Arts News

Greek mythology gets a thoroughly modern makeover when UGA Presents brings the U.S. premiere of “Unmythable,” a production of the English theatre company Out of Chaos, to the Morton Theatre for performances Oct. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m.

UGA Theatre opens its season with “Constellations,” written by Nick Payne. Directed by Katie Chambers, a University of Georgia alumna and associate artistic director of Aurora Theatre, “Constellations” explores love, choice and the infinite possibilities contained within a single moment.

UGA Presents welcomes the Brentano String Quartet to Ramsey Concert Hall on Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. for an afternoon of music by Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The quartet’s first appearance at the University of Georgia in more than 20 years will explore works shaped by themes of tragedy, lamentation and mourning.

Since 2021, the BMW Mean Machine has been a staple of game days in Athens. This year, students in the Layton Design Studio at Lamar Dodd School of Art were tasked with designing the vehicle, which will be showcased throughout Athens and at UGA home football games during the 2026 season.

UGA Presents welcomes Tony Award-winning Broadway star Kelli O’Hara to Hodgson Concert Hall on Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. One of Broadway’s most celebrated leading ladies, O’Hara brings her luminous voice and distinctive artistry to an evening of Great American Songbook classics and Broadway favorites.

A National Endowment for the Humanities grant supports a three-year project at the University of Georgia entitled “Many Eyes on the Road to Revolution in Colonial Georgia,” which focuses on the state’s early history from 1732 to 1798.

Thanks to a crowd-funded University of Georgia Libraries project to restore the 1986 documentary “Athens, GA: Inside/Out,” the film about Athens’ music scene during the heyday of bands like R.E.M. and The B-52s will appear more vibrant at two free community screenings on Thursday, Sept. 24 at Ciné. 

The eight-month Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ 2026-2027 fine and performing arts season, which brings together the creative talents of faculty and students representing the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, department of dance and department of theatre and film, offers dozens of free exhibitions, lectures and concerts.

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and the UGA Performing Arts Center will welcome the world-renowned Beninese musician Angélique Kidjo to UGA on Sept. 8-10 as the Willson Center’s annual Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding. Kidjo’s residency will culminate in a UGA Presents performance at the Performing Arts Center on September 10.

Behind-the-scenes stories of Hollywood celebrities will be on display at the UGA Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries through an exhibition of the life and work of photographer Nancy Ellison. In the display, Ellison’s stories come to life through her portraits and scenes from movie sets featuring legendary actors including Harrison Ford.

Margaret Morrison was the first artist featured in the UGA Performing Arts Center’s Lobby Gallery in 2024. She returns with “Antiques,” a selection of four colorful, outsized canvases depicting displays from Italian antique markets. The exhibition runs through early January with an opening reception at 5 p.m. on Aug. 27.

The Georgia Museum of Art will present “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” this fall from Aug. 8 to Jan. 3, 2027. The first major retrospective exhibition of the work of the acclaimed 19th-century Black and Indigenous sculptor presents approximately 30 sculptures by Lewis from public and private collections across the United States and abroad.

Season 31 opens a door with an invitation to discover, to connect, and to experience the unique joy that comes from gathering together. From classical superstars to bluegrass legends and Broadway vocalists to jazz innovators, we’re shining a spotlight on the world’s greatest musicians, dancers, and theatre-makers.

Through the weeklong Gretsch Musician Leadership Academy, housed within UGA Summer Music Camps at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, high school students explore not only their musical talents but also their capacity to lead, connect and serve. This inaugural year of the academy — fully funded by the Gretsch Foundation — brings together students from across Georgia.

All of UGA is a stage for the faculty and students in the Department of Dance.

Experience an unforgettable evening with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as they bring the magical music of the big screen to life. This dynamic program features iconic music from beloved films including James Bond, “Mission: Impossible,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” and more.

Season 31 opens a door with an invitation to discover, to connect, and to experience the unique joy that comes from gathering together.

