Come curious. Leave inspired.

For those near and far, we invite you to end the year with us through a range of events, performances, exhibitions, podcasts, and more. As you begin to shape your December plans, don’t miss the inspiring events still to come this November.

In addition,��.

ArtSci On Your Own Time

Henry Art Gallery Exhibitions Closing in January:

Influenced by non-verbal communication, Kim merges graphic and musical notation with American Sign Language. Her compositions uniquely address her experience as a Deaf individual in a hearing-centric society and broader societal influences on whose voices hold sway.

This presentation is the second rotation in a two-part series showcasing new additions to the Henry’s permanent collection. Artists featured in this presentation highlight both locally and globally recognized figures, including Sarah Cain, Fiona Connor, Demian DineYahzi’, Mary Ann Peters, and Carrie Yamaoka, among others.

Spirit House investigates how contemporary artists of Asian descent challenge the boundary between life and death through art. A thematic exploration of the work of thirty-four Asian American and Asian diasporic artists, Spirit House asks the question, what does it mean to speak to ghosts, inhabit haunted spaces, be reincarnated, or enter different dimensions? Inspired by spirit houses, small devotional structures found throughout Thailand that provide shelter for the supernatural, this exhibition considers how art can bridge the gap between this world and the next.

Admission to the Henry is free to all visitors.

Podcast: ��(Jackson School of International Studies)
Launched in 2021 with UW Professor Daniel Bessner and writer Derek Davison, “American Prestige,” the winner of the 2025 Signal Awards “silver” medal, offers an in-depth analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs, and has featured guests such as actor Morgan Spector and HuffPost senior diplomatic correspondent Akbar Shahid Ahmed.

Exhibitions in the Community: (Art + Art History + Design)
Eight students graduated in June 2025 with their Master of Fine Arts degrees and just a few months later, are already making impressive moves in their artistic careers with work being featured at the Tacoma Art Museum, 4Culture, and more!

Podcasts: (����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý Magazine)
From Indigenous Jazz to conversations about how to live with uncertainty and discomfort without disconnecting from our shared humanity, listen to podcasts and radio shows from UW alumni and faculty.

Events Happening in December

December 1 | ��(Music)
Phyllis Byrdwell leads the 100-voice Gospel Choir in songs from the Gospel tradition.

December 1 | (Slavic Languages & Literature)
UW professor, translator, and writer José Alaniz discusses his latest book, Comics of the Anthropocene: Graphic Narrative at the End of Nature, the first full-length monograph to explore how US comics artists have depicted environmental destruction, mass extinctions, and climate change. He will be joined in conversation by fellow artists Megan Kelso, Leonard Rifas, and T Edward Bak.��Free.

December 2 | (Political Science)
The UW Political Science Department welcomes Hayko Bağdat to the stage with UW Professor Asli Cansunar for a discussion on minority rights, freedom of expression and belonging in Turkish politics today. Drawing on personal stories, they’ll explore what it means to speak truth, to live in exile for that truth, and to carry both love and loss for a country from afar. Free.

December 2 | (Art + Art History + Design)
Our question to consider: What is the soundtrack to liberation? This year-long program series hopes to honor our commitment to social justice and to gather our community to think about the work of liberation through shared texts, art, film, music, conversation, and workshops. Unlike your traditional book club all the reading and study happens together, so no need to prepare.

December 3 | ��(Music)
A free lunchtime performance featuring UW School of Music students in the North Allen Library lobby. Presented in partnership with UW Libraries.��Free.

December 4 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Part of Burke’s Free First Thursday series, the museum opens its collections spaces from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. Visitors can explore behind‑the-scenes labs and storage, and speak with researchers, staff, and volunteers about their work.��Free.

December 4 | (Simpson Center for the Humanities)
Over the past quarter-century, the Simpson Center has established itself as an internationally recognized model for leading-edge humanities research. Its work—from scholarly gatherings to fellowship programs to publications—has been transformative for faculty, students, and staff at the ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý. The new faculty director of the Simpson Center, Professor Lynn M. Thomas, invites you to celebrate the impact of the Center’s work and to raise a glass to honor Professor Kathleen Woodward’s legacy of leadership at the Simpson Center.��Free.

