UW-Stout's fall arts and humanities events include community programs for all

Menomonie, Wis. – From community children’s art exhibits to professional and up-and-coming artists, performing arts events that delve into the busy world of teenagers, concerts celebrating humanity and famous jazz musicians, and cultural, philosophical and literary conversations, there are arts events for everyone at UW-Stout this fall.

Visual arts

Furlong Gallery’s fall season opened with the School of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, which runs through Saturday, Oct. 26. More than 22 faculty are showcased, with artwork across multiple mediums.

The gallery has solo exhibits Monday, Nov. 4, to Saturday, Dec. 14 by Megan Jacobs in the North Gallery and alum Danny Saathoff in the South Gallery. An artists’ reception will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7.

The Student Artist-in-Residence recipients, Lily Smith and Ellie Eklof, will have an artist talk in the University Library at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, ending in a tour of the SAIR collection.

The third annual Arts Alive Community Art Show will be held at the Raw Deal the entire month of November, featuring the artwork of K-12 students from the Menomonie school district.

Art education Program Director Ann Oberding-Carlisle works with preservice art educators and community art teachers. “My work with them has been a highlight of mine here at Stout. Building community is the core of what we do in preparing our students to participate in civic life while advocating for the arts,” she said.

The event is coordinated by the art education program, the visual and performing arts department and sponsored by Arts Integration Menomonie.

Gallery 209, also known as the Student Gallery, rotates exhibits on a weekly basis. Located in the Applied Arts building on the second floor, this busy space is reserved for studio art majors to exhibit their Senior Thesis Exhibitions, as well as master’s in design students, fine art and design classes and student organizations.

The Library Art Lab, on the first floor of the University Library, is a creative space to showcase student artists, faculty and campus collaborations. Exhibitions include research, capstones, clubs and classwork. There are two exhibitions each semester open for public viewing during library hours.

Chancellor Katherine Frank works with Furlong Gallery each year to receive current School of Art and Design student artwork for an exhibit in the Chancellor’s Office. Students selected this year are Theodore Cerny, Bailey Grau, Ruby Hilber, Lauren Johnston, Meghan LeMay, Ella Loring, Logan Mentjes, Ann Rackliffe, Madison Skaggs and Tyler Tran. A private reception will be held this fall.

University Theatre

Students will perform “The Wolves,” led by Director Audric Buhr, at Harvey Hall Theatre. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7*, 8 and 9; and 2 p.m. on Nov. 10.

“The Wolves” is a one-act play about a girls’ indoor soccer team as they navigate big questions and wage tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. It’s a portrait of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.

The play has received multiple awards and was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Theater students will collaborate with the Blue Devil women’s and men’s soccer teams as part of the play.

* An accessible performance will be held on Nov. 7, with a more informal atmosphere aimed to welcome those with sensory difficulties or autism. The performance will remain the same but with small adjustments. House lights will remain on, loud noises will be softened and audience members are free to leave and re-enter.

Tickets for “The Wolves” will be available soon at uwstout.universitytickets.com.

Concert performances

• The Blue Devil Jazz Orchestra, under Director James Anderson, will perform Jazz from the Legends at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall. Groove to some of the most exciting music to come out of the jazz genre with selections made famous by Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington and more.
• Stout Choirs, under Director Jerry Hui, will present The World on a Human Scale at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, in the Memorial Student Center ballrooms. The concert focuses on the experience of growing up. How do we understand the world around us as we leave adolescence for adulthood? What does it mean to be yourself? Or build a life with someone? How do we grow old? Songs are from a variety of genres: love, life milestones, memories, moving on and celebration.
• The Symphonic Band, under Director Erika Svanoe, will present Winter’s Colors at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall. The concert will feature colorful and wintery favorites, as well as the world premiere of a new piece by Minneapolis-based composer Clare Howard, titled “Over the Blue and Green.” The piece explores the experience of astronauts awed by the sight of Earth from space.

Tickets for concerts will be available soon at uwstout.universitytickets.com.

Literary and cultural events

The Literature Committee will host a faculty panel discussion on “Banning Books” from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, in the University Library second floor. Panelists will include Lopa Basu, professor of English and chair of the committee; Xan Bozzo, assistant professor of philosophy and director of the Center for Applied Ethics; and Rickie Ann Legleitner, associate professor and adviser for Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and interim executive director of Inclusive Excellence.

The panel is co-sponsored by the Literature Committee; Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation; University Library; Center for Applied Ethics; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Honors College; and Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

The Literature Committee will host a Spanish film screening of Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, in Applied Arts room 210. Written and directed by Damián Szifrón, this dark comedy includes six stories of absurd and violent revenge set in Buenos Aires and the rural landscapes of northern Argentina. It stars Ricardo Darín, one of the most celebrated actors of Argentine cinema. The screening is made possible by a grant from the Provost’s Office.

The committee will also host its annual Faculty and Staff Creative Writing reading in the late fall.

UW-Stout’s annual International Night, hosted by the Office of International Education and the International Club student organization, is from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall. The cultural expo is free and open to the public. It is an opportunity to connect with international students and learn about their countries and cultures.

Events are in conjunction with International Education Week, Monday, Nov. 18, to Friday, Nov. 22, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences.

Civic conversations

UW-Stout’s Center for Applied Ethics hosts Philosophers’ Cafés, informal, friendly conversations on contemporary issues. Meetings are open to all and are led by UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire faculty. Upcoming conversations will be held at 7 p.m., at Brewery Nonic in Menomonie:

• Wednesday, Oct. 9: The Nature and Limits of Forgiveness
• Wednesday, Nov. 13: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity: Why the Controversy?
• Wednesday, Dec. 11: Classical Ethics for the (Post)Modern World

The Center for Applied Ethics will also host a workshop with Anne Coughlin, the Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Coughlin will lead a discussion on Hearing Voices: Rhetoric at the Bench, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Memorial Student Center Cedar/Maple rooms.

Her new project is about the role of rhetoric in Supreme Court oral arguments, considering the role of judges’ utterances in oral arguments, and whether, how, and why they add to the meaning of a written text. The workshop presentation will include audio clips from past Supreme Court cases, guided by Coughlin’s remarks and insights.

Coughlin also is co-director of UVA’s Sound Justice Lab, an anti-racist gender justice collaborative. She clerked for the Honorable Jon O. Newman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for the Honorable Lewis F. Powell, Jr. of the United States Supreme Court.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Anne Coughlin on campus this October,” Bozzo said. “What I find most exciting about this project is its pioneering and interdisciplinary nature. Judicial rhetoric is often assumed to apply exclusively to the persuasive efforts, linguistic framing and metaphorical language of written decisions; but here Dr. Coughlin extends the discussion to judicial voice. This is a new and interesting direction for judicial scholarship.”

This event is co-sponsored with the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovations.

UW-Stout, a member of the Universities of Wisconsin, is Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, with a focus on applied learning, collaboration with business and industry, and career outcomes. Learn more via the FOCUS2030 strategic plan.