Legendary bluegrass group  The Del McCoury Band will appear on May 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall as part of the UGA Presents 30th anniversary season.

UGA Presents will host the return of the internationally acclaimed Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on April 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall. Their program, “Quintet Revelations,” spans centuries and styles.

UGA Presents welcomes the return of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to Hodgson Concert Hall on May 3 at 3 p.m. Conducted by Robert Spano, the performance will feature acclaimed pianist  Stephen Hough and Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor.

Tamir Kalifa has been named the recipient of the 2026 McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage, awarded by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Kalifa, who is currently based in Berlin, is a visual journalist, writer and musician with 15 years of global experience.

UGA Presents continues its 2025-26 season with Ballets Jazz Montréal performing “Dance Me: The Music of Leonard Cohen” on April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at The Classic Center Theatre. “Dance Me: The Music of Leonard Cohen” is an evocative full-length contemporary dance work inspired by the life and legacy of Montréal poet, artist and songwriter Leonard Cohen.

As part of its 30th anniversary season, UGA Presents will host acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens on April 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Hodgson Concert Hall. A two-time Grammy Award winner and Pulitzer Prize recipient, Giddens has built a singular and influential career by expanding the possibilities of folk music.

University of Georgia poet and scholar Ed Pavlić was named a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow, a prestigious honor for professionals working across the arts, humanities and sciences. Pavlić is a Distinguished Research Professor of English and African American Studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Twelve­ University of Georgia faculty members will reimagine historical pieces into active-learning opportunities for students as part of UGA’s Special Collections Faculty Teaching Fellows program, now in its 11th year on campus.

A newly signed read-and-publish agreement with publisher Taylor & Francis brings the list of open access publishing opportunities at UGA to more than 9,000 journal titles across 14 scholarly publishers.

UGA Presents hosts the Athens debut of Grammy-winning jazz singer and composer Cécile McLorin Salvant at Hodgson Concert Hall on April 17 at 7:30 p.m. The concert, part of the UGA Presents 30th anniversary season, is supported by Sally Haushalter.

UGA Presents continues its 30th anniversary season with internationally acclaimed organist Anna Lapwood on April 19 at 7 p.m.  at  Athens First United Methodist Church.

UGA faculty are invited to apply for seed grants that can fund humanities research projects that engage with the tools and resources available through the UGA Special Collections Libraries or Creative Engagement Wing at the Miller Learning Center. The UGA Libraries’ Fairchild-Holcomb Awards for Innovation in the Humanities will fund two awards up to $5,000 each.

Johanna Royo is passionate about music and expanding self-concepts through music instruction. As the music education program coordinator in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ Hugh Hodgson School of Music, she oversees the undergraduate, master’s level and doctoral music education programs.

The internationally acclaimed string quartet ensemble returns to Athens on April 10 at 7:30 p.m. for a performance in Ramsey Concert Hall. The concert, part of the 30th anniversary UGA Presents season, is supported by the late Richard C. Owens.

UGA Presents will host internationally acclaimed conductor and early music pioneer Jordi Savall with his renowned ensembles Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya on April 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hodgson Concert Hall.

In this fast-moving and irreverent adaptation of Austen’s beloved novel “Sense and Sensibility,” the Dashwood sisters navigate love, heartbreak and the rigid expectations of Regency-era society after their family fortune is lost. Performances will be held in the Fine Arts Theatre on April 10-11 and 15-18 at 8 p.m. and April 12 and 19 at 2 p.m.

UGA Presents will welcome internationally celebrated Scottish folk group Breabach back to Athens for a performance on April 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hodgson Concert Hall. Known for their vibrant fusion of traditional Highland and Island Gaelic music with contemporary influences, Breabach has spent two decades redefining the sound of modern Scottish folk.

UGA Presents welcomes the internationally acclaimed Tord Gustavsen Trio to Ramsey Concert Hall on March 27 at 7:30 p.m. Known for its deeply expressive and meditative approach to jazz, the trio brings together Norwegian pianist and composer Tord Gustavsen, double bassist Steinar Raknes and drummer Jarle Vespestad.

