Author: Theresa Mott

Ceramic artist Brenda Lichman, the Ulrich Museum of Art’s associate director of education and executive director of Empty Bowls Wichita, will share the story of this community-driven project that uses the ceramic arts in collaboration with local chefs to fight food insecurity in Wichita starting at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 in the Dr. Sam & Jacque Kouri Collection Study Center in the Ulrich. Refreshments will be served at 10 a.m.

Representatives from HumanKind Ministries and The Pando Initiative — the organizations who will benefit from this year’s Empty Bowls Wichita fundraiser — will also speak. Lichman will create a bowl live, reminding participants that every handmade bowl represents a step toward a more nourished and connected community.

The Ulrich Museum of Art is excited to serve as community partner for two screenings of “Out of the Picture” at the Tallgrass Film Festival at 12:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 at the Tallgrass Film Center at The Lux and at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 at Boulevard Old Town. The documentary film takes viewers inside the lives of some of the most relevant writers on art today, thinkers who are making sense of a period of unprecedented change to art and media.

For more than a decade, the filmmakers turned their cameras on critics navigating these rapidly changing landscapes, including Carolina Miranda, formerly of the Los Angeles Times; Hrag Vartanian, of Hyperallergic; and Jeneé Osterheldt of The Boston Globe. “Out of the Picture” is poised to prompt a conversation about the nature of art, modern life and how meaning gets made in the 21st century.

Save 30% on up to two tickets with discount code “community.” Learn more and buy tickets in advance.

Help fight hunger at Empty Bowls Wichita’s 2025 Chili Cook-Off fundraiser with the Ulrich Museum of Art from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 in Woolsey Hall.

In exchange for your $35 donation, choose a bowl to keep from hundreds of handmade ceramic vessels, then sample chili and soups donated by chili lovers and local celebrity chefs. All proceeds benefit Humankind Ministries, Pando Initiative via ICT Community Fridges, and WSU Shocker Locker Project.

Tickets are available at the door or in advance at emptybowlswichita.org. The price is $35 for general admission and $15 for student admission. Kids five and younger get in at no charge and receive a free kid’s bowl.

A $100 VIP ticket is new this year, and includes early entry at 10:30 a.m., beverages, first pick of bowls and reserved seating on the second floor where they can mingle with other VIPs and sponsors.

The Department of Women’s, Ethnicity and Intersectional Studies has transitioned into a program housed in the Department of English. To celebrate this new partnership, the annual lecture series, Words by Women, will focus on Midwestern women writers.

Traci Brimhall is a university distinguished professor of creative writing and narrative medicine at Kansas State University, and the 2025 Poet-in-Residence at the Guggenheim Museum. She is the author of five poetry collections including “Love Prodigal.” Her nonfiction debut, “The Grief Artist,” will be published in 2026.

Join a reception at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7 in the Ulrich Museum of Art lobby, followed by the program at 6 p.m. in the Dr. Sam and Jacque Kouri Collection Study Center. Everyone is welcome at the free event.

Writing Now Reading Now | Words by Women is presented by Fairmount College of Liberal Arts, Watermark Books & Cafe, the English department and the Ulrich Museum.

A limited number of spaces are still available for the community Scrollathon Oct. 2 at the Ulrich Museum of Art. Members of the Wichita State community are invited to participate in this national art initiative, hosted by the artists.

Artists Steven and William Ladd, along with community members across the United States, are creating the National Scrollathon, part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

More than 250,000 participants, representing all 50 states and territories, will reveal the American story in all its beautiful complexity, as Americans from all social, ethnic and economic backgrounds take part. The Ulrich is representing Kansas in this project.

During a Scrollathon, each participant creates two fabric scrolls — one to keep as a personalized memento stored in a souvenir tin, and the other to contribute to a large-scale collaborative artwork.

Choose one of four sessions, starting at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. The event is free but each session is limited to 25 participants, so registration is required. Sign up today.

When complete, more than 56 large-scale textile artworks will be displayed (along with photographic portraits of thousands who helped to create them) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 2026.

The WSU Department of Women’s, Ethnicity and Intersectional Studies transitioned into a program housed in the Department of English. To celebrate this new partnership, the annual lecture series, Words by Women, will focus on Midwestern women writers and will be co-presented by Writing Now Reading Now.

Karen Lee Boren writes fiction and non-fiction and earned a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin and an MFA from Wichita State. She will be reading from her new book, which published Sept. 9. Join the reading starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23 at the Ulrich Museum of Art, and stop by starting at 5:30 p.m. for the reception. Everyone is welcome at the free event.

Writing Now Reading Now | Words by Women is presented by Fairmount College of Liberal Arts, Watermark Books & Cafe, the Department of English and the Ulrich Museum of Art.

Update: This event has reached capacity.

Select one of two sessions — 1-2:15 p.m. or 2:30-3:45 p.m. — Saturday, Sept. 13 and try your hand at wheel-throwing, hand-building or painting a ceramic bowl, in 106/107 Henrion Hall.

The bowl you make will be donated to the Empty Bowls Chili Cook-off fundraiser to fight hunger in Wichita, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 18. No experience is needed and the event is free, but space is limited, so registration is required.

In this talk sponsored by the Ulrich Museum, Dr. Emmanuel Ortega, from the University of Illinois-Chicago, will provide an art historical overview of artist Justin Favela’s career at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12 in 210 McKnight Art Center, highlighting the key moments that led to the creation of the installation currently on display: “Everything Must Go! Justin Favela’s Close Out, Blow Out, Re-Grand Opening.”

As Favela’s longtime friend and collaborator, Ortega brings a deep understanding of the artist’s work and offers unique insights into the hidden layers of meaning within the artist’s paper-based sculptures and installations. Everyone is welcome.

Meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4 at the Ulrich Museum of Art to mingle with fellow art enthusiasts for art-making activities and tours of exhibitions “Abhidnya Ghuge: I See, I See, I See,” “Everything Must Go! Justin Favela’s Close Out, Blow Out, re-Grand Opening” and “The Ulrich Co-Lab: Getting Personal.”

Afterward, participants will continue the art discussion from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Kirby’s, 3227 E. 17th St. N, with social time, a convivial beverage and a gyro or pizza if you’re so inclined. Must be 21+ to attend. No admission charge. Drinks and food are on participants.

Help the Ulrich Museum of Art kick off the final exhibitions of its two-year, 50th anniversary celebration: installations by Justin Favela and Abhidnya Ghuge, and The Ulrich Co-Lab: Getting Personal, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28.

Enjoy refreshments and wine, bubbly, beer or a specialty cocktail. Experience mehndi (henna tattooing), dance to the sounds of DJ Ashley, see the Ulrich Student Advisory Board’s first pop-up exhibition, check out unique and colorful piñatas, visit the UCreate maker space and capture a memory in our photobooth. Everyone is welcome to this free event.