Online Option – December 4 | The Office of Public Lectures presents: Healthcare Where All Can Thrive: Advocating For Older LGBTQ Adults with Carey Candrian (Graduate School Public Lectures)
Healthcare can be challenging for anyone—but for older LGBTQ individuals, the barriers are often deeper and more complex. This talk explores how thoughtful, inclusive communication can transform healthcare experiences, making every person feel truly seen, heard, and respected. Free.

December 4 | School of Music Performances
Free

Free

December 5 – 13 | (Drama)
Part farce, part protest, this sharp and timely comedy explores Capitalism and economic survival with wild humor and a lot of heart. Directed by Bradley Wrenn, as part of our Producing Artists Laboratory, They Don’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! brings riotous laughter to a situation that feels all too close to home.

December 7 | ��(Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Join Cantus for a reflection on the meaning and joy of the holiday season with a program that the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune deemed “as joyful a celebration of the season’s spirit as any caroling party you’re likely to attend this year.”

December 7 | (Music)
The ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý Modern Music Ensemble (Cristina Valdés, director) presents diverse and innovative programming from the mid-20th century to the present. Free.

December 8 | ��(Asian Languages & Literature)
In this talk, David Spafford, Associate Professor of Premodern Japanese History at the University of Pennsylvania, takes a closer look at the complexities of sixteenth-century Japan and unpacks why this particular moment in history matters so much — and how the hit Shogun series does (or doesn’t) help us understand it. Free.

December 9 | (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Through a captivating multimedia performance, Feinstein breathes life into iconic songs, blending holiday classics and more. The concert includes a wide-ranging selection of favorites with melodies that promise an unforgettable evening celebrating the magic of the holiday season.

December 11 | (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Dianne Reeves — one of the pre-eminent jazz vocalists in the world today — brings her fresh interpretations of Christmas standards to Meany for a night of holiday magic. Her brilliant virtuosity, improvisational prowess and unique jazz flair are showcased in a set of music from her celebrated album, Christmas Time Is Here.

December 18 |

Read the book ahead of time, or join to learn more about the selection. The��December book is The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Polly Olsen, Burke Museum Tribal Liaison, will discuss The Serviceberry and illustrate the book’s core concept, the gift economy. After the conversation, explore the museum on your own and see examples of lessons from The Serviceberry in the galleries.

December 18 – 20 | (Dance)
From improvisation and playful experiments, to a soft collision with movement, each work has a distinct choreographic style. The evening asks us to consider different modes of relation: between artists, across decades, in conversation with lineage, and with embodied inquiry. In collaboration with UW Associate Professor Rachael Lincoln.

December 31 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Enjoy fossilized fun at five drop-in stations designed for young learners ages 3–8. Hold fossils and casts at the touch table, make scientific discoveries in the dig pit, create a craft to take home, and collect a new stamp each month in your Fossil Finders Passport.

ArtSci Roundup goes monthly!

The ArtSci Roundup is your guide to connecting with the UW—whether in person, on campus, or on your couch.

Previously shared on a quarterly basis, those who sign up for the Roundup email will receive them monthly, delivering timely updates and engaging content wherever you are. Check the roundup regularly, as events are added throughout the month. Make sure to check out the ArtSci On Your Own Time section for everything from podcasts to videos to exhibitions that can be enjoyed when it works for you!

In addition, if you like the ArtSci Roundup, sign up to receive a monthly notice when it’s been published.��

Do you have an event that you would like to see featured in the ArtSci Roundup? Connect with Lauren Zondag (zondagld@uw.edu).

Comprised of ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý graduate students, the Chamber Dance Company works to perform, record and archive dance works of artistic and historical significance, particularly those that have rarely or never been seen by Northwest audiences. Since its founding in 1990, the company has primarily performed classical modern dance choreography dating as far back as 1895.

