December 22, 2025
ArtSci Roundup: January
Come curious. Leave inspired.
For those near and far, we invite you to start the year with us through a range of events, performances, exhibitions, podcasts, and more.
In addition, sign up to receive a monthly notice when the ArtSci Roundup has been published.
ArtSci On Your Own Time
Podcast: Frequencies: The Henry’s Audio Companion (Henry Art Gallery)
Frequencies is a creative audio project where a cohort of artists, writers, and community members are invited to contribute sonic responses to the Henry’s exhibitions. The series serves as an aural companion to the work on view and can be experienced either in-gallery or before or after visiting. In lieu of a traditional museum guide in which historical and contextual insights are gleaned, these responses provoke further thought and exploration demonstrating that interpretations of contemporary art can be as varied as the individuals who encounter it.
Book: Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration, by Mark Letteney and Matthew D.C. Larsen (History)
This book examines spaces, practices, and ideologies of incarceration in the ancient Mediterranean basin from 300 BCE to 600 CE. Analyzing a wide range of sources—including legal texts, archaeological findings, documentary evidence, and visual materials—Matthew D. C. Larsen and Mark Letteney argue that prisons were integral to the social, political, and economic fabric of ancient societies. Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration traces a long history of carceral practices, considering ways in which the institution of prison has been fundamentally intertwined with issues of class, ethnicity, gender, and imperialism. By foregrounding the voices and experiences of the imprisoned, Larsen and Letteney demonstrate the extraordinary durability of carceral structures across time and call for a new historical consciousness around contemporary practices of incarceration. Reviewed by The New Yorker.
Dive deeper with Letteney during the January 22 book launch, January 22 author conversation, and February 4 History Lecture Series opening.
Week of January 5
January 7 | First Wednesday Concert Series: Students of the UW School of Music (Music)
A free lunchtime performance featuring UW School of Music students in the North Allen Library lobby. Presented in partnership with UW Libraries. Free.
January 8 | Reforms and Education Policies on Migrant Children in China with Chen Yuanyuan, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (Jackson School of International Studies)
Alongside China’s rapid economic growth and urbanization, the country has witnessed an unprecedented wave of rural-to-urban migration. Educating this large population poses considerable challenges to the nation’s household registration (hukou)–based education system. Addressing the educational needs of migrant children is not only essential for promoting social equity and cohesion, but also carries profound implications for China’s long-term economic development and social progress. Since the central government issued a 2001 directive requiring destination cities to provide public education for migrant children, their access to urban schools has improved substantially, however, reforms related to high school admissions have progressed more slowly. This lecture addresses the data gathering structure created by the author and examines how these policies influence family migration decisions and the educational outcomes of migrant children. Free.
January 8 | Collections Open Doors (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.
Closes January 11 | Spirit House (Henry Art Gallery)
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. Free.
Admission to the Henry is free to all visitors.
Week of January 12
Online – January 12 | Trump in the World 2.0 Winter Lecture Series 2026: The European Partnership in Trade and Security (Jackson School of International Studies)
Presented by Edward Alden, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; John Koenig, U.S. Ambassador (ret.) and UW Lecturer; and Jacqueline Miller, President and CEO of World Affairs Council-Seattle. Trump in the World 2.0 is an online series of talks and discussions featuring guest speakers and faculty exploring global perspectives on a second Trump administration. Free.
UW students: Interested in taking this as a 2-credit/no credit course? Visit MyPlan for complete course details.
Online – January 12 | Futurisms and the African Now: Tech for Development and Democracy (Simpson Center for the Humanities)
Drawing on his new book, Pan-African Futurism, Dr. Reginold Royston will discuss technology and role of Pan-Africanism in the fields of international development, diaspora and politics in Ghana and beyond.
January 13 | Liberation Book Club: Liberation as an Intergenerational Project (School of Art + Art History + Design)
The question to consider during dinner and conversation: How can we bring together emerging, established, and elder leaders in the conversation around liberation? This program is part of the year-long Liberation Book Club series exploring liberation through shared texts, art, film, music, and workshops. Free.
Online option – January 14 | Philosophical Nonviolence and the Democratic Ideal with John Wood Jr. (Public Lectures)
Too often, democracy is narrowly defined by the act of voting, reducing the citizen’s role to mere electoral participation. However, a truly thriving democratic society is one in which full inclusion is built upon a foundation of cultural goodwill between distinct communities. This vision of a beloved community—rooted in the philosophy of nonviolence—was championed by Martin Luther King Jr. It is this philosophy that we must revive to bridge the deep political and cultural divides that threaten American democracy today. Free.
January 15 – 18 | Cascade Song Festival (featuring UW School of Music faculty and students)
In addition to papers by scholars from around the country, the festival features keynote talks and performances by internationally acclaimed musicians and writers. Free.
January 16 | Does Authoritarian International Law Shape Public Preferences? (Political Science)
As a part of the Severyns Ravenholt Seminar in Comparative Politics, this lecture features Jihyeon Bae, Ph.D. Student. Free.
