Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Stout has announced a diverse lineup of arts and humanities events for the fall season. These events include visual arts exhibitions, theater performances, concerts, literary discussions, and cultural exchanges.

The Furlong Gallery opened its fall season with the School of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, running until October 26. The gallery will also host solo exhibits by Megan Jacobs and alum Danny Saathoff from November 4 to December 14. An artists' reception is scheduled for November 7.

Student Artist-in-Residence recipients Lily Smith and Ellie Eklof will give an artist talk on November 21 in the University Library. Additionally, the third annual Arts Alive Community Art Show will feature K-12 students' artwork from the Menomonie school district throughout November.

Ann Oberding-Carlisle, Program Director for Art Education, emphasized community building: “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.

Gallery 209 rotates exhibits weekly and showcases works by studio art majors, master’s design students, fine art classes, and student organizations. The Library Art Lab offers space for student artists, faculty collaborations, research projects, capstones, clubs, and classwork exhibitions.

Chancellor Katherine Frank collaborates annually with Furlong Gallery to display current student artwork in her office. This year’s selected students include Theodore Cerny and Bailey Grau among others.

In theater arts, UW-Stout students will perform "The Wolves," directed by Audric Buhr at Harvey Hall Theatre from November 7 to 10. The play explores themes relevant to a girls’ indoor soccer team and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2017.

Concerts are also on the agenda this fall. The Blue Devil Jazz Orchestra will perform "Jazz from the Legends" on November 16 under Director James Anderson. Stout Choirs will present "The World on a Human Scale" on December 7 under Director Jerry Hui. On December 8, Erika Svanoe directs "Winter’s Colors" featuring winter-themed pieces including a world premiere by composer Clare Howard.

Literary events include a faculty panel discussion on book banning hosted by Lopa Basu on September 24. A Spanish film screening of "Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales)" is set for October 15 courtesy of Damián Szifrón's dark comedy anthology.

UW-Stout's International Night is scheduled for November 21 as part of International Education Week activities from November 18-22—a joint initiative by U.S. Departments of State and Education aimed at promoting global education programs.

Civic conversations are facilitated through UW-Stout’s Center for Applied Ethics’ Philosophers’ Cafés discussing contemporary issues such as forgiveness and diversity starting October 9 at Brewery Nonic in Menomonie.

Anne Coughlin from UVA School of Law will lead a workshop titled “Hearing Voices: Rhetoric at the Bench” on October 15 discussing judicial rhetoric's role during Supreme Court oral arguments using audio clips from past cases. Xan Bozzo remarked: “What I find most exciting about this project is its pioneering and interdisciplinary nature...this is a new and interesting direction for judicial scholarship.”