2024 Spring Arts Festival Events

Ongoing Exhibitions

Shakespeare Unbound: A Campuswide Special Exhibit
Jan. 22 through May 10
UMass Libraries, Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio of William Shakespeare’s plays (1623). At the W. E. B. Du Bois Library, the Shakespeare Unbound exhibit asks: what happens when Shakespeare appears in fragments or as momentary flashes in history? With selections from the Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, the works of W. E. B. Du Bois, Phillis Wheatley, and others are joined in conversation with William Shakespeare. This exhibit explores stories of Shakespeare unbound and rebound, scattered and gathered together into new assemblages across place and time. 

Noble Fragments
Part of Shakespeare Unbound: A Campuswide Special Exhibit
Jan. 22 through May 10
Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies

This exhibit tells the story of the print revolution in Renaissance Europe and the emergence of the book in its modern form. The exhibit’s title derives from publications in the 1920s that marketed leaves from damaged and disbound copies of the Gutenberg Bible (1454-1455) and Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623), iconic artifacts in the history of printing, under the title A Noble Fragment. The “noble fragments” exhibited here remind us that books are unmade as well as made: they come apart over time, but they are also often reassembled and repurposed in ways that leave traces of that history on their pages. The exhibition concludes with a copy of Shakespeare’s Second Folio (1632), an important version of the most iconic gathering of “noble fragments” in English literature. Books  are lively objects that connect us: to the books themselves, to ourselves, and to one another. Each of the books, leaves, and printed pages on display in this exhibit—scattered, fragmented, torn, eaten by mice, even scorched by a candle’s flame—invite us to reimagine the resilience of the printed word, never more fully in force than when it has been unbound.

Art Exhibit: Obsessive Compulsive Drawings by Gonzalo Silva
Feb. 3 through May 3
Hampden Gallery

In Obsessive Compulsive Drawings, Chilean musician and artist Gonzalo Silva expands the utilitarian boundaries of the household ballpoint pen by detailing his compulsions on the back of 8.5”x11” stationery. Of the stationery, he says, “These items are important to me, like summons, default notices, or support group meeting lists.”

Silva’s exhibition will be on view in the Incubator Project Space from Feb. 14 to May 3, and Silva will give an artist talk from 6:30 to 7 p.m. at the April 5 reception. He will perform original songs and play bass guitar in the Hampden Gallery Sculpture Garden for the UMass Fine Arts Center Spring Art Walk on Friday, April 19 from 3 to 6 p.m.

Art Exhibit: As We Move Forward, Curated by Juana Valdes and Nhadya Lawes
Feb. 7 through May 10
New Africa House

As We Move Forward honors the work and legacy of American sculptor and educator Augusta Savage (1892-1962), who paved the way for future generations of Black artists. Co-curators Juana Valdes and Nhadya Lawes have chosen the works of seventeen BIPOC women artists from Savage’s home state of Florida. The exhibition combines printmaking, photography, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, and other mixed media to create a space of celebration and growth for these emerging artists.

Art Exhibit: Fabrications and Dreams by Cynthia Guild
Feb. 14 through May 3
Hampden Gallery

FABRICATIONS and DREAMS juxtaposes two series of oil paintings and drawings. In one body of work, Guild presents industrial mechanical imagery representing logic. In the second body of work, she depicts dreamy, snowy alpine scenes of nature that represent escape and reverie.

Guild will give an artist talk from 6 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, during Hampden Gallery’s spring reception. Her exhibition will be on view in the Main Gallery from February 14 through May 3.

Art Exhibit: BREACH: LOGBOOK 24 | STACCATO by Courtney M. Leonard
Feb. 14 through May 10
Sept. 19 through Dec. 6
University Museum of Contemporary Art, Bromery Center for the Arts

The artist Courtney M. Leonard, a citizen of the Shinnecock Nation of Long Island, explores marine biology, Indigenous food sovereignty, migration, and human environmental impact through visual logbooks that investigate the multiple definitions of the term "breach.” Her exhibition at the University Museum of Contemporary Art is the result of a multi-year artist residency hosted by the UMCA and the UMass College of Natural Sciences. Leonard researched within UMass’ expansive Natural History Collections and selected objects to inspire her newest body of work. BREACH: LOGBOOK 24 | STACCATO, includes paintings, sculptures, and video based on the life and kinship ties of Staccato, a North Atlantic Right Whale killed by a ship strike in 1999, whose remains are housed in the UMass collections. 

