Culture

Madison’s broader landscape of art, literature, and more.

Professional black-and-white photo of a long-haired and bearded man smiling widely as he plays an electric bass guitar on a stage. He wears glasses, denim overalls over a white t-shirt, and leans back into the bass groove he's playing.

Creating a music community on the isthmus with “Evan’s style”

By
●
Music
●
April 2, 2026

Musician and arts organizer Evan Fernandez discusses the importance of managing the HQ practice space for local bands and his own ensemble, The Porch Flowers.

Latest in Culture
Still from the videopoem "Limerent Pittsburgh" shows a public transit view of a yellow arch of the Roberto Clemente Bridge with skyscrapers and signs of Pittsburgh in the distance, including the massive PPG building, which resembles a cathedral.
“Limerent Pittsburgh” intricately constructs a folkloric affection of place
By
●
Film
●
April 1, 2026

Artist Anne Ciecko's 2025 videopoem is a highlight among the 30 selections of this year's Midwest Video Poetry Fest at ALL on April 4.

A landscape photo shows the narrow, horizontally elongated entrance sign to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum in the middleground on a cloudy day in the spring season. The surrounding trees are budding, and a pond extends into the background towards the right of the photo.
Good birding in all seasons with the storied Charles “Chuck” Henrikson
By
●
Culture
●
March 31, 2026

The retired lecturer and winsome ornithologist has been coordinating Tuesday birder hikes at the Arboretum for well over a decade.

Production photo from the Western "Stagecoach" shows three characters clutching each other's hands and arms. An older man with a moustache and dark cowboy hat stands at the left; a younger, clean-shaven man with a lighter cowboy hat stands taller in the center; and a shorter woman with curly hair stands to the right. They all look off into the distance to the left with neutral expressions.
Lea Jacobs sheds new light on an old master in “John Ford At Work”
By
●
Film
●
March 30, 2026

The UW Professor Emeritus' new book on the storied American director coincides with a five-film UW Cinematheque series this spring.

Photo of several ovular and circular plates of Halal restaurant cuisine on a white table. The food includes lamb chops, bread, an appetizer spread, and mantu (meat-stuffed dumplings). Bordering this photo is a red and white checkered tablecloth illustration. In the lower left corner of this illustrated frame is a small chef with an oversized mustache standing on a spoon. The chef's speech bubble reads "Small Bites."
Small Bites: How I would fix Madison dining
By
●
Small Bites
●
March 27, 2026

Going out on Sundays and other thoughts on building a more sustainable food city.

Still frame taken from the experimental documentary "The Phalanx" shows a person looking out the window of a historical house in Ripon, Wisconsin. They wear a long-sleeve shirt, and their back is to the camera. The camera is positioned in the door frame of an adjacent room, as if peeking in on them.
Inspiriting radical communal aspirations: an interview with Ben Balcom on “The Phalanx”
By
●
Wisconsin Film Festival
●
March 25, 2026

The Milwaukee filmmaker's latest experimental short premieres locally at the Chazen Museum during the 2026 Wisconsin Film Festival on April 12.

A simple image collage vertically juxtaposes an image of the "Replica" book jacket with a sunny headshot of author Lisa Low. The jacket cover on the left has a tan-colored background and features a small, jade green-tinted illustration (by Yuqing Zhu) of an Asian woman's head that is bisected at the mouth to reveal the white and blue porcelain of fine china. The title "REPLICA" appears in thin white lettering underneath this illustration. In the photo of Low on the right, she wears a black-and-white patterned turtleneck jacket and stands outside against flowering plants and trees behind her. Low looks directly at the camera and smiles slightly.
Lisa Low’s “Replica” grapples with racial alienation and whiteness
By
●
Culture
●
March 23, 2026

Moving from childhood to adulthood, the author's new poetry collection confronts and reconciles expectations in order to live authentically.

The white chapbook book jacket for "Boy Apparition" is centered on a slate grey background. The title appears in huge vertically spaced black font, while much smaller font subtitle in the upper left and lower right corners reads "a travelogue of atemporal genders" horizontally. The author's name, mk zariel, also appears horizontally.
“Boy Apparition” finds queer liberation by challenging normative constructions of masculinity
By
●
Culture
●
March 9, 2026

mk zariel's chapbook coaxes us to the edges of our imaginations, and is infused with the undercurrent of love that is necessary to keep going.

A simple image includes two movie posters: one in the Spanish language on the left for "Hasta Cierto Punto," released in 1983, and one in English on the right for "Lucía," released in 1968. The left poster is rather minimalist in black and white with a bird flying in the center. The tagline above it reads "Si yo quisiera podria cortarle las alas pero no podria volar y lo que yo amo es el pajaro." The right poster renders the title LUCIA in a large font along with three women in pretty psychedelic-era colors like orange, green, maroon, blue, and blue on a bright yellow background. The tagline of "The Cuban epic of love & revolution" appears towards the bottom.
The Cardinal Bar’s Cuban film series invites local support for Madison sister city
By
●
Culture
●
March 2, 2026

Cine Cubano bridges interest in Cuban cinema with the cultural exchange and aid mission of the Madison-Camagüey Sister City Association.

Photo of a freshly baked sourdough bread loaf, cut in half, sitting on a cutting board. The wall in the background is a pale-green marble color. Bordering this photo is a red and white checkered tablecloth illustration. In the lower left corner of this illustrated frame is a small chef with an oversized mustache standing on a spoon. The chef's speech bubble reads "Small Bites."
Small Bites: How I make bread
By
●
Small Bites
●
February 20, 2026

Meditating on the process, flour, flavor, time, and place.