The University of Iowa has long been a place where artistic work of all kinds thrives, and we take creativity seriously. In 1922, the UI was among the first higher-ed institutions to accept creative work in lieu of theses for graduate degrees in the fine and performing arts. Later, in 1940, the University of Iowa was first in the nation to confer a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree.
This spring, Performing Arts at Iowa is celebrating that tradition by turning a spotlight on the creative work of graduate students in music, dance, and theatre arts. Under the banner “New Work City,” the university is celebrating its ongoing commitment to providing student artists with opportunity and resources to conceive, create, and share new work.
“New work is what we’re all about here at Iowa,” said Mary Beth Easley, who chairs the UI’s Department of Theatre Arts and spearheaded the New Work City initiative.
“From playwrights and designers to composers and choreographers, we are constantly engaged in the creative process. Not everyone knows that we create art just as much as we perform it—so we created the New Work City concept to help make that more visible,” she added.
New Work City events include presentations of new work by grad students from the School of Music, Department of Dance, and Department of Theatre Arts, and will continue from now through the end of the spring semester. It includes established events like concerts by UI’s renowned Center for New Music Ensemble and the popular, annual New Play Festival, presented by the Iowa Playwrights Workshop, alongside new and experimental performances.
This year’s New Work City series features a dance MFA thesis performance in Hickory Hill Park with dancers leading the audience through the park’s trails, and an interdisciplinary building-mapping project that will transform the outside of the Theatre Arts Building into a canvas for digital art. Community members are invited to see new creative work being presented all over Iowa City—sometimes for the first time ever.
Andre Perry, the executive director for Hancher Auditorium and the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement, said, “The University of Iowa is a place where artists find their voice. That’s what we do. On this campus, in this city, you’re going to get exposure to so many different kinds of art. Our students are a major part of our area’s creative environment. They work with their classmates and faculty mentors every day and, through residency programs, they are in conversation with visiting professional artists almost every week of the semester. They build on those experiences to make their own revelatory work.”
New Work City highlights the endless creativity and impressive skills of UI students who are on the cusp of launching their artistic careers.
“Our students’ work is fresh and new, often reflecting emerging moments in our culture,” Perry added. “Sometimes the work soars and sometimes it’s messy: like all art. That risk and the rare rewards are all part of the process. Ultimately, our students are trying to build something better than what’s come before. They bring such vibrancy to our field. New Work City is a celebration of that process and the startling brilliance of our MFA cohorts at Iowa.”
To see the full lineup of New Work City events, visit performingarts.uiowa.edu.