Visual and Performing Arts - NMU Events and Announcements

Visual and Performing Arts

Join us for the Art & Writing Awards on the campus of NMU in the Art & Design Building, room 165, on Saturday, March 14, from 2-4 pm.

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Exhibition: February 21 to March 14, 2026

Presented by the nonprofit organization, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the country’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7–12. This year, there were 130 total submissions from Upper Peninsula students. Forty-six creative teens from the Upper Peninsula received regional honors, including Gold Keys, Silver Keys, Honorable Mentions, and American Visions & Voices nominations, from the local Scholastic Awards Affiliate Northern Shores Storywork Writing Project.

The featured visual artists in this year’s exhibition are – Reese Collins, Eleanor Dohrenwend, Cat Ernsberger, Morgyn Hansen, Nynna Jarvi, Brooke Johnson, Hannah Josefsen, Natalie Joyal, Madeline Meilahn, Gabrielle Myers, Arianna Paananen,  Isabelle Recollet, Savanna Rautio, Miles Spaulding,  Lilia Skoglund, Addisyn Sundberg, Esme Ulland-Joy, Lila Witham, and Quinley Wonch

Learn more about Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Visual and Performing Arts

Scholastic Art & Writing Exhibition: February 21 to March 14, 2026

Presented by the nonprofit organization, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the country’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7–12. This year, there were 130 total submissions from Upper Peninsula students. Forty-six creative teens from the Upper Peninsula received regional honors, including Gold Keys, Silver Keys, Honorable Mentions, and American Visions & Voices nominations, from the local Scholastic Awards Affiliate Northern Shores Storywork Writing Project.

The featured visual artists in this year’s exhibition are – Reese Collins, Eleanor Dohrenwend, Cat Ernsberger, Morgyn Hansen, Nynna Jarvi, Brooke Johnson, Hannah Josefsen, Natalie Joyal, Madeline Meilahn, Gabrielle Myers, Arianna Paananen,  Isabelle Recollet, Savanna Rautio, Miles Spaulding,  Lilia Skoglund, Addisyn Sundberg, Esme Ulland-Joy, Lila Witham, and Quinley Wonch

Join us for the Art & Writing Awards on the campus of NMU in the Art & Design Building, room 165, on Saturday, March 14, from 2-4 pm.

Learn more about Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Visual and Performing Arts

The 2025 NMU Jazz Festival will be held on the beautiful campus of Northern Michigan University on Thursday and Friday, March 19-20.  High school and middle school jazz bands from throughout the region will participate in a variety of performances and clinics, and an exciting evening performance will showcase NMU students, faculty, and guest clinicians.

This year’s festival will feature The Westerlies, a New York-based brass quartet comprised of Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon on trombone.  This cutting-edge ensemble is “an arty quartet…mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk” (New York Times). From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues and projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along.

Visual and Performing Arts

The Westerlies, “an arty quartet…mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk” (New York Times) are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon on trombone.

We are very excited to host The Westerlies on the NMU campus as part of a collaboration with the NMU Jazz Festival.  Their Thursday evening Siril Concert will also serve as the opening concert of the 2026 NMU Jazz Festival.  The members of the ensemble will serve as clinicians for visiting high school and middle school bands attending the Festival, and they will also be featured individually as guest soloists with NMU Jazz Ensembles during the Friday evening Jazz Festival Concert!

Please visit The Westerlies' website to learn more about this fantastic ensemble: https://www.westerliesmusic.com/

Visual and Performing Arts

Marquette-area piano students, teachers, parents, and NMU piano majors will present their annual concert of 4-hand and 8-hand piano pieces. All are welcome to attend this free concert starting at 11am, Saturday, February 14, in Reynolds Recital Hall!

Visual and Performing Arts

Join us for a fun and free night of Jazz! This is the first Jazz Concert of the Winter 2026 semester featuring the NMU Jazz Band, NMU Jazz Combo, and the NMU Wildcat Combo. See you in Reynolds Recital Hall at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

Visual and Performing Arts

NMU Music students take turns performing their repertoire throughout the semester! These recitals are open to friends, family, and the community and are a great opportunity for students to practice their performance skills.

Visual and Performing Arts

Join the CO/LAB Dance Company for a unique night of dance! This mixed bill performance features a first act of student and faculty choreography, followed by a second act world premiere contemporary ballet showcasing the music of legendary musician Johnny Cash. Set to some of his most popular tunes, enjoy vignettes illuminating the variations of human relationships and experiences through dance!

Approximate Run Time: 1 hr | 15 min Intermission

Visual and Performing Arts

Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate (January 20 - March 21, 2026) 

Join us on Thursday, January 22, 5 pm – 7 pm – Talk by Curator Katie Knight, followed by the reception.

Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate uses diverse media—sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking, and more—to reflect, engage, and challenge. The artists in the exhibition confront the past and envision a more inclusive future through art. The exhibition was conceived by curator and NMU alum Katie Knight as a gesture of defiance against white supremacy. It began in Montana in 2004 when a former leader of the “Creativity Movement”—one of the most virulent hate groups in the country—turned over 4,000 copies of the group’s “bibles” to the Montana Human Rights Network. In an act of radical creativity and community healing, the Holter Museum of Art invited artists from across the nation to repurpose and transform these volumes into works of beauty, critique, and conversation. More information about the artists and artwork is available on the Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate website.

Visual and Performing Arts

January 20 - March 21, 2026

Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate uses diverse media—sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking, and more—to reflect, engage, and challenge. The artists in the exhibition confront the past and envision a more inclusive future through art. The exhibition was conceived by curator and NMU alum Katie Knight as a gesture of defiance against white supremacy. It began in Montana in 2004 when a former leader of the “Creativity Movement”—one of the most virulent hate groups in the country—turned over 4,000 copies of the group’s “bibles” to the Montana Human Rights Network. In an act of radical creativity and community healing, the Holter Museum of Art invited artists from across the nation to repurpose and transform these volumes into works of beauty, critique, and conversation. More information about the artists and artwork is available on the Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate website.

Monday, January 19, at 1 pm – A tour with Curator Katie Knight

Thursday, January 22, 5 pm – 7 pm – Talk by Curator Katie Knight, followed by the reception.