Art Exhibit: FAINT/HIDDEN/SHROUDED: Contemplating Obscurity
Annual Eva Fierst Graduate Student Curatorial Exhibition
March 27 through May 10
University Museum of Contemporary Art, Bromery Center for the Arts

FAINT/HIDDEN/SHROUDED: Contemplating Obscurity invites you to uncover hidden meanings and symbols buried beneath layers, prompting inquiry into what is visible and what has been deliberately concealed. This exhibition, ranging from the tangible to the abstract, explores the interplay between remembrance and forgetting, presence and absence, and erasure and illumination. FAINT/HIDDEN/SHROUDED draws attention to the identities and intentions of artists and their work which have been often overlooked and obscured. The artists in the show engage in literal obscurity methods through layering and fragmentation, shadowing, and cropping; other works in the exhibition are more abstract, remaining entirely blank or playing with less direct forms of obscurity to shed light on the underrepresented and address tensions between being recognized and remaining hidden. Selected from the University of Contemporary Art’s permanent collection, FAINT/HIDDEN/SHROUDED features exemplary works by distinguished artists, including Chakaia Booker, Elliott Erwitt, Ralph Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Jefferson Pinder, and others.

March Events

43rd Annual Jazz Showcase: "Home Grown"
March 26, 7:30 p.m.
Bowker Auditorium, $15/5

Jeffrey W. Holmes, Coordinator

Featuring compositions & arrangements by UMass faculty, students & alumni, with performances by Jazz Ensemble I; Chapel Jazz Ensemble; Vocal Jazz Ensemble, plus Jazz Lab and Graduate Composers’ Ensembles, Graduate Jazz Quartet, Chamber Jazz Ensembles and jazz faculty

Woodwind Chamber Ensembles
March 27, 7:30 p.m.
Bezanson Recital Hall, Free

Student chamber groups perform their repertoire: quintets, quartets, trios & other combinations.

Guest Artist: Seychelle Dunn-Corbin, baritone saxophone - ”Deep Voice”
Thurs. March 28, 7:30 p.m.
Bezanson Recital Hall, Free

With Adam Merrill, piano

April Events

Building Bridges
April 2, 12 p.m.
Bromery Center for the Arts Lobby

Building Bridges draws on the power of solidarity and creative expression to bring people together and create a bridge across difference.

Outdoor concert: Lexi Weege & J J Slater
April 2, noon to 1 p.m.
Worcester Dining Commons Patio 

Spring Arts Festival Tuesday concerts curated by Laudable Productions

Curators' Talk: As We Move Forward
April 4, 6 p.m.
Augusta Savage Gallery

As We Move Forward honors the work and legacy of American sculptor and educator Augusta Savage (1892-1962) by gathering the artwork of BIPOC women from Savage’s home state of Florida. Co-curators Juana Valdes and Nhadya Lawes have curated a space of celebration and growth for young artists from Miami and across the Global South. Valdes and Lawes will give a curators’ talk on Thursday, April 4 at 6 p.m. 

Artist Talk and Reception: Cynthia Guild's FABRICATIONS and DREAMS
April 5, 5 p.m.
Hampden Gallery

Hampden Gallery will host a reception for Cynthia Guild’s exhibition of oil paintings, FABRICATIONS and DREAMS on Friday, April 5 from 5 to 7 p.m., with a talk by Guild from 6 to 6:30 p.m. FABRICATIONS and DREAMS juxtaposes two series of oil paintings and drawings. In one body of work, Guild presents industrial mechanical imagery representing logic. In the second body of work, she depicts dreamy, snowy alpine scenes of nature that represent escape and reverie.

Artist Talk and Reception: Gonzalo Silva's Obsessive Compulsive Drawings
April 5, 5 p.m.
Hampden Gallery's Incubator Project Space

Hampden Gallery will host a reception for Gonzalo Silva’s Obsessive Compulsive Drawings on Friday, April 5 from 5 to 7 p.m., with a talk by Silva from 6:30 to 7 p.m. (Cynthia Guild, whose exhibition is in the main gallery will speak before him). The reception and talks are free and open to the public. Admission to the gallery is always free.

