Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Arts

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Arts Black and white photo of a grand piano sitting in a room with a brick wall lit by the sun in the background.

Krannert Art Museum exhibition shows midcentury modern homes as places for artistic production

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Several Champaign-Urbana homes designed by local architects between the 1940s and 1990s were also made as settings for artistic performances and cultural conversations. An exhibition at Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines how four midcentury modern homes served as incubators for avant-garde culture in the community. “Making Place […]

Expert viewpoints Photo of a southeast view of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, with the water of the Seine River in the foreground.

What can the Notre-Dame restoration tell us about how we value historic structures?

The Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris reopened to the public on Dec. 8 for the first time since April 2019, when a fire destroyed its roof and spire and filled its interior with ash, lead dust and charred wood. A five-year restoration project stabilized its walls, rebuilt the roof and spire, and cleaned the interior, including […]

Arts Black and white panoramic photo of Memorial Stadium on the Oct. 18, 1924, dedication game.

Illinois architecture professors’ book provides historic analysis of Memorial Stadium

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium this fall. A rededication ceremony on Oct. 18 will be held 100 years to the day after its dedication game when Red Grange scored four touchdowns in the first 12 minutes of the game to lead Illinois to a […]

Arts Photo of two dancers on stage, dressed in gray unitards with painted feathers on them. A male dancer is kneeling with his arms in the air, and a female dancer is leaning against him with one foot lifted off the ground behind her.

October Dance puts a modern spin on dance history

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The October Dance concert “Rewind/Remix” will look back at historical modern dance figures and put a contemporary spin on dance history. The concert, presented by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dance department, is Oct. 10-12 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. A livestream performance is available at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9. […]

Arts Photo of a painting of Samson and Delilah by Dutch painter Willem Bartsius.

Krannert Art Museum’s new acquisitions expand collection, research and teaching opportunities

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign made several acquisitions in the past year that will transform its collection and be used regularly in research and teaching. “When we are investing in purchasing works of art or taking in a large collection, we always have a sense of how the […]

Arts Photo of a group of people standing together, with two people seated in front.

Theatre department’s season features theme of reconciliation

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The theatre department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will offer views of healing and reconciliation in this season’s plays. The 2024-25 season includes a gothic melodrama, a Shakespeare production and a multigenerational story of an immigrant family. “We look for the way the different works resonate with each other. One of […]

Arts Photo of a gallery view of the “Fauve Semblant: Peter (A Young English Girl)” installation by artist Millie Wilson.

Krannert Art Museum presents first retrospective of artist Millie Wilson

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is presenting the first retrospective of contemporary artist Millie Wilson, whose work examines stereotypes and media representations regarding sexuality and gender identity.

Arts Photo of a group of musicians in a semi-circle outside, most of whom are playing percussion instruments and two of whom are playing French horns.

Illinois researchers’ project seeks to learn from Indigenous practices in music, engineering

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — An interdisciplinary research project has led to new ways of making music and of approaching engineering design through interactions with Indigenous communities in Bolivia and Sierra Leone. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign music professor and professional French horn player Bernhard Scully and engineer and Carle Illinois College of Medicine teaching professor of biomedical […]

Announcements

Pinholster named new dean of College of Fine and Applied Arts

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Following a national search, Jacob Pinholster has been selected as dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, effective Sept. 16, pending University of Illinois Board of Trustees approval. Pinholster’s title will be dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts designate until board approval.  Pinholster is executive dean for enterprise […]

Arts Photo of John Paul Meyers dressed in a suit and leaning toward a Victrola record player.

Illinois scholar’s book examines how popular music connects to the past

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Popular music is associated with youth, newness and originality. Yet such music has a deep relationship with the past through sampling, covers and commemorative reissues of decades-old recordings, tours by artists from the 1960s and ‘70s, and performances by tribute bands. In his new book, “Same Old Song: The Enduring Past in […]

Arts Headshot of Rebecca Walker

Green infrastructure plans need to consider historical racial inequalities, say researchers

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Urban planners increasingly are interested in green infrastructure projects for the health and climate benefits they bring to cities. But without attention to historical development patterns and existing power structures, such projects may not benefit all residents equally and may exacerbate social and racial inequalities, says a group of researchers and practitioners […]

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