UW-Madison announced Tuesday the beginning of Shakespeare in Wisconsin 2016, a statewide, yearlong celebration dedicated to the life and works of William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare in Wisconsin 2016 will begin with the Distinguished Lecture Series, An Evening of Shakespeare, hosted by Anna Deavere Smith April 20 at Memorial Union. Smith starred in television shows such as “The West Wing” and “Nurse Jackie,” and currently teaches at New York University.
UW-Madison was selected as Wisconsin’s host site for First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, a national traveling exhibition of William Shakespeare’s “First Folio” that will eventually reach every state.
UW-Madison libraries, the Chazen Museum of Art and the Arts Institute will collaborate with partners across the state to welcome the “First Folio” to Wisconsin. Ed Van Gemert, vice provost for libraries and university librarian, said that he is honored to be leading this celebration, along with UW-Madison libraries and other partners.
“This is an opportunity to showcase an important part of the world’s cultural heritage for Wisconsinites, and we are honored to join with our partners in leading this initiative,” Gemert said in a university press release.
The First Folio! exhibit will run from Nov. 3 to Dec. 11 at the Chazen Museum of Art. Chazen Director Russell Panczenko said he appreciates the inspiration great literature brings to the visual arts.
“The First Folio! exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore Shakespeare’s influence on art in a range of media from painting to film and printmaking to photography,” Panczenko said in the release.
Additional events include various performances and scholarly discussions. The growing list of events for Shakespeare in Wisconsin 2016 will be updated on the Shakespeare in Wisconsin 2016 website.