MFA's Juniper Festival
April 5-6
Various locations

This year's festival is part of the yearlong celebration of the MFA’s sixtieth anniversary. The celebration honors the program’s dynamic alumni and the theme of the writer in community. It features alumni readings, author/editor talks, panel discussions, and more.

'Elusive Prize: Wonder, Wing, & Transmutation' exhibit opening with Brandon Graving
May 4, 1-3 p.m.
Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies

Please join us for the opening reception of Artist in Residence Brandon Graving's exhibit of original work, 'Elusive Prize: Wonder, Wing, & Transmutation.' Brandon Graving is a sculptor and printmaker and who often works on a very large scale, in mediums that include bronze, neon, paper, resins, steel and wood. She is also the owner and master printmaker at Gravity Press Experimental Print Shop which holds one of the largest platen presses in the world. Her work has been exhibited widely in museums, public, and private collections.

Mingus Dynasty
April 6, 8 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall, Fine Arts Center

Charles Mingus remains an imposing figure in jazz even some 45 years after his early death. The master of the double-bass, accomplished pianist, bandleader, and composer was instrumental in moving jazz forward during his lifetime.

26th Annual High School Jazz Festival
April 6, all day
Bezanson Recital Hall, Free

Mingus Dynasty, guest clinicians

A day of clinics and performances by regional high school instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles.

Building Bridges As We Walk: A Latinx Theater Symposium
April 8, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Curtain Theater and New Africa House

This convening will bring leading Latine writers, educators, and theater artists to the UMass Amherst Department of Theater to highlight their recent contributions to The Routledge Companion to Latine Theatre and Performance, a dynamic collection of essays that explores the depths and breadth of Latine theatre. The panels, performances, and discussions will focus on intergenerational dialogue, a diversity of perspectives within the rubric of Latine identity, and the power of performance to transform individuals and communities.

Wind Ensemble & Symphony Band
April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall, $15/5

Matthew Westgate & Lindsay Bronnenkant, conductors

Featuring modern works for wind band by Nicole Piunno (Bright Shadow Fanfare), Zdenek Lukas (Musica Boema) and Vittorio Giannini (Symphony No. 3) 

UMass Symphony Orchestra
April 9, 7:30 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall, $15/5

Gonzalo Hidalgo Ardila, conductor

Featuring student winners of the annual Concerto Competition

Outdoor concert: Sona Jobarteh
April 9, noon to 1 p.m.
Worcester Dining Commons Patio 

Spring Arts Festival Tuesday concerts curated by Laudable Productions

Featured event

HFA Days
April 11, various times
Locations across campus

HFA Days, held April 11-12, invites the UMass community and public to experience different facets of teaching and learning, creative and scholarly work, and outreach within humanities and fine arts.

JIJI Performance
April 11, 7:30 p.m.
Bowker Auditorium

Praised by The Washington Post for her “mesmerizing” and “stirring” performances, JIJI is an adventurous guitarist known for her virtuosity and command of diverse repertoire. Equally at home with both acoustic and electric guitar, JIJI presents programs that range from traditional and contemporary classical to free improvisation.

Featured event

HFA Days
April 12, various times
Locations across campus

HFA Days, held April 11-12, invites the UMass community and public to experience different facets of teaching and learning, creative and scholarly work, and outreach within humanities and fine arts.

TMNT "shell-a-bration" zine making
April 12, 2 p.m
W.E.B. Du Bois Library

Join the Libraries, HFA, and the Craft Center in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, co-created by alumnus Peter Laird '76! Stop by this drop-in event to make your own zines and comics, grab a slice of pizza, and pick up some fun TMNT-inspired giveaways. Plus, check out our social media leading up to the event and the May anniversary month, where we'll be highlighting student artwork.

