Author: Theresa Mott

Celebrate love before Valentine’s Day when you support the Ulrich Museum and local artists at this fundraiser and art auction from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Ulrich Museum of Art. Bid on more than 40 love-themed original artworks by popular Wichita artists in the silent auction. Enjoy a social evening of art, chocolate and bubbly, and have your photo taken with “LOVE” by Robert Indiana. Tickets are $20 and available at the Ulrich front desk or from the Ulrich online. Proceeds from the event will be divided between the artists and the Ulrich Museum’s community engagement initiatives.

Works by the following Wichita artists will be available at this fundraising silent auction: Ted Adler, Denita Benyshek, Doug Billings, Pam Bjork, Madison Bowron, Emily Chamberlain, Curt Clonts, Richard Davies, Denise DeBusk, Patrick Duegaw, Bill Goffrier, Wade Hampton, Marco Hernandez, Brian Hinkle, Kevin Kelly, Chloe Lang, Connor Lang, Brenda Lichman, Gary Lincoln, Armando Minjarez, Tina Murano, Chiyoko Myose, James Ackerley Porter, Joanna Ramondetta, Jo Reinert, Joseph Rincones, Eric Schmidt, Joshua A. Smith and Trish VanOsdel.

To facilitate the auction and payment process, the silent auction will take place in three sessions with bidding ending at 7:15, 7:45 and 8:15 p.m. It’s recommended to arrive at 6 p.m. and stay through all three sessions in order to have a chance to bid on as many of the 44 artworks as you wish.

Poetry Out Load is a national arts education program that encourages high school students to learn about poetry through recitation, memorization and competition. Come listen to poetry-passionate students compete in this regional recitation competition for the opportunity to go to the state competition. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 in the Polk/Wilson Gallery at the Ulrich Museum of Art.

Don’t miss the celebration of the Ulrich Museum of Art’s 50th anniversary and experience its U50 spring exhibitions: “Devan Shimoyama Rituals,” “Listening Devices: The Photographer and New Perspectives,” “Jim Riswold’s American Death Part 1” and “Ulrich Co-Lab: Homegrown.” The free event takes place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Ulrich Museum.

Enjoy treats while engaging with artists, art fans and special guests — gallerists, writers and collectors of Devon Shimoyama. Create your own art, visit the photo stations and enjoy performances, food and fun for all ages.

Students from DANC 405 Choreography 2 will explore their individual and collective response to the exhibition “[RE]POSE: Leisure Bodies and Empowered Postures” (now on view at the Ulrich Museum of Art) at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25 in the Beren Gallery at the Ulrich Museum of Art.

This collaborative group work focuses on the dance composition “toolbox” of crafting movement previously learned in Improvisation and Choreography. The event is free and everyone is welcome.

Enjoy some cookies and hot cider while taking part in fun art activities for all ages from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Ulrich Museum of Art. The Makers & Masterpieces art engagement series offers hands-on learning and community connection.

Bring your kids for face painting. Learn the process of linoleum block printing and create a card of good tidings with the WSU Printmaking Guild. Craft an artful ornament for yourself or a friend using origami and other techniques. Shop for artist-made gifts, peruse our new gift shop and select some treats from our bake sale. There will be a gift-wrapping station so you can wrap your purchases. Capture your joy at the Photography Guild’s photo booth. And Violinist Tim Snider will stroll the galleries playing holiday favorites.

Don’t miss the opportunity to experience the fall exhibitions at the Ulrich, which are closing at 2 p.m. Dec. 7. Everyone is welcome and admission is free.

The Ulrich Museum of Art invites the campus community to a talk with activist Kate Nicholson, former civil rights and disability rights attorney, at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 in the Beren Gallery of the Ulrich Museum, with a reception at 5:30 p.m.

Nicholson is the founder and executive director of the National Pain Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the health and human rights of people in pain. In connection with “[RE]POSE: Leisure Bodies and Empowered Postures,” which is on view at the Ulrich Museum through Dec. 7, Nicholson will speak on her 20-year journey to healing after a surgical injury left her bedridden and perpetually in severe pain.

In celebration of Ulrich’s 50th Anniversary, Mina Estrada, assistant professor and director of dance at Wichita State, has created a new dance piece — inspired by the fall exhibition “Dream Machine: Fantasy, Surreality, and Play,” on view through Dec. 7 — which will be performed at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15 in the Polk/Wilson Gallery in the Ulrich Museum.

The performance, featuring WSU dance majors, will play on the intricate layers of reality and surrealism, drawing inspiration from the exhibition’s rich tapestry of fantastical and interactive works. The new work entitled, “Inside the Dream Machine,” will also include live music performed by ICTus, directed by Chase Hampton. “Inside the Dream Machine” will continue to evolve as it is transformed into a film produced in collaboration with WSU School of Digital Arts. The dance film will premiere at the School of Performing Arts Film Showing April 19, 2025 at Welsbacher Black Box Theatre in the Hughes Metropolitan Complex.

The Ulrich Museum will host an artist talk at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 in the Beren Gallery featuring Ghanaian-Moroccan multidisciplinary artist, David Alabo. The artist will discuss his inspirations, creative process and deep connection to Afrofuturism and Afro-Surrealism, as both historical movements and stylistic modes.

Alabo’s work is featured in the fall exhibition, “Dream Machine: Fantasy, Surreality, and Play,” on view through December 7. Join a reception at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to this free event.

Come join a scary pop-up exhibition from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 28-Nov. 2 in the Dr. Sam & Jacqui Kouri Collection Study Center by Ulrich Registrar and Taryn Trapani, collections manager, featuring spooky works from the Ulrich permanent collection and free candy.

Help the Ulrich Museum of Art welcome Wichita State grad Holly Wilson to the next Writing Now|Reading Now at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Ulrich. Reception starts at 5:30 p.m.

Wilson is an MFA graduate of Wichita State who received her Ph.D. in creative writing from Florida State University where she was a Kingsbury Fellow. She’s an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and will be reading from her recently released novel, “Kittentits.”

Writing Now|Reading Now is co-sponsored by the Department of English, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Science, Watermark Books & Cafe and the Ulrich Museum of Art.