But for this year’s annual performance, the company will exclusively perform contemporary works created within the last 15 years. The choreography incorporates elements from ballet, street styles, classical and contemporary modern dance as well as projected and vocalized commentary –– a new direction with fresh challenges.

“Our repertoire is shifting,” said , associate professor of dance and co-director of the Chamber Dance Company. “Part of that change is questioning and reassessing what makes historic work ‘significant’ and asking who can perform in that work.”

This year’s performance will celebrate a broad sweep of contemporary dance styles. Members of Seattle’s professional dance community will join the company to perform excerpts from Canadian ’s “Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue” and Californian ’s “Stardust.” Additionally, faculty and undergraduate guests from the UW Department of Dance will join company members to stage new works choreographed by second-year UW graduate students and .

“This is definitely a different repertoire than we’ve performed in the past,” said , professor of dance and founding artistic director of the Chamber Dance Company. “I’ve learned a lot along this journey. I’ve learned that this new direction can be liberating; it can free us to be more expansive and inclusive about our repertory and the dancers who perform it.”

The experiences of the current graduate students range from ballet to traditional Chinese dance to commercial dance, or dance created with entertainment or promotional purposes, to modern with an Afro-contemporary influence, meaning it’s based in rhythms from Africa and the diaspora.

Champi, who has an undergraduate degree in cognitive science from Stanford University, will have seven dancers portray the complex patterns and repetition resulting from the number seven as the denominator in “Vulgar Fraction.” “Silent Summer,” by Pray, is a dance theater solo that uses language and movement to portray a future Earth void of birdsong.

“It feels like the impetus for this new direction is largely thinking about who we are welcoming into our MFA program,” Lincoln said. “As dance in academia evolves to embrace artists with backgrounds in more styles, we must expand the Chamber Dance Company’s repertoire. It’s exciting to see.”

The company will also perform three duets from “Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue” by Pite. The choreographer wrote that her dances were inspired “by the shared narratives that live in our bodies – the familiar, repetitive storylines that move across cultures and generations.”

“The dancers are taking some risks that they haven’t been asked to take in other works before,” Wiley said. “The audience needs to perceive the labor and the struggle in the work. Dancers have spent years trying to make the hardest thing look easy. To let go of that, which is to let go of a certain notion of what’s beautiful, has been a performative challenge.”

The program will conclude with a new excerpt from “Stardust,” which redefines the coming-of-age story through the digital age as it follows a Black, gay teenager who is never seen on stage. He is present only through the tweets and text messages he sends.

“The dancers on stage aren’t the character, but they are creating an emotional landscape for him to live in,” Lincoln said. “As a viewer of this piece, I think we go back and forth between seeing language that is evocative in one way and abstract movement that is evocative in a completely different way. There is something poignant and arresting in the way the two intersect – even if it’s hard to make sense of or challenging to digest.”

“Stardust” depicts bullying, and it contains projected text that includes racial and homophobic slurs and references to physical violence and explicit sexuality.

“I appreciated hearing David’s response to the reactions of past audiences, which ranged from moved and in love to offended,” Lincoln said. “He’s just like, ‘That’s all OK. We made this thing and then people receive it. However they receive it, that’s OK with me.’

“I love seeing this cast on stage. Knowing who would be in the company this year inspired us to ask David for the piece. It’s what David does. He intentionally puts such a range – of dance styles, race, age and experience – into his company, which allows for multiple perspectives to coexist on stage. I think that can be a profoundly beautiful part of contemporary dance.”

, operations manager for the Department of Dance and assistant to the director for the Chamber Dance Company, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in dance in 2020. She started noticing a change in the department’s focus while she was still at the UW. Now, she’s seeing the results.

“It feels exciting and important where the company is going,” Daugherty said. “It feels like it’s shifting. We’re asking, ‘What is the work we want to be restaging?’ I feel like this concert embodies such an important direction that even Seattle dance is going in. We’re also helping guide the audience that has been supporting the company for so many years into a new era.”

