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THROUGH THE ARTS, WE SHAPE NEW STORIES

We capture and depict complexities of form, and we meditate on masterpieces of visual expression; we raise our voices in song, and we play new notes, often together. The arts provide a way of connecting people across the human experience in all of its beauty, pain, sorrow, joy and love.

HANK Talks Logo Large
Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 7 p.m. in the UW Center for Civic Engagement

“The Last Revitalization of Downtown Wausau: Remembering the ARTSblock Project”

Professor Jim O’Connell

Professor Jim O’Connell will be giving the next HANK Talk: “The Last Revitalization of Downtown Wausau: Remembering the ARTSblock Project.” As the community awaits the renaissance of the former Wausau Center Mall site, it may be instructive to look back at the last catalytic downtown redevelopment project, the expansion of the historic Grand Theater into ARTSblock. Conceived in 1995 and completed in 2002, ARTSblock involved public-private partnerships, aspirational planning, reality checks, the community’s largest non-hospital fund drive, and ultimately the transformation of the central city. Jim O’Connell, former executive director of the Performing Arts Foundation, will detail the steps, missteps, and serendipity that defined the process.

This in-person Talk will take place in the James F. Veninga Theater in the UW Center for Civic Engagement on the UWSP at Wausau campus and will also be streamed on our YouTube Live channel.

THE ARTS ARE ALIVE AND VIBRANT

The study of the fine arts teaches creativity and increases our understanding of, and appreciation for, diversity. Participation in the arts helps us to think globally and encourages an expansion of self-identity for all students and arts practitioners. The arts educate our minds and our hearts so that we may think more critically, live more fully and connect more completely in relationships, in meaningful work, and in a better quality of life.

The mission of the Lecture & Arts series at UW-Stevens Point at Wausau is to bring educational, culturally-enriching, high-quality, arts programs to students and community members throughout the year.

Events include our HANK Talks, a collaboration with A Walk in Their Shoes, other lectures, concerts, artist presentations and exhibits, film showings, poetry readings, theater productions and much more!

A Walk in Their Shoes

We proudly collaborate with Colin Hanson, organizer of the “A Walk in Their Shoes” series to bring authors to the campus for public addresses.

Events are held in-person in our UW Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at 625 Stewart Ave., Wausau, WI. The events are also streamed live via YouTube and later archived HERE.

The UW-Stevens Point at Wausau art program boasts a large facility, including two buildings on campus, and an array of offerings. Drawing, painting, sculpture, glass, digital imaging, photography and ceramics are courses offered on our campus with plenty of equipment and studio space to create and make what you might imagine.

Students who have begun their studies here have continued with their careers to become fashion designers in London and San Francisco, fine artists and gallery directors in Berlin, Germany, painters in Los Angeles, installation artists and graphic novel illustrators in Portland, Ore.

Internationally recognized artists have also visited UW-Stevens Point at Wausau and worked with our students on special projects; these artists have included Harrell Fletcher and Patricia Johanson.

Art Awards and Scholarships

Appel Artist Award
This is considered the highest honor given by the art department. This award provides for a major funded exhibition of the student’s work to be held 3 or 4 years after leaving UW-Stevens Point at Wausau. Along with the exhibition, a substantial catalogue is published covering the work.

Appel Scholarship
This is a partial tuition scholarship for an Art major who has submitted a collection of their work for review.

After the art faculty has examined the student’s work a recommendation is made to the Scholarship and Awards Committee. Portfolio Review is in the Spring by appointment or by viewing an exhibition of the students work.

Art Majors Award
This award selects a number of art students to travel to New York and experience the heart of contemporary art, through visiting world-class museums and galleries. The length of time is approximately 4 days during Spring break.

Students must have a declared art or art-related major to be eligible, with at least 6 credits in art to be considered. Students who have already completed a BA or BFA degree in an art-related field are not eligible.

Carlton Hill Award
This is a tuition scholarship for those who graduate from Wausau East or D. C. Everest High Schools and who are planning to major in Art, Creative Writing or Journalism. Incoming Freshman are chosen by the UW-Stevens Point at Wausau Scholarship and Awards Committee based on recommendations and High School academic record.

Departmental Distinction Award
The recipient of this award has had a strong influence, through their work and method of working, on other students in the department, and has also contributed to the spirit and vigor of the department.

Easton Shryne Memorial Scholarship
The Easton Shryne Memorial Scholarship was established by Mary McCarthy in honor of her son, Easton, a UWMC art student. Four awards are given annually.

Festival of the Arts Award
This award is given by the Wausau Festival of the Arts for the “best” art student of the year. After examining classroom work, student exhibitions and qualities important for success, the art faculty nominates a recipient to the Scholarship and Awards Committee.

John S. Newberry Award
This is an award for creativity in any field of learning and is open to all students of UW-Stevens Point at Wausau who are full time and are in good academic standing. Application to the Newberry Award Committee every spring is needed to be considered.

The Wisconsin Valley Art Association Art Award
This award is given by the Wisconsin Valley Art Association for an outstanding art student continuing at UW-Stevens Point at Wausau. The student must also qualify for financial aid.

FACILITIES

UW-Stevens Point at Wausau art students enjoy ample studio spaces in two buildings to work in sculpture, ceramics, glass, drawing, painting, photography and digital imaging. The art department provides a wood shop, a welding area, a black and white darkroom, several kilns, a plaster room and a computer Mac lab.

Students are encouraged to develop traditional skills in oil painting, life drawing and ceramics; they are challenged to experiment in multi-media, glass, installation work, conceptual work and digital animation.