January 17 | Broken Branches: Karim Sulayman, tenor & Sean Shibe, guitar (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Karim Sulayman — lauded for his “velvety tenor and pop-star charisma” (BBC Music Magazine) — joins guitarist Sean Shibe, whose “music-making is masterful, beautiful and convincing in every way” (The Times, UK), for an intimate recital of music ranging from the Middle Ages to the present. This compelling musical journey examines the close cultural and musical ties between East and West, reflecting the artists’ personal experiences with roots in Lebanon and Japan.
Week of January 19
January 22 | Guest Artist Concert: Yarn/Wire (School of Music)
The acclaimed piano–percussion quartet Yarn/Wire performs contemporary works by UW composition students and alumni in an evening of innovative new music.
January 22 – 25 | Grad Lab Concert (Dance)
The inaugural Grad Lab Concert debuts an evening-length work co-created and performed by UW MFA candidates Jake Bone, marco farroni leonardo, Alice Gosti, Jillian Roberts, and Tracey Wong. Through five distinct artistic perspectives, the piece weaves a vibrant tapestry of movement—exploring lineage, experimentation, and care.
Online – January 22 | Augustine the African: author Catherine Conybeare in conversation with Mark Letteney (History)
Catherine Conybeare is the first woman to write a biography of Augustine since Rebecca West. She has received awards and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities, amongst others. She is the Leslie Clark Professor in the Humanities at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania. Free.
Online option – January 22 | ‘Cruisy, Sleepy, Melancholy: Sexual Disorientation in the Films of Tsai Ming-liang’ with Nicholas de Villiers (Jackson School of International Studies)
Professor Nicholas de Villiers of University of North Florida, contends in his book that we need to theorize both queer time and space to understand Taiwan-based director Tsai Ming-liang’s cinematic explorations of feeling melancholy, cruisy, and sleepy. Building on those arguments, this presentation starts with a reading of Tsai’s short film It’s a Dream (2007)—set in a movie theater in Malaysia—as a microcosm of Tsai’s themes and motifs of sleep/dreaming, cruising, nostalgia, and the space of the cinema. It then addresses Tsai’s “post-retirement” (after 2013) films and museum installations, including the queer Teddy award-winning digital feature film Days (Rizi, 2020) shot in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand, and the short film The Night (2021) shot in Hong Kong in 2019. Free.
January 22 | Book Launch: Mark Letteney – Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration (Stroum Center for Jewish Studies)
Mark Letteney will be joined by Stroum Center faculty and history professor Joel Walker and classics professor Sarah Levin-Richardson to discuss the book, unpack what role prisons played in ancient societies and how this history continues today, and answer questions. Free.
January 23 | Leif Ove Andsnes (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Celebrated Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes performs an eclectic solo recital featuring works by Schumann, Janáček, and Kurtág.
January 23 | Bodies and Social Class in Archaic Greek Invective (Classics)
This year’s McDiarmid Lecture features Kirk Ormand (Oberlin College). Free.
January 23 | The Enduring Dilemma of Managing American High-level Nuclear Waste (Political Science)
Presented by Barry Rabe,Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emeritus; Professor Emeritus of Public Policy; Professor Emeritus of Environmental Policy; Professor Emeritus of the Environment; Professor Emeritus of Political Science. Free.
January 25 | Fossil Finders: Mesozoic Monsters (Burke Museum)
Uncover an ancient marine creature in the dig pit, compare your footprint to a giant sauropod, and learn about the mighty animals of the Mesozoic.
Week of January 26
Online – January 26 | Trump in the World 2.0 Winter Lecture Series 2026: Past, Present and Future of Diplomacy (Jackson School of International Studies)
Presented by Roberto Dondisch, Distinguished Fellow Stimson Center; Lecturer, University of Washington and Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. Ambassador (ret.); Visiting Professor, George Washington University. Trump in the World 2.0 is an online series of talks and discussions featuring guest speakers and faculty exploring global perspectives on a second Trump administration. Free.
UW students: Interested in taking this as a 2-credit/no credit course? Visit MyPlan for complete course details.
January 28 | Umbrella Sky – Modern Jewish Worldmaking Through Yiddish Children’s Literature (Stroum Center for Jewish Studies)
Miriam Udel will discuss her new book, Modern Jewish Worldmaking Through Yiddish Children’s Literature. Free.
January 29–31 | Ephrat Asherie Dance with Arturo O’Farrill (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Ephrat Asherie’s choreography remixes street and club dance styles with the live Latin jazz of Grammy‑winner Arturo O’Farrill in Shadow Cities.
January 29–February 8 | The Seagull (School of Drama)
In this new translation of Chekhov’s ”serious comedy of human contradictions”, a group of artists and dreamers meet in the countryside and wrestle with the costs of ambition, unspoken longings, and the harsh realities of artistic pursuits. Set against a backdrop of love, passionate aspirations, and the search for meaning, The Seagull captures the fierce hopes and quiet heartbreaks of an artistic career. Directed by MFA Student Sebastián Bravo Montenegro.
January 30 | The Medieval, the Middle Ages, and the German Kulturgemeinschaft (German Studies)
Presented by Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand, Professor of German and Global Studies at Appalachian State University. Free.
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!
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Do you have an event that you would like to see featured in the ArtSci Roundup? Connect with Lauren Zondag (zondagld@uw.edu).uw.edu).
