Arts Division

In their new dance film, professors Rachel Lincoln and Juliet McMains highlight dancers (including Lincoln) leaping along an exterior wall of Meany Hall, 30 feet in the air. 

Come curious. Leave inspired. The UW offers an exciting lineup of in-person and online events. From thought-provoking art and music to conversations on culture, history, and science, the UW community invites you to explore, learn, and connect across disciplines throughout the University. And you don’t have to wait until November: Take a look at everything still happening in October. Go directly to the week you’d like to view: Week 1: November 2 – 8 Week 2: November 9 – 15...

Across campus, first-year students beginning their college art classes face new and familiar scenes: the scratching of charcoal against thick, white paper; the tap-tap of dance shoes taking flight; and images flickering across a projector screen. College introduces plenty of unfamiliar routines, from finding classrooms to deciding how to spend free time. For some first-year students, though, the transition brings a chance to return to the familiar process of creating art. 

A new University of Washington study shows that plunge-diving birds such as gannets and boobies have unique morphological adaptations that allow them to survive high speed, headfirst impact.

When walking through a gallery, most viewers are drawn towards the walls.The new exhibition at The Jacob Lawrence Gallery, however, defies the typical arrangements. While the walls hold placards with information about the art, audiences are encouraged to inspect a piece from every angle, move around, listen, and even touch. “I will carry you over on my back,” the 2026 MFA cohort’s fall show, doesn’t use traditional means to convey itself to viewers, yet it leaves an impact all the same. 

Meany Center for the Performing Arts kicked off its 2026-27 season in collaboration with the Consulate General of India in Seattle with an Oct. 2 performance from three-time Grammy winner and Padma Shree Awardee Ricky Kej. 

The beloved raccoon, Jimothy, won over the hearts of Seattle residents and turned into a local celebrity featured in all aspects of city life, from Mariners games to street art. But what is the condition that captured our attention and hearts? Chris Law, an evolutionary biologist in the University of Washington biology department who studies mammals, previously spoke about Jimothy at the Burke Museum.

Come curious. Leave inspired. The UW offers an exciting lineup of in-person and online events. From thought-provoking art and music to conversations on culture, history, and science, the UW community invites you to explore, learn, and connect across disciplines throughout the University. Sign up to receive a monthly notice when the ArtSci Roundup has been published. Go directly to the week you’d like to view: Week 1: September 28 – October 4 Week 2: October 5 – 11 Week 3:...

A UW-led research team has discovered the best-preserved fossil feathers from the Mesozoic era in fossilized dinosaur poop. Some of these feathers have features that look like modern birds feathers. This finding can help researchers better understand why and how some birds survived the catastrophic event 66 million years ago that killed 75% of life on the planet.

The 2026 Gates Volunteer Service Award goes to Jodi Green and Mike Halperin, lifelong connectors and learners who champion the UW as a force for good.

Rachael Lincoln doesn’t just dance on stages. She dances on walls, floats above the ground and teaches her students to rethink their relationship with gravity.

Dominic Muren, UW teaching professor of design, and Adrienne Russell, UW professor of communication, examine environmental problems from a perspective beyond the hard sciences. They spoke to UW News about what todays energy crises reveal about contemporary societies dependence on fossil fuels and how we can create a solar-powered system.

Elias Plaster, Zahra Hassan and Leo Freedman are three graduates from the class of 2026 who have been honored for their contributions to the UW.

After decades of refining her own artistic voice while navigating ever-shifting cultural, economic and aesthetic tides, Valerie Curtis-Newton is embracing her role as an elder states-artist, retiring from her UW role and looking toward the future.

In a recent School of Drama production about the transition from life to death, actors swapped roles nightly, creating a different experience with each performance.