Community invited to exhibitions, lectures and discussions, readings and performances
Menomonie, Wis. – As University of Wisconsin-Stout launches its Year of Design, community members are invited to myriad talks, performances and exhibitions scheduled on campus this fall.
From exhibitions featuring graphic design, photography, light play and ceramics to philosophical and literary conversations, to performing arts, there are events for everyone on campus and throughout the community.
In 2025-2026, UW-Stout is celebrating a Year of Design to highlight the innovation, leadership and impact central to Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University. Upcoming signature events include:
Thursday, Oct. 9, 1 p.m.: Cabot Executive-in-Residence keynote address, “Designed to Influence,” with Andrew Murphy, head of Corporate Engagement Strategy at Apple.
Friday, Oct. 10, and Saturday, Oct. 11: School of Art & Design 60th Anniversary. Registration is required for the free event.
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 6 p.m.: Stout Game Expo, western Wisconsin’s largest game developer exhibition.
Friday, Dec. 12, 6 p.m.: School of Art & Design Senior Show, featuring the works of more than 200 graduating seniors.
Art & Design Exhibitions Furlong Gallery opens the 2025 fall exhibition schedule with two side-by-side solo exhibitions:
Sept. 18, to Saturday, Oct. 25
UW-Stout Professor Charles Matson Lume’s Sabbatical Exhibition, “becoming I, I say You (for Martin Buber),” is in the North Gallery. An artist talk with Matson Lume will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
School of Art & Design Visiting Artist, ceramist Hannah Niswonger, is in the South Gallery. Her exhibit “Didn’t I Used to Have a Sense of Humor?” brings together four installations: “Octopus’s Garden,” “Cloud—Bird Place,” “Poisonous & Carnivorous Dinnerware,” and “Conversations with My Father’s Paintings.” Niswonger is a ceramicist from Massachusetts.
A closing reception for both artists will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, followed by an artist talk with Niswonger.
Monday, Nov. 10, to Saturday, Dec. 13
Dunn County-born artist and photographer Erinn Springer will be featured in the North Gallery. Springer now resides in Duluth, Minnesota.
Catalogtree, a multidisciplinary design collective based in the Netherlands, will be featured in the South Gallery
Join game designer Erika Svanoe and illustrator Erik Evenson for a talk on their creation and collaboration of the popular Jane Austen card game “Marrying Mr. Darcy” from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Robert S. Swanson Library & Learning Center. A Q&A and game play will follow. See if you can win the game and the heart of Mr. Darcy.
Gallery 209 rotates exhibits on a weekly basis. Located in the Applied Arts building on the second floor, exhibits are reserved for Senior Thesis Exhibitions, as well as master’s in design students, design and fine art classes and student organizations. An Alumni Art Exhibition will be held in Gallery 209, Oct. 10-12, Stout Proud Family and Supporter Weekend.
The Library Art Lab, on the first floor of the Robert S. Swanson Library & Learning Center, showcases student artists, faculty and campus collaborations. Exhibitions include applied research, capstones, clubs and classwork. There are two exhibitions each semester.
Civic dialogue
A special event, “Banned Books Week: A Conversation with Dr. Samuel Cohen,” will be held from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Harvey Hall Theatre. Cohen is the associate chair of the department of English at University of Missouri. He will discuss his forthcoming book “Banning Books in America: Not a How-to.”
Comments will be offered by Menomonie Public Library Director Joleen Sterk. An audience Q&A will follow, moderated by Menard Center for the Study of Institutions & Innovation Director Afton Greco. The event will conclude with a Kahoot contest with prizes for students. The event is sponsored by the Menard Center with co sponsors, the University Library; Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Honors College; the Literature Committee; the Center for Applied Ethics; and the Menomonie Public Library. Cohen’s book will be published in February 2026.
UW-Stout’s Center for Applied Ethics hosts Philosophers’ Cafés, informal, friendly conversations on contemporary issues. Meetings are open to all and are led by UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire faculty. Upcoming conversations will be held at 7 p.m., at Brewery Nønic in Menomonie:
Wednesday, Oct. 8: AI and Our Humanity
Wednesday, Nov. 12: The Wisconsin Idea: What Does It Mean to You?
Wednesday, Dec. 10: Are Gender Disparities in the Workplace a Problem?
The Center for Applied Ethics, Office of Student Opportunity & Excellence, and the Freedom of
Expression Committee are hosting a series of events, “Enhancing Campus Culture: Free Expression
and Civil Discourse,” funded by the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue and the
Menard Center.
Forty to 60 students will participate in four discussion dinners over the course of the year. Each
dinner will center around a controversial moral or political issue, with tables facilitated by faculty
members Mitch Ogden, Cynthia Bland, Daniel Sinkovits, Lopa Basu, Alison Lukowski and Tina Lee.
The non-partisan, non-ideological Menard Center is dedicated to the study and discussion of civil
liberties and related institutions and innovations through scholarly inquiry, educational activities
and community outreach.
Literary discussions
The Literature Committee will host its annual Faculty and Staff Creative Writing reading in the late
fall.
English Professor Lopamudra Basu will present on her book of poetry “Sing, Slivered Tongue” as
part of the Chippewa Valley Book Festival at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Riverview Room at L.E.
Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire and virtually. The hybrid event will include several
contributing poets joining via Zoom. Books will be available for purchase at local bookstores this fall.
“Sing, Slivered Tongue” sheds light on the subject of trauma and gathers the voices of 68 women
from various South Asian communities. “It is not just a litany of trauma. It is a statement of courage.
It offers hope and is an attempt to find resolution,” Basu said. “Although the poets are from South
Asia, their experiences are global experiences, and our intention is to create bridges.”
In addition to his sabbatical exhibit mentioned earlier, Matson Lume collaborated with three alums
and artists over his 2025-25 sabbatical to publish “at the fountain, at the fountain,” a free artists’
book that features their art and texts. Two book launches will be held this fall: one on Saturday, Oct.
4, 2 to 5 p.m., at FOGSTAND Gallery & Studio, in St. Paul, Minnesota; and another on Thursday,
Nov. 6, 4 to 5:30 p.m., at North Shore Readers and Writers Festival at the Grand Marais Art Colony,
Grand Marais, Minnesota.
University Theatre
University Theatre will present “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]
[again],” led by Director Audric Buhr, at Harvey Hall Theatre.
Performance dates and times are:
Thursday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m.
Fast-paced, witty, physical and full of laughter, this is one of the world’s most frequently produced
plays and features all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays, performed in under 100 minutes.
Tickets will be available at uwstout.universitytickets.com.
Musical performances
Blue Devil Jazz Orchestra directed by James Anderson: Saturday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m., in the
Memorial Student Center ballrooms. Come swing in the Big Apple, as the orchestra takes you
from 42nd and Harlem to Times Square, and beyond, featuring music by Charles Mingus,
George Gershwin, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and more.
Stout Choirs, directed by Jerry Hui: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2 p.m., in the Memorial Student Center
Great Hall. “Colorful Voices” will be a celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the School of
Art & Design. Music will focus on the metaphor and power of color, featuring a variety of
musical styles from romantic Renaissance madrigals to empowering spirituals.
The Symphonic Band, under Director Erika Svanoe, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m., in the Memorial
Student Center Great Hall. “Music in Motion” will feature music about various kinds of
transportation, including songs from “The Polar Express” and Rossano Galante’s “Sailing
with Whales.”
Tickets will be available at uwstout.universitytickets.com.
UW-Stout, a member of the Universities of Wisconsin, is Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, with a
focus on applied learning, collaboration with business and industry, and career outcomes. Learn
more via the FOCUS2030 strategic plan.
