Arts MSU

A woman in a cream period dress stands under a vibrant blue spotlight center stage with her palms turned upward. To her right is a wooden desk with a small lamp, and to her left is a bed. The background shows a digital projection of historical ledger lines and text.

MSU Alum Sandra Seaton Reclaims History and Voice in World Premiere of ‘Sally: A Solo Play’

February 25, 2026

When award-winning playwright and Michigan State University alum Sandra Seaton returned to Wharton Center for Performing Arts for the world premiere of "Sally: A Solo Play," it was both a creative milestone and a homecoming. The production brought Seaton’s 15-year engagement with Sally Hemings to a stage that has long shaped her artistic life — one she calls “a home away from home.”

A composite image featuring five movie posters arranged in a grid. The top row contains three posters: "Boca Chica," "La Cocina," and "La Singla." The bottom row contains two larger posters: "We Shall Not Be Moved" and "Zafari." The posters span a diverse range of cinematic styles, from high-contrast black-and-white to lush, colorful photography.

Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Event / Film Screening / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Spanish

Largest Latinx Film Festival in Michigan Returns to MSU Feb. 19-22

February 12, 2026

The MSU Latinx Film Festival (LxFF), the largest Hispanic/Latino/Latin American film festival in Michigan, returns Feb. 19-22 with screenings and events across Michigan State University’s campus and the city of Lansing. A biennial, curated festival, LxFF brings acclaimed independent films from Latin America and the Latinx diaspora to the Midwest, featuring works that are rarely screened in the United States and that invite audiences to engage with the world from new perspectives.

Two student performers stand on stage beneath a large projection reading, “AI learns through mathematical pattern recognition and optimization of large datasets, while human learning is a biological process shaped by experience, emotions and consciousness.” Blue and purple lighting and stage haze frame the scene, with one performer elevated on a platform and another kneeling nearby, holding a notebook.

Arts MSU / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Production / Student / Student / Theatre

From Seed to Stage: MSU Department of Theatre Production Draws Inspiration from Historic Beal Experiment

February 9, 2026

Buried beneath Michigan State University’s campus are the seeds of one of the world’s longest continuously monitored scientific experiments — and now, a new production presented by MSU’s Department of Theatre is bringing that history to life. Currently in its 147th year, the William J. Beal Seed Experiment serves as the inspiration for Echoes from the Banks of the Red Cedar, an immersive dance theatre production written, choreographed, and directed by Alexandria Davis, Assistant Professor of Dance.

A photo of two individuals, a man and a woman, in front of a whiteboard.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Featured Alumni / News / Student / Student / Theatre

No Cookie-Cutter Performers: How MSU Shaped the Creative Careers of Two Theatre Alums

January 21, 2026

When MSU Department of Theatre alums Sarah Goeke and Travis Staton-Marrero revisited campus, they brought more than memories, returning with hard-earned experience shaped by their time at Michigan State University and a desire to share it with the next generation of theatre professionals. Now both living in New York City, that experience is reflected in the careers they have built.…

AAHD / Art, Art History, and Design / Arts MSU / Internship / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Student / Student

Student View: Learning, Growing, and Leading at the MSU Museum

January 15, 2026

Rachel Lewis is a CoLaborator at the MSU Museum and a fourth-year student majoring in Art History and Visual Culture in the College of Arts & Letters and Journalism with a concentration in Photo Journalism in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. The CoLaborator program empowers graduate and undergraduate students to shape the MSU Museum’s exhibitions and facilitate visitor engagement.

Through the glass entrance of the MSU Union Art Gallery, visitors gather around a communal table covered in paper, fabric, and art supplies while participating in the Patchwork: Reclaiming Space exhibition, with artwork displayed on the gallery walls around them.

AAHD / Art, Art History, and Design / Arts MSU / Exhibition / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

‘Patchwork: Reclaiming Space’ Exhibit Invites the Public to Reflect, Create, and Heal

January 12, 2026

Patchwork: Reclaiming Space, a collaborative, participatory exhibition at the MSU Union Art Gallery that runs through Saturday, Feb. 14, invites the public to pause, reflect, and remember through shared creative expression rooted in community. The exhibition encourages members of the Michigan State University community to spend time in the gallery acknowledging the past, reflecting on the present, and making art.…

A person with curly brown hair, glasses, and a light-patterned blouse under a mustard-yellow cardigan smiles while standing against a plain light-colored background.

AAHD / Alumni / Arts MSU / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Faculty Voice: Art Is What We Need Right Now

November 13, 2025

Meghan Collins is the lead educator for K-12 and family programs at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University and an Assistant Professor of Art Education in MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design. She also is a proud alum of MSU’s Art Education program and rejoined the university community after teaching art in K-8 public schools in Lansing, Michigan, and Montgomery County, Maryland.

AAHD / Art, Art History, and Design / Arts MSU / Exhibition / International Impact / News / Student / Student

Cross-Border Art Project Between MSU and Canadian Students on Display at (SCENE) Metrospace

November 4, 2025

Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design presents “Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project” exhibition, showcasing the collaboration between students from MSU and Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U). The exhibition runs Nov. 7-Dec. 7 at (SCENE) Metrospace, with an opening reception planned for Nov. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Beaumont Tower lit with vivid red and white projections depicting skeletal figures climbing up the brick façade against the evening sky.

Arts MSU / Event / Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Performance / Student / Student / Theatre

Beaumont Tower Comes Alive with Animated Projections Created by MSU Students

November 3, 2025

Michigan State University’s Beaumont Tower came alive with light, sound, and animation during this year’s Halloween carillon concert, “The Ringing 2: Shadows Rise.” The event showcased artwork and animations created by students in the Department of Theatre’s Compositing and Special Effects for Stage and Screen (THR 337) class, taught by Alison Dobbins, Professor of Integrated Performance Media Design.

A smiling child wearing a red shirt and denim vest with large red star stands between two adults dressed in black. All three point and smile toward the audience on a brightly lit runway.

AAHD / Apparel and Textile Design / Art, Art History, and Design / Arts MSU / News / Student / Student

Innovation Meets Inclusion: MSU Students Design Adaptive Fashions for New York City Runway

October 30, 2025

Four Michigan State University students stepped into the spotlight in New York City as featured designers at the 2025 "iCAN Do Anything" Fashion Show hosted by the International Institute for the Brain (iBRAIN) to celebrate and promote adaptive and inclusive fashion. The MSU students — Jillian Kelly, Tristian Laney, Rico Seatts, and Reagan Wiley — all majoring in Apparel and Textile Design (ATD), were among a select group of designers who created custom adaptive garments for students with brain-based disabilities.