Felwine Sarr, Anne-Marie Bryan Distinguished Professor of Romance Studies at Duke, has been described in various biographies as a public intellectual, humanist, philosopher, economist, musician, playwright and poet. His face and his distinguished work will soon become more familiar to the community with the production of two of his plays by Duke Performances.

After nearly two years of virtual performances, live theater has made its long-awaited return to both Broadway and Duke’s campus. Samantha Streit ‘22, who was part of the cast of Duke Theater Studies’ Fall Mainstage Show Golem, interviews Duke alumni and faculty about their thoughts on producing theater during the pandemic and what the future holds for live performances.

Professor of music Scott Lindroth, whose new work ”T120” will premiere this Saturday, Oct 9 in Baldwin Auditorium, shares his thoughts on music-making during the pandemic and the long-awaited return to live, in-person performances. “I think it's heightened emotions for all of us in the performing arts to be able to be back on stage again, realizing how special that ritual is,” he shares.

A Bass Connections team has created an art installation on view in the lobby of the Rubenstein Arts Center. “This project is emblematic of the integrative and synthetic thinking that society needs to tackle the wicked challenges of climate change and sea level,” says Betsy Albright, assistant professor at the Nicholas School.

A new book co-edited by Miguel Rojas Sotelo, adjunct professor and event coordinator at the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies at Duke, is the first to put Sergio Sánchez Santamaría in context. On March 24, a panel conversation featuring the artist, celebrates the first edition release.

New books by Richard Powell and Tom Rankin are available at independent Durham businesses—just in case you're beginning to think about holiday shopping.

Bill Fick shares his recent political prints, which you might also spot in and around Durham. Fick is assistant director of visual and studio arts for the Rubenstein Arts Center and lecturing fellow in the Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies.

Beverly McIver was asked to participate in political public art project led by People for the American Way, and it sparked a series of directly political paintings. McIver is Professor of the Practice in Duke's Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies.

"Dance reminds you and teaches you the infinite nuances of life.  Excitement and joy in life is not limited to the big bangs, the major earthquakes; it is also the light brush of grief or the gentle awareness of beauty.  Dance can teach, or reteach, us what that means," says Barbara Dickinson, Emerita Dance Faculty.

Bruzelius, a world-renowned expert on medieval architecture and Duke's Anne Murnick Cogan Professor Emerita of Art and Art History, is among 34 new members this year.

Vice Provost for the Arts Scott Lindroth reflects for the ongoing "Art and Artists Are Essential" series, writing: "One thing that I feel more urgently than ever before is the importance of making your own work. It brings us back to ourselves."

Duke faculty teaching visual arts, music, and theater share how they navigated the move to online teaching. It wasn’t easy. Supplies were mailed, collaborative projects were reinvented. Transformations and solutions discovered this spring have expanded the teaching repertoire—even as we look forward to safely returning to studio and stage.

Sarah Wilbur, assistant professor of the practice of dance, was teaching seminars on collaborative performance and valuing labor in the arts—just as the arts world entered a period of unforeseen challenges.

John Brown, director of the Duke University Jazz Program, says: "Remember that art and artists will still be there for us on the other side when we reach that light. Artists need us just as much as we need them."

Brock Family Visiting Instructor in Studio Arts Stephen Hayes has two new public monument commissions: a marker for the Chapel Hill Nine in Chapel Hill, and a sculpture honoring the Fifth Regiment of the United States Colored Troops in Wilmington, NC—recently featured in The New York Times.

The upcoming Afro-Feminist Performance Routes symposium and the Collegium for African Diasporic Dance highlight the contributions of Black dance, allowing artists, dancers, students, faculty, and the wider Durham community to share in critical inquiry and inspiration.

Duke professor and violist Jonathan Bagg specializes in carefully curated experiences of new and exploratory chamber music. Join him and the Ciompi Quartet on July 9 for the premiere of a new multimedia work in Duke Gardens.

When Pedro Lasch's massive sculptural project for Mexico City's main square hit a dead end, he thought that was the end of the story. Twenty years later, Lasch used the Ruby makerspace to create a smaller architectural model of what he once envisioned for that project. Read on to learn his take on this experience and to hear his thoughts on the arts at Duke.

Professor Beverly McIver’s introductory painting class took on a special commission this spring for Durham's Cucciolo restaurant.

A new music department ensemble opens the vast world of Chinese music to the Duke community. “We mix both Western and Eastern music together,” explains Elizabeth Zhang (Class of 2022). Discover the story behind the music before their performance on Sun, Mar 31.

Chuck Catotti retires from Duke University this week after a year as director of the Rubenstein Arts Center and after 33 years in theater and box office management for venues across campus.

Meet Durham-born artist and Duke Visiting Instructor Stephen Hayes in this "People of Duke Arts" interview.  "My number one goal is to wow my audience and to have meaning behind it—to have people relate to my work or even just start a conversation," explains Hayes.

Nimmi Ramanujam once envisioned life as a musician but found her purpose in engineering.

As a young man, Sönke Johnsen was an avid photographer who drew and painted, danced like crazy, and did some writing and set design on the side. Then he found that his true artistic calling—biology.

Anthropologist+Dancer Anne-Maria Makhulu debuts our Arts+ series on faculty who began their careers—and foundational training—in the arts.

Students in a Theater Studies production class work with Torry Bend to adapt a beautiful but tainted masterpiece for the puppet stage.

Deborah Rutter, president of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was recently a special guest speaker for a new Duke Arts course: Introduction to Performing Arts Management and Entrepreneurship.

Some days he’s an artist who teaches and some days he’s a teacher who makes art, but either way, Professor Jeff Storer thinks it is a happy advantage that he can be both—for him and his students.