Arts MSU

Ten portraits created by Michigan State University and OCAD University students for the Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project, arranged in two rows of five. Each piece uses a different style and medium to interpret the artist’s partner, from realistic graphite drawings to abstract line work and vibrant mixed media compositions.

Art Project Brings U.S. and Canadian Students Together

August 13, 2025

When Emma Sambaer, an Art Education student at Michigan State University, was paired with Shiva Mohseni, an OCAD University student from Toronto, for a unique cross-border art project, she noticed how much they had in common despite being separated by an international border.Students from MSU and OCAD U were tasked with creating portraits of each other to capture the likeness…

Three women stand side-by-side on stage, each holding a script at a music stand and singing into individual microphones. They wear black attire under stage lighting.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Featured Alumni / News / Performance / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Theatre Alum Comes Full Circle with ‘We Foxes’ Performance in New York City

July 15, 2025

For Isa Rodriguez, stepping onto the stage at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York City to perform in “We Foxes” was more than just another role. It was the realization of a dream sparked years earlier by watching a rehearsal of that same play at Michigan State University where it was presented as part of the imáGen collaboration,…

Two people stand smiling in a contemporary gallery. The person on the left has their arm around the person on the right. To the right is a tall, textured sculpture of a human figure holding chains connected to small, creature-like figures on the floor.

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Work of MSU Alums, a Father-Daughter Duo, on Display at SCENE Metrospace

July 11, 2025

An exhibition at MSU’s SCENE Metrospace features new work by a father-daughter duo, both Michigan State University alums, offering a unique opportunity to see two generations of Spartan artists in dialogue.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty / Faculty Stories / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News / Publication / Publishing, Editing, and Authorship / Research / Theatre

MSU Faculty Member Publishes Book on Creating Theatre With Neurodiverse Audiences in Mind

June 30, 2025

For nearly a decade, Dionne O'Dell has led the Sense-Ability Ensemble at Michigan State University, which develops multisensory theatrical works for audiences often excluded from traditional performance spaces. Dionne O'Dell O’Dell is an Academic Specialist in MSU’s Department of Theatre who specializes in teaching children’s theatre and writing and directing plays for youth and community, and Routledge has now published…

A picture of a woman with curly black hair. She has large earrings and a denim jacket.

Alumni / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Excel Network Communities / Featured Alumni / News / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Graduate Voice: How MSU Shaped Sandra Seaton’s Path to the Stage and National Recognition

June 24, 2025

Sandra Seaton is an award-winning playwright and librettist whose acclaimed works have premiered at major venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and LA Opera. She is best known for “From the Diary of Sally Hemings,” set to music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom and her recent Pulitzer-nominated “Dreamland: Tulsa 1921,” a “ploratorio” created with composer Marques L.A. Garrett.…

A smiling individual with glasses and a navy jacket holds up a binder labeled 'The Book of Mormon Script & Score, North American Tour.' The background shows a city skyline over water at sunset.

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Theatre Alum Returns to Campus as Part of ‘The Book of Mormon’ North American Tour

June 17, 2025

As a high school student, Kevin T. Mazur sat in the audience at Detroit's Fisher Theatre watching the Broadway tour of “The Book of Mormon” and dreamt of a life on stage, a future in New York, and the possibility of one day joining a company like the one performing that day. Nearly a decade later, he has accomplished all that.

A close-up of a person beading by hand. Their hands are stitching black fabric while colorful piles of seed beads in a rainbow gradient sit on a white work surface.

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Religious Studies Professor to Explore Her Artistic Side as a KBS Artist-in-Residence

June 12, 2025

Blaire Morseau started doing beadwork 20 years ago, first learning how to create on a loom and then teaching herself beaded embroidery. Her beaded creations even helped pay her rent when she was a graduate student at the University of New Mexico. Morseau is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University and an 1855 Professor of Great Lakes Anishinaabe Knowledge, Spiritualities, and Cultural Practices at MSU.

A collage of four portraits. Top left: A woman with long dark hair, glasses, and a denim jacket smiles outdoors in front of greenery. Top right: A woman with long dark hair and a white blazer smiles in a wooded area with autumn leaves. Bottom left: A woman with long light brown hair and a white shirt smiles indoors against a neutral background. Bottom right: A woman with short hair and hoop earrings stands in front of colorful artwork in a gallery setting, wearing a black polka-dot top.

African American and African Studies / Alumni / Arts MSU / Faculty / Faculty / Linguistics / News / Religious Studies / Research / Scholarship / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

First MSU Faculty and Alum Selected for Artists-in-Residence Program at W.K. Kellogg Biological Station

May 28, 2025

Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters will be well represented this year among the Farmscapes to Forests: Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research Artists-in-Residence Program. The 2025 artists-in-residence will include an assistant professor, post-doctoral research associate, and recent graduate, all from MSU's College of Arts & Letters. They will be joined by an artist from New York to…

A lively outdoor theater scene where two performers lead a group of children in interactive movements. The crowd includes families and children, many of whom are mimicking the performers' arm movements. The setting is sunny, with trees, a campus building, and stage lighting in the background.

Arts MSU / News / Student / Student / Theatre / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

Summer Circle Theatre Returns June 5-22 for 2025 Season

May 19, 2025

Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre is preparing for the 2025 Summer Circle Theatre (SCT) season, which runs June 5-22 and will feature three productions along with pre- and post-show performances, including lively cabarets and improv. This is the 63rd year Summer Circle Theatre is offering free outdoor performances for the public to enjoy. The 2024 Summer Circle Theatre performance…

A mixed-media sculpture in the shape of a house, with the façade covered in a collage of vintage photographs, illustrations, and found images

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Work of Art Education Student Selected for National Juried Exhibition

May 13, 2025

From a young age, Elise Shulick-Richards found joy and inspiration in art. Now as a senior Art Education major at Michigan State University, her work appears in the 2025 College Invitational Exhibition, a national juried exhibition that runs through Sunday, May 25, at the Indy Art Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.The 2025 College Invitational Exhibition is where student art “meets the…