Guest Vocal Ensemble: The New Consort
April 13, 4:30 p.m.
Bezanson Recital Hall, Free

With the UMass Chamber Choir

Asian Night: Dance Performances
April 13
Tillis Performance Hall

As one of the biggest cultural events of the year, Asian Night showcases various student performers from the 5-college consortium and the surrounding Northeast area as well as special appearances from prominent icons in the Asian and Asian-American community. This is a completely FREE event where after the show, all attendees have a chance to meet the guest appearances! Join UMass AASA for a night full of music, dance, guest artists, free giveaways, meet-and-greets and cultural celebration!

Outdoor concert: Brown Rice Family
April 16, noon to 1 p.m.
Worcester Dining Commons Patio 

Spring Arts Festival Tuesday concerts curated by Laudable Productions

Featured event

HFA Creative Student Showcase
April 17, noon to 4 p.m.
Bromery Center for the Arts Lobby

Join the HFA Student Leadership Group and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts on Wednesday, April 17 from 12-4 p.m. at the Bromery Center for the Arts Lobby (formerly the FAC Lobby) for our annual HFA Creative Student Showcase, a pop-up gallery of students' visual, written, and performance artwork. Lemonade and desserts will be served and student performances will be taking place throughout the event. All majors are welcome!

Shakespeare Unbound - A Workshop with Jane Degenhardt and Cyrus Mulready
April 17, 4 p.m.
Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies

Scholars Jane Degenhardt and Cyrus Mulready present a Shakespeare Unbound Workshop on "Editing Pericles: What's Good About a Bad Text."

Performance by Violinist Ray Chen
April 19, 7:30 p.m.
Amherst College

Ray Chen is a violinist who redefines what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st century. With a media presence that enhances and inspires the classical audience and reaches out to millions through his unprecedented online following, his remarkable musicianship transmits to a global audience. This is reflected in his engagements with the foremost orchestras and concert halls around the world.

ARTWALK
April 19, 3 p.m.
Fine Arts Center

Join us for the spring Fine Arts Center Art Walk. Celebrate the incredible art on campus by visiting the Fine Arts Center's three visual arts venues, Augusta Savage Gallery, Hampden Gallery, and the University Museum of Contemporary Art. This once-a-semester event features free cider donuts, hands-on art activities, live performances, visual art, and fun.

Flamenco Vivo
April 20, 8 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall

Founded in 1983, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana is one of America's premier flamenco companies. Based in New York City and Durham, North Carolina, the company seeks to promote flamenco as a living art form and a vital part of Hispanic heritage; produce and perform high quality dance works; provide arts education programs that catalyze connections among young people; and nurture the next generations of Spanish dance artists and educators. Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana believes the universal spirit of flamenco - with diverse influences from Arab, Jewish, Roma, Spanish, African, and Latin American cultures - gives the art form a unique power to build bridges between people. 

Outdoor concert: Blaque Dynamite
April 23, noon to 1 p.m.
Student Union Lobby

Spring Arts Festival Tuesday concerts curated by Laudable Productions

Jazz in July Artists Perform
April 24, 7 p.m.
Augusta Savage Gallery

Information is forthcoming.

Beyond the Book: Recycling Print in Early Modern England with Adam Smyth
April 25, 4:30 p.m.
Old Chapel

The Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies hosts its Annual Dan S. Collins lecture with Adam Smyth, Professor of English Literature and the History of the Book, Balliol College, University of Oxford. The talk is titled "Beyond the Book: Recycling Print in Early Modern England." 

Smyth's research focuses on the ways texts are composed, circulated, and consumed; and the connections between literature and the history of the book. He has written three monographs – Material Texts in Early Modern England (Cambridge University Press, 2018), runner-up in the SHARP DeLong Book History Prize; Autobiography in Early Modern England (Cambridge University Press, 2010); Profit and Delight: Printed Miscellanies in England, 1640–1682 (Wayne State University Press, 2004)

Bright Moments Spoken Word Nights
April 25, 6 p.m.
Fine Arts Center

Hosted by acclaimed performer Lyrical Faith, this series invites emerging artists from campus and the community to showcase their work alongside the best spoken word poets from the national scene. Bright Moments events in 2022 2023 featured moving performances and drew enthusiastic crowds. And we expect this season’s events to be even better! Join us for open mic performances, DJ entertainment, and more.