UGA Presents welcomes pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason back to Hodgson Concert Hall for a solo recital March 19 at 7:30 p.m. Known for her poetic insight, technical command and adventurous programming, Kanneh-Mason brings a radiant and compelling program that spans beloved masterworks and vibrant contemporary music.

The University of Georgia will present its fourth annual Humanities Festival from March 16 to April 2. The three-week festival will feature public lectures, conversations, readings and other events including an opening celebration honoring recent accomplishments by the humanities community at UGA.

Scientific illustration merges creativity with precision to convey complex information accurately. UGA is one of fewer than 20 institutions worldwide to offer a bachelor’s degree in this important specialty.

UGA Presents continues its 30th anniversary with a stirring choral concert by the internationally celebrated British ensemble Tenebrae. The performance of “A Prayer for Deliverance” takes place March 15 at 7 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. It follows a free pre-performance talk by Theresa Chafin in Ramsey Concert Hall from 6:15-6:45 p.m.

James Brown’s eel skin boots have been replaced by Little Richard’s iconic silver lamé cape in a rotating display of Georgia musical greats curated by the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries. The change comes as part of an annual rotation at the Georgia Music Collections exhibit at Akins Ford Arena, part of the Classic Center in Athens, which opened last year.

UGA Presents welcomes the acclaimed Sphinx Virtuosi to Ramsey Concert Hall on Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m., joined by internationally celebrated violinist Randall Goosby.

UGA Presents announces extraordinary performances by the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. This special program, titled “Duke in Africa,” brings one of the most esteemed ensembles in jazz to the University of Georgia campus.

UGA Presents welcomes internationally celebrated pianist Haochen Zhang to the University of Georgia Performing Arts Center for a solo recital on Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall.

UGA Presents is proud to present Drum Tao, a spectacular fusion of traditional Japanese drumming, contemporary performance and athletic theatricality, on Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall at the University of Georgia Performing Arts Center.

The company will present William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m., followed by “Great Expectations,” adapted by Nikki Massoud from the novel by Charles Dickens, on Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. at UGA’s Fine Arts Theatre.

The exhibit, entitled “Fashioning the Classic Bride: The Life and Career of Anne Barge,” illustrates the story of Anne Barge Clegg, a UGA alumna whose childhood sketches would later lead to New York fashion runways and international wedding markets.

30 years after the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, a new exhibit at the University of Georgia Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries looks back on the formative moment in Georgia history and the marathon of preparations leading up to the opening ceremony that would secure the city’s future.

A Hartwell community theater landed a $500K Fox Theatre grant with UGA’s help. The community theater is using the funds to repair structural issues, upgrade the HVAC system and install new seating and awnings at the venue.

Carol Van Sant began creating art as a child then continued as a student, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting and a second BFA in studio arts from the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Now she is the graphics supervisor at UGA’s Sign Shop.

UGA Presents invites the community to a special film screening of  “Naqoyqatsi ” on Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Ciné (234 W. Hancock Avenue, Athens). “Naqoyqatsi” (2002), with an evocative score by Philip Glass featuring cello soloist Yo-Yo Ma, is the powerful third and final installment in the acclaimed “Qatsi” trilogy directed by Godfrey Reggio.

UGA Presents welcomes the acclaimed Finnish band Frigg to Athens for a high-energy concert on Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Frigg brings its unmistakable blend of Nordic folk traditions and global roots influences to the stage.

A new exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art will bring together poetry, astronomy, science and visual art. “We, Too, Are Made of Wonders,” on view from Jan. 24 to June 28, 2026, investigates humanity’s collective interest with the cosmos.

UGA Presents welcomes internationally acclaimed pianist  Leif Ove Andsnes  to Hodgson Concert Hall  for the first time Wednesday, January 21 at 7:30 p.m. for an evening that showcases the expressive depth, intellectual rigor, and poetic imagination of the solo piano repertoire.