Arts & Resistance - Fall 2023 Theme Semester
ARTS & RESISTANCE
LSA Theme Semester
Fall 2023
Presented by UMMA and the U-M Arts Initiative in collaboration with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Explore the Power of the Arts to Shape Society
Visible all around us, and deeply embedded in our day-to-day lives, the arts play a central role in shaping cultural and political narratives, as well as challenging and criticizing dominant regimes. Some recent examples include the worldwide reproduction of George Floyd’s likeness on city walls to underpin BLM protests; the toppling of public monuments and the invention of new statues; the reactivation of Barbara Kruger in a post-Roe v. Wade era; and the boycott of Russian performers in the West after the invasion of Ukraine. Creative processes have been used time and again to reveal under-told stories and to resist simple narratives. Regardless of one's personal politics, a collective consideration of the arts potential to change hearts and minds seems both urgent and necessary.
In a cross-campus partnership between the U-M Museum of Art, the U-M Arts Initiative, and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, this campus theme semester will reflect on how creativity and making can arise out of oppression and destruction. All schools and colleges are invited to participate in this campus-wide engagement. Even when people are stripped of their agency and humanity, they turn to creativity as a way to reclaim some of this agency and resist dehumanization. “Arts & Resistance” will generate public performances, courses, lectures, conferences, exhibitions, workshops, and mini-grants for students, creating an immersive experience that engages the U-M community and broader public in the power of the arts to shape society.
FEATURED PROJECTS COURSES EVENTS GET INVOLVED PROMOTE YOUR PROGRAM
Featured Projects
Courses
All across U-M’s three campuses students will be learning about the forms, methods, histories, influence, design, implications, and future of arts being used as resistance. There are more than 100 courses available in conjunction with the Theme Semester across most U-M schools and colleges.
Featured Courses
There are still spots remaining in several Theme Semester courses, including those featured below – Check each school’s course catalogue for additional, updated information
Events
Make sure you keep your calendars open for the following dates! Join the community and find different ways to engage with “Arts & Resistance”
Featured Events
Get Involved
LIST OR PROPOSE AN EVENT, PROJECT, OR PROGRAM
Connect an existing course or event to the Theme Semester and receive marketing and communications support across campus and throughout the region.
What we’re looking for:
- Courses: either existing, adapted, or completely new that explore the theme of arts and resistance
- "Marquee" events: major events such as exhibitions, performances, panels, discussions, and guest speakers
- Student-led projects of all kinds
- Art-making opportunities
Click below to add your program or event to the Theme Semester program list:
Downloads
Looking to find ways to give your program a boost? Find everything you need to promote your event as part of the Arts & Resistance theme semester here.
Need something else? Contact us!
If you are interested in any other resources, please feel free to reach out at artsandresistance2023@umich.edu.
Get Updates!
Sign up to receive periodic updates on important deadlines and events related to the Arts & Resistance Theme Semester.
Arts & Resistance Steering Committee
Jim Leija, Co-Chair; Deputy Director for Public Experience and Learning, UMMA
Chris Audain, Co-Chair; Managing Director, Arts Initiative
Laura De Becker, Co-Chair; Chief Curator, UMMA
Ethriam Brammer, Assistant Dean Rackham Graduate School
David Choberka, Associate Curator for University Learning and Programs, UMMA
Mark Clague, Associate Dean For Collaborations And Partnerships; Director, U-M Gershwin Initiative; Co-Editor-In-Chief, Musa; Professor Of Musicology And Entrepreneurship & Leadership, SMTD
Debby Covington, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Equity Initiatives, Office of Student Affairs, Michigan Engineering; Washtenaw County African American Cultural and Historical Museum representative
Sascha Crasnow, Lecturer, LSA Residential College Makeda Easter, Knight-Wallace fellow and visiting fellow at Center for Racial Justice, Ford School
Mike Gould, Director, Center for World Performance Studies
Kathryn Grabowski-Khairullah, Program Curator, Arts Initiative
Cayenne Harris, Vice President, Learning & Engagement, UMS
Julie Herrada, Curator of the Labadie Collection, UM Libraries
Andrew Herscher, Professor of Architecture, Taubman College
Bethany Hughes, Assistant Professor American Culture
Jessica Jenks, Arts Communications Strategist, Arts Initiative
Amanda Krugliak, Arts Curator & Assistant Director Creative Programming, Institute for the Humanities
Kelly Maxwell, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education, LSA
Srimoyee Mitra, Director, Stamps Gallery
Katie Richards-Schuster, Director of Undergraduate Minor Programs and Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work (CASC - Community Action and Social Change)
Alison Rivett, Associate Director, Arts Initiative
Aunrika Tucker-Shabazz, Doctoral Candidate, Sociology
Jason Young, Associate Professor of History
The Arts & Resistance Theme Semester, organized by UMMA and the U-M Arts Initiative, is generously supported by the U-M Office of the Provost, the U-M College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, and Erica Gervais Pappendick and Ted Pappendick.
