U-M students will find all kinds of things to do and experience at UMMA. Our diverse programs are designed to reflect the range of perspectives and interests on our campus and in our community in order to provide a welcoming atmosphere for all.
UMMA programs are free and open to all U-M students. Many feature student creators and performers. We invite you to attend one of our dynamic programs, host your own event, or participate in a creative project.
Every year UMMA hosts a number of museum-wide events featuring music, art activities, and a fun atmosphere.
UMMA and Arts at Michigan team up each fall to welcome incoming freshmen to Michigan at Artscapade! More than 4,500 students attend this high-energy Welcome Week event.
Organized by UMMA’s Student Engagement Council, our annual Student Late Night is just for U-M students. With tunes provided by WCBN DJs, each year features a different theme and includes opportunities to browse the galleries, visit our photo booth, and participate in hands-on activities (think Twister and button-making).
Occuring twice a year (once in fall, once in winter), UMMA After Hours is a free community open house with gallery talks by curators and artists that bring to life the season’s special exhibitions, live music, and refreshments, in a sophisticated-yet-relaxed atmosphere.
One Friday every month, UMMA galleries are open until 8:00 P.M. during Fridays After 5. A nice way to kick off the weekend: enjoy a stroll through the galleries before heading out for the night.
Through a robust array of collaborations with many U-M student organizations and departments, as well as community organizations, UMMA is home to a performing arts series, a reading series of nationally-known authors as well as a series featuring our own MFA writers, talks by artists and scholars, symposiums, films, hands-on workshops, and more.
Programs are organized around our special exhibitions, the themes and concepts reflected in the art in our collection, and the ideas and interests of our partners.
Every year, UMMA partners with student organizations to create a space for student ideas and voices to engage with a larger audience. Collaborations such as last year’s "What We Carried: A Glimpse into the Refugee Crisis" was organized by the U-M student organization Michigan Refugee Assistance Program to bring attention to the Syrian refugee crisis, combat Islamophobia, and highlight the power of arts to reflect the experiences of refugees in the United States
Each year UMMA and the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance present the SMTD@UMMA Performance Series. Featuring critically acclaimed U-M composition and performance faculty and their students, these performances are a unique opportunity to see creativity in action and experience original and existing repertoire related to UMMA’s exhibitions and collections.
Creative Writing presents two authors’ series: the Zell Visiting Writers Series featuring emerging and established writers; and the Mark Webster Reading series where current MFA students strut their stuff.
Student voices and creativity are celebrated at UMMA. Through a series of co-creation projects, UMMA invites students to share their own creative work (photographs, video, music, performance, written work) in response to the themes and ideas of our exhibitions and collections.
Since 2014, SEC members have curated installations for the study cases in the education wing of the Museum. This year’s project, The Mirrored Image, is a visual conversation about issues of identity and the self.
