“How We Got It Together” represents the artistry in the lives individuals who earned graduate degrees in the arts at the University of Wisconsin – Madison between 1986 and 2026.
The exhibition, which is set in three galleries in two different buildings (Humanities and Art Lofts) on the campus of the University of Wisconsin- Madison, includes recent artworks (in whatever medium or genre) and posters that celebrate other forms of life work (books published, gardens planted, children raised, businesses owned, jobs held, etc.)
In other words, the show celebrates all the different kinds of interesting lives that have followed arts degrees, not only lives as professionals in the arts.
The gallery exhibits will be complemented by programming of talks and workshops, as well as a website that elaborates on the project themes while providing a lasting resource beyond the three weeks of the show.
The show tries to answer the questions “What is the value of studying art? How does it set us up for a rich and creative life, whether or not the recipient pursues an arts-based career?” Taken together, the works in this exhibition demonstrate the ways that training in the arts enables creative production, critical thinking, and resilience.
The title of the show is derived from the concurrent 2026 conference theme of the Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present, “Get It Together!”, which emphasizes the ways that people “get together” through art to persist, resist, heal, and imagine.
The show also coincides with the retirement of its curator, artist and scholar Laurie Beth Clark, who worked with each of the participants during their graduate study. For additional information about this project, contact lauriebethclark@gmail.com.
HOW WE GOT IT TOGETHER 