Annually, painting and drawing and sculpture students exhibit their work in the Ahrnsbrak Room art gallery and other areas throughout campus. Students benefit from working closely with visiting artists, including Carlos Salgado from Brooklyn-based Scrapile, Oregon State University Professor Miles Inada, known for his graphic novel and animation skills.

The art department’s community engagement efforts give students the opportunity to work in area elementary schools, art venues such as the Center for Visual Arts and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and in parks and wildlife areas such as Robert W. Monk Gardens.

Music at UW-Stevens Point at Wausau supports, encourages students

If music is your love, start your education at the UW-Stevens Point at Wausau. The musical life is alive and vibrant. You can join vocal and instrumental ensembles that perform jazz, classical, and popular music.

For students planning to major in music, the program at UW-Stevens Point at Wausau provides an excellent beginning to your musical studies, with core music courses that make up the first two years of any music degree. Incoming students are encouraged to sign up for a Scholarship Audition.

We offer five Music Ensembles at UW-Stevens Point at Wausau that are open to ALL students.

  • Concert Band
  • Concert Choir
  • Jazz Ensemble
  • Vocal Jazz Ensemble
  • Jazz Central Voices

You can also view the Concert Schedule for details about all of our upcoming concerts, and find out more about our faculty members in the Music Faculty Directory.

Additionally, “like” us on Facebook to see news and concert updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch videos of performances.

Find out more about studying music at UW-Stevens Point!

Mush, a literature and art magazine produced by the students, comes out every spring, just before finals. Copies are free to students, and $5.50 to community members. For more information, e-mail jill.stukenberg@uwsp.edu.

Mush Literary Magazine

Mush, a literature and art magazine produced by the students, comes out every spring. Copies are free to students and sold to community members. (Mush: what makes Huskies go!)

To work on Mush, join the student-led Mush Magazine club.

Submitting Work for Mush

Due date: Submissions for the 2024 issue are due December 8th, 2023 (midnight, CST).

All artists and writers are invited to submit their original and previously unpublished poems, prose(short writings composed of sentences such as stories, creative nonfiction, and novel excerpts), plays, comics, manga, photographs, and photos of artwork, such as paintings or sculpture, to Mush magazine. (Prior publication is considered in cases of social media publication when circulation was small. Please email to ask.) If you and a partner wish to collaborate and send in a hybrid work, whether it is a prose/picture combo, joint submissions are welcome! To be considered for publication, email all submissions and a short artist’s bio to: Mush.Magazine.at.Wausau@uwsp.edu. Late submissions will not be reviewed.

Additional Criteria: Each submitter may send in works in up to three categories, with up to three submissions in each of those categories. All written submissions must be in English or include an English translation, though we welcome contributions from across the globe. For best consideration, prose works should be 2,000 words or fewer and poems 50 lines or less. Artwork should be submitted as jpeg files, and photos must be a minimum of 300 dpi quality or greater. (Please remove any watermarks or identifiers.) If you’d like help photographing your painting or sculpture, ask us and we are happy to help or offer advice/suggestions. Questions and comments may be sent to Mush.Magazine.at.Wausau@uwsp.edu

Questions may be sent to Mush.Magazine.at.Wausau@uwsp.edu

For further updates, “like” our Facebook page or follow us on TwitterInstagram, and TikTok.

For more information contact:

Associate Professor and Mush advisor Jill Stukenberg, Office: 305
jstukenb@uwsp.edu

By mail:
Mush
UW-Stevens Point at Wausau
c/o Jill Stukenberg
518 S. 7th Avenue
Wausau, WI 54401

UW-Stevens Point at Wausau Theatre offers a variety of production experiences, ranging from musical comedy to innovative contemporary drama. We endeavor to link productions to the larger campus curriculum and reveal the valuable contribution theatre makes to discussing vital ideas.

Through THEA 226: Theatre Practicum I, students can earn academic credit for their involvement in production efforts. Our intimate size and grass roots approach enable hands-on learning in performance, set construction, lighting and sound, and costuming as well as production and house management.

We also thrive on the involvement of community members who frequently contribute to our productions as members of our casts and crews.

Current and Upcoming ProductionsBuy Tickets Online

Audition to Be a Theatre & Dance Major at UW-Stevens Point

The John S. Newberry, Jr. Award for Creativity recognizes the creative contributions of students in the fields of:

  • film
  • computer programming
  • games
  • musical compositions
  • songs
  • poems
  • creative essays
  • fiction
  • dance
  • printmaking
  • painting
  • sculpture
  • design
  • dramatic recitation
  • ceramics
  • performance
  • independent experimental research projects
  • other areas

Who may submit work? 
Any UW-Stevens Point at Wausau full-time student in good standing. The student may be a continuing student or may be a student planning to transfer to another college or university.

How do I submit my work?
Deadline for submissions is April 1. Fill out an application and email your entry to Renee Wallin at rwallin@uwsp.edu. All entries must be submitted in an electronic format. Examples of this include email attachments of Word documents, photographs of artwork, or links to performances or musical compositions.

May I submit more than one entry? 
Yes, but each submission requires a separate entry application. You may not submit more than three entries in each field.

What happens to my entry? 
The Newberry committee will review the work submitted.

What are the awards?
Prizes are given out to the top three entries as judged by the Newberry Committee.
1st prize: $500 — 2nd prize: $250 — 3rd prize: $100
The winners will be notified via mail.

STUDENT STORIES

Students are often the best story-tellers with a set of fresh eyes and new ideas. Hear from students tell their story on their favorite things about the UWSP at Wausau campus.