Division of the Arts

The Division of the Arts is the voice of the arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, the institute supports and promotes a comprehensive variety of arts programs and disciplines, whether they are programs that we initiate or our partners’ events. Early in 2014, the institute was constituted as an independent division, which allows it to establish its own curriculum. By working with numerous faculty and staff in a wide range of departments and arts-related fields, the Division of the Arts is now in a position to create and generate conditions for bold thinking and creative problem-solving. Together with our partners, we can further develop and support a vibrant arts community.

Division of the Arts Programs

• Wisconsin Film Festival
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  The Wisconsin Film Festival, founded in 1999, is the largest university-produced film festival in the United States, with an average of 150 film screenings and up to 30,000 attendees each year.

  The Wisconsin Film Festival strives to keep ticket prices low for all attendees. Donating to the its Real Butter Fund helps to support its operations and ensure that ticket prices can remain affordable for a variety of audiences.

• Madison Early Music Festival
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  The Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF) was created in 2000 to provide an opportunity for musicians, scholars, teachers, students, and music enthusiasts to study medieval, renaissance, and baroque music, and to attend concerts by acclaimed artists who specialize in the historically inspired performance of early music.

  We welcome your support as a Friend of the Madison Early Music Festival, an organization created to help secure the future of the festival. Its members receive special benefits and recognition during the festival.

• The Studio
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  In the fall of 2012, the Arts Institute partnered with UW-Madison’s Division of University Housing to introduce a new residential learning community for students who are interested in the arts. It’s called the Creative Arts & Design Learning Community: “The Studio.” Each year, more than 60 freshmen are welcomed to The Studio, where they have access to art and performance spaces, as well as a variety of arts-related programming, and they take part in a wide array of cultural, enrichment, and creative-arts projects. Donations to The Studio help to support the students through scholarships and opportunities to purchase new equipment and art supplies to further their creative exploration.

• Awards in the Creative Arts
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  Each spring, the Arts Institute honors UW-Madison arts-related faculty and students with a variety of prizes and fellowships through our annual Awards in the Creative Arts. Through these awards, the institute recognizes achievements, professional service, and future creative endeavors and research.

• Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program
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  The Arts Institute’s Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program (IARP) brings innovative, world-class artists to campus for a semester-long residency, which is sponsored by at least two departments. While in residence, artists teach a three-credit interdisciplinary course, present public events, and participate in community outreach. The program gives students exposure to working artists, provides course credit, and strengthens programmatic ties among individual departments, programs, and other campus and community arts entities.

• Arts Outreach
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  The Arts Outreach program works closely with the School of Music to share the expertise of its three faculty ensembles-in-residence with young musicians and community audiences around the state. The ensembles include the Pro Arte Quartet (PAQ), the Wingra Woodwind Quintet (WWQ), and the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (WBQ). In the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, each ensemble travels throughout Wisconsin to perform at concert halls and local schools, working with young musicians and performing for local concert-series patrons.