For more information, contact Wiley at hcw@uw.edu and Lincoln at rlincoln@uw.edu.

Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to��.��

Frontiers of Physics Lecture:��Gravity: The Biggest Open Question in Fundamental Physics

October 20, 7:30 – 9:00 PM |

The Frontiers of Physics Lecture Series brings��renowned scientists to the UW to offer free lectures on exciting advances in physics with the goal of fostering an appreciation of science and technology in our community.

On October 20th, the Department of Physics is��thrilled to welcome UW Breakthrough Prize 2021 winners��Eric Adelberger, Jens Gundlach, and��Blayne Heckel. These physicists will talk about their revolutionary research to further our understanding of the fundamental force of gravity.

Free |

Working, Together: The Cost of Free Shipping: Amazon in the Global Economy

October 20, 6:00 – 7:30 PM��|

Chamber Dance Company:��30th Anniversary Season

October 21 – 24 |

Described as a “pure, buoyant delight for audiences” by the��Seattle Times, the Chamber Dance Company��celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in October 2021. This year’s concert investigates the empathy, intimacy and confusion that comprise human relationships. The program includes choreography by Camille A. Brown (2010), Joe Goode (2004), Zvi Gotheiner (1992), Shapiro & Smith (1999) and Doug Varone (1988).

$10-22 |

“The Hangman”:��On Adolf Eichmann’s Executioner — Screening & Conversation with Director Netalie Braun

Annual President’s Address

October 19, 10:00 – 11:00 AM��| Online

Looking for more?

Check out UWAA’s Stronger Together web page for��more digital engagement opportunities.

Chamber Dance Company

$10 tickets for UW students.

Exhibition: 10 É�ٳܻ��� for Summer

Closing October 13 | Jacob Lawrence Gallery

The Jacob Lawrence Gallery presents an exhibition of work created over the summer months by ten second year MFA students.

Marc-André Hamelin

October 17, 7:30 pm | Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater

Marc-André Hamelin’s unrivaled combination��of musicianship and technique has earned him legendary status as a pianist and accolades for his ability to shine both in the exploration of unfamiliar music as well as beloved classic repertoire. Alex Ross, long-time music critic for��The New Yorker,��counts Mr. Hamelin’s hands “among the wonders of the musical world” when he performs favorites by Chopin alongside lyrical works by Bach, Feinberg, Weissenberg and Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

$10 tickets for UW students when you show your Husky ID in advance at the or on the night of the show at the Box Office at Meany Hall.

Lights up: Dancer Alexandra Bradshaw-Yerby takes the stage with a fierce stare — wary, maybe desperate, as background city noises blare. She suffers loss, even disability as she navigates a fraught urban world with guarded, shuffling, angular movements. And, those eyes.

This dance, called “,” depicts modern homelessness, but is in fact almost 80 years old. Some things don’t change. It’s by choreographer , and was first produced in 1938.

It is one of eight pieces in “,” the 2017 concert by the ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý Department of Dance’s , to be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 to 14, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 15 at Meany Theater.

The Chamber Dance Company, or CDC for short, is known for reviving and archiving significant works from the modern dance canon. Now in its 27^th year under the guidance of founding artistic director , the CDC has become one of Seattle’s most respected dance companies.

“The Body Politic” is an homage to status quo-defying choreographers who used dance to discuss social injustice and gender, economic and racial prejudice. In addition to Gentry’s dark meditation on street life, the company will perform pieces by choreographers , , , , , and .

“Several of the dances in this year’s repertoire are portraits of people marginalized by society,” said Wiley, a longtime UW professor of dance. “Through movement vocabulary, posture, music and acting the dancer provides an intensified lens for observing their situation.”

Personal relationships are here, too, such as in “Arms,” a 1984 duet by Marshall danced precisely and passionately by Lucie Baker and Brandin Steffensen. A man and woman entangle and separate, fall toward and away, reject with impatient shrugs then curl into symbiotic embrace — apart and together again — a difficult relationship; we’ve been there.