Jazz Lab Ensemble
April 25, 7:30 p.m.
Bezanson Hall, Free

Matthew Padula, director

Music for jazz big band by students, faculty, and renowned jazz composers/arrangers.

Featured event

Twelfth Night Performance
April 26-27, 7:30 p.m.
Rand Theater

Lovers find one another as mistaken identities abound, lost bonds are magically restored, boisterous passions are exhausted, and the swirling music plays on and on and on. Shakespeare’s comedy is full of whimsy and wordplay, humor both clever and crass, and larger-than-life characters who are complex, human, and intimate. We invite you to join us for the Elizabethan festival of epiphany, when the world is turned upside down in a long night of revelry that takes players and audience alike on a journey through the heights and depths of the human emotional experience. 

UMass Concert Band
April 27, 7:30 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall

Timothy T. Anderson, conductor

The Concert Band performs its spring concert, including classic and contemporary wind band repertoire.

Outdoor concert: Lexi Weege & J J Slater
April 29, noon to 1 p.m.
Bromery Center for the Arts Plaza / Haigis Mall area

Spring Arts Festival Tuesday concerts curated by Laudable Productions

Percussion Ensemble
April 30, 7:30 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall

Ayano Kataoka, director

The UMass Percussion Ensemble performs music by classic and contemporary composers such as J.S. Bach, Steve Reich, Iannis Xenakis & many others.

May Events

Chapel Jazz Ensemble
Thurs. May 2, 7:30 p.m.
Bezanson Recital Hall, Free

Thomas Giampietro, director

Performing classic tunes from the jazz repertoire, plus new compositions & arrangements by students & faculty.

Twelfth Night Performance
May 2-4, 7:30 p.m.
Matinee May 4 at 2 p.m.
Student matinee May 1 at 10 a.m.
Rand Theater

Lovers find one another as mistaken identities abound, lost bonds are magically restored, boisterous passions are exhausted, and the swirling music plays on and on and on. Shakespeare’s comedy is full of whimsy and wordplay, humor both clever and crass, and larger-than-life characters who are complex, human, and intimate. We invite you to join us for the Elizabethan festival of epiphany, when the world is turned upside down in a long night of revelry that takes players and audience alike on a journey through the heights and depths of the human emotional experience. 

Junior Choreography Dance Concerts
May 3-4, 8 p.m. 
Totman Performance Lab, $10

Featuring UMass dance majors in their junior year, presenting their choreography projects.

Featured event

UMass Symphony Orchestra and Choirs
May 4, 4 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall, $15/5

E. Wayne Abercrombie, choir director
Gonzalo Hidalgo Ardila, orchestra director

Featuring Mozart's epic Requiem & other works

Fringe Fest
May 4-12
Various campus locations

We are thrilled to close our season with our third annual explosion of our students’ creativity, skills and (sometimes wild) imaginations. During Fringe Fest, we turn our spaces over to them to produce sparkling new plays, delightful takes on established work, and pieces that test the boundaries of theater. All work is free and open to the public and will be announced in Spring 2024 — join us in celebrating this exciting generation of theater artists!

We can’t share the titles yet, but expect to enjoy contemporary musicals, several original plays and performance pieces created by students, an art installation, a 24-hour play festival and a cabaret.

Events are slated to take place May 4-12 in locations around campus, times and ticket details to be announced. Visit our site for updates.

Vocal Jazz Ensemble
May 5, 1 p.m.
Bezanson Recital Hall, Free

Catherine Jensen-Hole, director

Winner of DownBeat’s 2023 Student Award for top Latin Jazz Group, the UMass Vocal Jazz Ensemble performs music composed or arranged for jazz vocalists, both with and without instrumental backing, under the direction of Catherine Jensen-Hole

Wind Ensemble & Symphony Band
May 8, 7:30 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall, $15/5

Matthew Westgate & Lindsay Bronnenkant, conductors

Last Wind Ensemble/Symphony Band concert of the semester!

Studio Orchestra & Jazz Ensemble I
May 10, 7:30 p.m.
Tillis Performance Hall, $15/5

Jeffrey W. Holmes, director

Strings and woodwinds join the jazz ensemble for Studio Orchestra, creating a full orchestra sound to perform enhanced arrangements of jazz and pop tunes.