Category Society & Culture

‘Cultural activist’ brings spoken word to campus

March 14, 2007

Willie Ney is living proof of the benefits of a multicultural education — an education that includes African-American, African and Central-American sensibilities. Ney’s exposure to unfamiliar people, places, languages and customs ignited a passion for helping to tell the stories of those rarely listened to. As executive director of the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, he insists, though, that he’s not an academic. “I’m a cultural activist. My job is to serve as a mediator between cultures, for those who are marginalized. I give them a platform to teach about their history and culture. I’m not an authority — I can’t speak about others’ cultures.”

UW programs partner with Wisconsin Film Festival

February 27, 2007

As film festivals sprout up around the state, UW–Madison’s very own event returns for its ninth year, running Thursday–Sunday, April 12–15.

Theater students breathe life into Raven software

February 19, 2007

In the studios of Raven Software Inc., Middleton's fast-growing video gaming company, UW–Madison theater graduate Carrie Coon is working through a wildly athletic motion capture regimen - with bullet-dodges, head-kicks, dive rolls and back flips - that will become the raw material for a new femme fatale: an elite-force assassin. Raven's need for a strong base of acting talent led to a unique partnership now in its second year between the company and the UW–Madison theater program.

Special ‘Dane Dances!’ to benefit student scholarships

February 15, 2007

Dane Dances!, the city's popular summer rooftop dance party, moves inside at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 3, for a special benefit event in Great Hall in the Memorial Union at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Dance Program’s anniversary honors H’Doubler, Nikolais

February 14, 2007

When Margaret H’Doubler pioneered the Dance Program 80 years ago — making it the first degree-granting program of its kind in the country — she had much more than tutus and tap shoes in mind.

Climate change exhibit opens Feb. 16 at Nicolet College

February 13, 2007

A traveling art and science exhibition focusing on climate change in the Lake Superior region will open Friday, Feb. 16, at the Nicolet College Art Gallery, in Rhinelander. An opening reception will be held at the gallery on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m.

Campus arts opportunities: Feb. 16-23

February 9, 2007

The University of Wisconsin–Madison dance program - the first in the nation to offer a degree in dance - is celebrating its 80th anniversary. A number of performances in coming weeks recognize the milestone, including three scheduled over the week of Feb. 16-23.

TIP/School of Music’s guest artist visits high school band

February 2, 2007

The University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Music presents guest artists throughout the year, usually in short residencies that feature a recital and one or two master classes. In the case of current guest artist James Jenkins, who plays the tuba, the model has been expanded to include an outreach activity at one of Madison's public high schools.

Machado and Silvetti Associates to design Chazen Museum expansion

January 22, 2007

The team of Machado and Silvetti Associates of Boston, in association with Milwaukee-based Continuum Architects + Planners, has been chosen by the state of Wisconsin to design the expansion to the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Paper dresses from swinging ‘60s show off planned obsolescence

January 22, 2007

The new exhibition "Disposable Dresses: Throw-Away Design from the 1960s" opens on Wednesday, Jan. 24, in the Gallery of Design at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Arts Institute brings artists in residence to campus

January 19, 2007

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arts Institute announces two interdisciplinary artist residencies for this spring.

‘Wisconsin Indian Literature’ highlights oral traditions of state’s 12 Indian nations

December 28, 2006

"Wisconsin Indian Literature," to be published in January 2007 by the University of Wisconsin Press, is a unique anthology that respectfully presents the oral traditions, literature, and historically significant documents of the current twelve independent bands and Indian Nations of Wisconsin.

Project looking for the next great Wisconsin playwright

December 8, 2006

Submissions of original, full-length plays are being accepted for the Wisconsin Wrights New Play Project, a joint initiative of the University of Wisconsin Division of Continuing Studies, the University Theater and the Madison Repertory Theater created to foster the development of new works by Wisconsin playwrights.

Commitment launched for arts and humanities

December 7, 2006

Students and programs in the arts and humanities at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will benefit from an initiative - the first phase of a long-term commitment - announced Thursday by campus officials.

Choral Union brings university, community together in music

December 6, 2006

In a particularly congenial intersection of town and gown, the 170-voice Choral Union will present two substantial works by Franz Joseph Haydn and Zoltan Koda’ly on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 9 and 10.

Dance academy sends students to perform at Waisman Center

December 6, 2006

Students from the world-renowned Trinity Academy of Irish Dance will perform traditional Irish step dancing, replete with authentic costumes and music at the Waisman Center Children’s Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 10.

Holocaust made ‘Manifest’ in Jewish Theater Project production

December 6, 2006

“Manifest” playwright Brian Silberman takes great issue with films such as “Schindler’s List,” “Amistad” and “Dances With Wolves.”

String orchestras showcase music from film, stage

December 6, 2006

The All-University String Orchestras will perform music written or adapted for film and stage at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, in Mills Hall.

Major art fair taps into talents of art students

December 6, 2006

Tandem Press, the fine-art printmaking studio affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison's art department, will be among hundreds of galleries represented, as thousands of collectors and artists gather December 7-10 for fairs and events surrounding Art Basel Miami Beach, the leading international art event in the Americas.

Historian, influential campus leader E. David Cronon dies at age 82

December 5, 2006

E. David Cronon, an influential and revered former dean of the College of Letters and Sciences and history professor for more than four decades at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, died early this morning (Dec. 5) after a brief illness. He was 82.