In addition to Bradshaw-Yerby, Baker and Steffensen, other company dancers are Alethea Alexander, Adele Nickel and Barbi Powers. All the dancers in the company are pursuing MFA degrees after completing at least eight years of a professional performance career, and most have danced with nationally and internationally acclaimed dance groups. Their biographies can be viewed .

And so if you were to ask how dance can comment on social issues such as injustice, inequality and prejudice, this would be an answer — even though it might sometimes be more comfortable to look away.

“These portraits evoke our sympathy and magnify the injustices,” said Wiley. “They re-set our moral compass with compassion.”

Tickets to “The Body Politic” are $10 to $22, available through the ArtsUW Ticket Office, 1313 NE 41st Street or 206-543-4880, or .

###

For more information about the Chamber Dance Company, contact Wiley at 206-543-7536 or hcw@uw.edu. To learn more about the Department of Dance, email uwdance@uw.edu.

• Read in The Seattle Times.

Two pairs of dancers watch from upstage in a spacious Meany Hall rehearsal room as a third, downstage couple moves in tandem. The woman rises over the man — suspended briefly as if in slow motion — and then the other couples return to fluid movement across the bare stage.

This is a rehearsal for the ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý performance of a piece called “” based on Catalonian folk tales collected and expressed in song by . But it’s also a bit of history — the faithfully exact re-enactment of a dance created by a famous choreographer more than three decades ago and a continent away.

“On the Edge” comprises this work and two other recreated dances — “Cloudless,” originally staged by , and audience favorite “To Have and Hold,” created by the late with .

with pre-performance lectures by Seattle arts writer Sheila Farr.

This attention to detail comes as no surprise to the two dozen invited guests watching the recent rehearsal at the invitation of , founding and continuing artistic director of the Chamber Dance Company, They know this company — begun in 1990, and composed of professional dancers now seeking master’s in fine art degrees from the UW — is well known for meticulous reconstructions of dance works of historical significance.

Dancers plot out dances as a director might stage a play, but while theatrical “blocking” can be a passing thing, the staging of a dance is more of an art. Thus, when “Jardi” is reconstructed, it must be performed as closely to its original staging as possible, music and all.

But were it not for two of the performers, “Jardi Tancat” — which tells the tale of people who work the land and pray for rain — would not be on the Chamber Dance Company bill at all.

The dance was created by famed choreographer in 1983 for the Netherlands Dance Theater. Chamber Dance Company member Pablo Piantino and his wife, Penny Saunders, performed in it when working for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2007, there getting the chance to work with Duato. When Wiley thought of bringing the dance to the UW, they reached out to Duato for permission.

“Nacho was extremely kind,” Piantino said. He not only said yes, “he trusted Penny and me with the huge responsibility of remounting ‘Jardi.'”

And so they began to plan the production. Piantino contacted Jim Vincent, former Hubbard Street artistic director and one of the first dancers to perform the piece. Vincent offered to come to Seattle and coach the troupe.

“I never thought we’d be able to perform it,” Wiley told those gathered for the rehearsal. “Jim’s coaching was phenomenal — it was one of the most amazing coaching sessions in my 24 years of directing.”

Piantino credited not only Duato’s generosity, but Wiley, too, for “relentless efforts” in helping make the piece happen. “She emailed, sometimes in Spanish, with my help — and called, bargained, and did all she could in order that a small university company could get such a great work,” he said.

For her part, Wiley said “Jardi” is among her favorite works in both the ballet and dance repertoires.

“It has been such a gift to work on this dance for three months,” she said. “To get inside of it and figure out how Duato worked his magic. The vocabulary, music, intent and humanity come together to create a deeply moving aesthetic experience. And we have dancers with the maturity, experience and technique to make this dance really sing.”

As the dancers finished their rehearsal performance of “Jardi,” Piantino glanced tentatively to colleagues to see if he should bow, but the audience’s reaction answered the question soon enough — and he bowed, with a shy smile.