna and New York Times bestselling author Chloe Benjamin, a student-focused edition of our Why Wisconsin? series, and more!
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Reframing Wright's Japanese Prints
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Chazen Museum of Art fabricators do so much of the invisible labor that makes the artworks shine. Now they've built a replica of Frank Lloyd Wright’s custom standing frame to showcase the unique connection with one of the museum’s strongest collections. Read More
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Check out Aaron Granat's video about a new study-away program that gives UW–Madison Communication Arts students an immersive introduction to careers in the entertainment industry.
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The recently announced line-up for the 2026 Wisconsin Book Festival demonstrates UW–Madison’s continuing influence in shaping today’s literary culture.
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The Astonishing, Unknowable Universe
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With a mind-bending new novel, bestselling author Chloe Benjamin MFA'12 makes her first foray into full-blown science fiction. Division of the Arts writer Maggie Ginsberg penned a profile for the Fall 2026 issue of On Wisconsin magazine to hear more about the UW people and places that helped shape her latest nationally bestselling novel, Under Story.
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Tell us what cool things you're up to!
Reach out to the Division of the Arts at
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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.
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If we’ve ever met in person, chances are I’ve told you how lucky I feel to work in a creative role, after graduating with a BFA in Studio Art from UW–Madison in 2021. The truth is, it’s not only luck that got me here.
Being back on campus six years later working for the Division of the Arts has reminded me that being a UW student means having incredible access to professional development opportunities in the arts.
No matter what kind of career you aspire to have, chances are you don’t need to venture off campus to speak with someone who’s booked and busy in your chosen field. Check out these upcoming opportunities to learn more about working in the arts:
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Speaking of Badgers going on to make a name for themselves in the arts, I am eagerly awaiting How We Got It Together, an upcoming exhibition curated by retiring professor Laurie Beth Clark featuring more than 100 former graduate students in the arts. The work spans 41 years of creative output across eight countries. See you in the galleries!
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Want to reach our audience of 8,700+ followers?
Message the Division of the Arts on Instagram and tell us what arts activities we should feature!
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This spring, students in a new Dept. of Theatre & Drama course called ‘Performance in Practice’ transformed Science Hall into a laboratory for interdisciplinary performance, using art to bring climate research to life. Dance Department students also choreographed and performed. Read More
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Investigating Indie Films
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UW Communication Arts students took a deep dive into special film topics this summer found themselves immersed in the world of A24 and indie films. Over four weeks, they explored the role of the A24 production company within American independent cinema history and how it has evolved into a production powerhouse. Read More
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The Return of UW's rarest books
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After an 18-month hiatus, Memorial Library’s Special Collections — and its 300,000 invaluable objects — are accessible again. As Dean Robbins writes, "Many of us know what it’s like to go down a rabbit hole in UW–Madison libraries, losing track of time while pursuing a research obsession. At Memorial Library, arguably the best place to get lost is Special Collections."
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Keep up with the Division of the Arts
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