Category: Fine Arts

Take a spooky art tour and mingle with fellow art enthusiasts for art-making activities from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30 at the Ulrich Ulrich Museum of Art. Afterward, the art discussion continues at Kirby’s, 3227 E. 17th, with social time, a convivial beverage and a gyro or pizza if you’re so inclined. Dress up and compete in the costume contest and take a swing at pumpkin pinatas. Must be 21+ to attend this event.

Peek beyond the veil at the pop-up exhibition on view at the Ulrich Museum or Art through Saturday, Nov. 1, featuring works from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Dr. Sam & Jacque Kouri Collection Study Center.

Especially for the Halloween season, Taryn Trapani, Ulrich registrar, selected prints, paintings and photographs that celebrate the moody, the mysterious and the allure of the unknown. Ghost sightings are possible, and costumes are encouraged. Everyone is welcome, and admission is free.

Wichita State University Opera Theater will present its annual “Scenes and Songs” program at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 in Wiedemann Hall. The exciting evening features the students in unique staging of opera classics as well as lesser known works.

Selections will be performed from “The Tenderland,” “Mefistofeles,” “The Rake’s Progress,” Bernstein’s “Mass,” “Trouble in Tahiti,” “A Little Night Music” and “Die Zauberflöte.” WSU Opera Theater is under the direction of Alan Held, professor, with assistance from Dr. Hilary Taylor, assistant professor of voice. Bridget Hille is the pianist.

Tickets can be purchased through the Fine Arts Box Office online or by calling 316-978-3233. Students receive one complimentary ticket at no additional charge with their Shocker ID, thanks to the Student Government Association. Other discounts apply.

Internationally acclaimed organist David Briggs, Artist-in-Residence at New York City’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21 in Wiedemann Hall as part of the Rie Bloomfield Organ Series.

Briggs’ program highlights his virtuosity and imagination, featuring works by Bach, Ravel, Dupré, Vierne and Dukas, along with a live improvisation to Charlie Chaplin’s 1917 silent film “The Immigrant.” Following intermission, audience members are invited to stay for a conversation with the artist, offering insight into his creative process and performance approach.

Briggs’ artistry has earned praise from The New York Times, which called him “one of our finest organists.”

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office. WSU students receive admission at no additional charge with a Shocker ID, thanks to the Student Government Association.

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.

The Wichita State Symphony Orchestra welcomes guest artist Jeremy Kittel, violin, for a concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 in Miller Concert Hall. The orchestra will join Kittel in performing several of his original compositions along with “Ashokan Farewell,” the moving theme from PBS’s “The Civil War.”

Kittel is a Grammy-nominated violinist, fiddler and composer whose work crosses genres from folk and jazz to Celtic and classical. His orchestral piece “Stones River,” commissioned by the Orlando Philharmonic, was praised by the “Orlando Sentinel” as “haunting… beautiful… a moving and uniquely American composition.”

An advocate for music education, Kittel regularly leads workshops and masterclasses at Berklee College of Music, Belmont University and programs worldwide.

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office.

Experience the power of community through music at an extraordinary collaborative concert featuring the Wichita Symphony Chorus, Wichita State University Choirs, Butler Community College Chamber Singers and the Wichita Community Children’s Chorus, with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Rarely do so many ensembles share the stage, and the evening promises to be both historic and deeply moving.

At the center is Mozart’s “Coronation Mass,” one of his most joyful and beloved sacred works. Woven between its movements are choral works from diverse cultures, poetry readings from world leaders and traditions, and a newly written meditation for this performance. The program reflects on themes of resilience, diversity and the joy of lifting every voice in song.

This concert is more than a performance — it is a collective act of artistry and hope, affirming the strength of unity and imagination. Join at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28 in First United Methodist Church, 330 N Broadway St. Tickets are $35 at the door, with $10 student tickets also available. Early bird tickets are $30 online now through the Wichita Symphony Box Office.

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.

The sixth annual First Gen All Media Art Exhibit will be on display from Oct. 27 through Nov. 7 in Cadman Art Gallery in the Rhatigan Student Center. First-gen students are invited to submit artwork to the all-media art exhibition.

Come support first-gen Shockers at the reception from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 6 also at the Cadman Art Gallery. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places and honorable mentions.

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.