UMass Amherst Launches Inaugural Spring Arts Festival to Celebrate University’s Commitment to Performing and Fine Arts
Content
To honor UMass Amherst's deep roots in the performing and fine arts, the College of Humanities & Fine Arts and the UMass Fine Arts Center have partnered to create the university’s inaugural Spring Arts Festival.
Held in the spring semester, the festival reaffirms the institution's commitment to the arts—both student-focused and professional—through a series of events, as well as a retrospective look at the creative works and research from throughout the academic year.
“Each year, the departments within our college pull together a robust calendar events that celebrates the vibrancy of our arts community,” says Barbara Krauthamer, dean of the College of Humanities & Fine Arts. “A dedicated Spring Arts Festival is a wonderful opportunity to honor and uplift the important work that’s already being done by university faculty, student, and staff.”
As part of the festival, the UMass Amherst community will host dozens of high-caliber events, including museum exhibits, lectures and talks, and theater, music, and dance performances. All events are open to the public.
Fine Arts Center Director Jamilla Deria says, “We’re thrilled to continue to prioritize the arts and art education on campus. As the university responds to research that affirms the critical role of the arts in higher education, our center is proud to help elevate the arts at UMass.”
This year's Spring Arts Festival includes events such as:
Masculine Identities: Filling in the Blanks, a student-curated art exhibit that seeks to challenge traditional perceptions of masculinity, on view now through May 14;
Snarky Puppy, an internationally acclaimed collective of highly accomplished session and stage musicians performing on April 10;
The HFA Student Showcase, a pop-up gallery of visual, written, and performance artwork by students, slated for April 19;
Bach Festival and Symposium, a biennial event celebrating the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach, and featuring a series of concerts, panels, and more, held April 21-23;
How We Go Missing by The Anishinaabe Theater Exchange, a performance piece exploring stories of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives, happening April 21;
Berlin Wall Installation, a ceremony celebrating the anonymous donation of a piece of the Berlin Wall featuring The Power of Creativity Over Concrete, a painting by acclaimed French artist Thierry Noir, on April 25;
STOMP, an international percussion sensation that has garnered armfuls of awards and rave reviews, which will perform April 28-29;
Into the Woods, a theater performance featuring twisted takes on fairy tale conventions, with shows on April 28-29 and May 3-6;
And Fringe Fest, held May 17-21, an annual festival featuring creative works written or produced by students in the Department of Theater.
A full list of events can be found here.
In addition, the Spring Arts Festival offers an opportunity to reflect on some of the meaningful arts accomplishments from throughout the academic year, such as the 2022-23 Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series, which featured talks from two College of Humanities & Fine Arts faculty; “Aurash,” a theater retelling of an ancient Persian tale directed by graduate student Behnam Alibakhshi; and “Convergence: A Dance Performance Gallery,” an artistic presentation of methods and findings from an active clinical trial about the health benefits of dance among adults.
The Fine Arts Center’s 2022-2023 programming has included “60 Years of Collecting,” a full-season exhibition highlighting the University Museum of Contemporary History’s permanent collection; Nayana LaFond’s powerful and troubling “Portraits in Red: Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls” at Augusta Savage Gallery; and a timely performance by the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine in the Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall at the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts.