Honoring the Earth at Overture
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day at Overture Center with environment-themed shows, exhibits and special events throughout April.
Earth Day Fair for Families (FREE)
SAT, APR 18, 9 AM – 1 PM | Rotunda Studio and Overture Hall Lobby
Families and friends of all ages are invited to explore helpful environmental resources and participate in fun Earth Day activities provided by 12 local organizations. You’ll walk away feeling educated and inspired about how we, as a global community, can work together to protect and restore our planet.
Participating organizations:
- Aldo Leopold Nature Center
- Cave of the Mounds
- Clean Lakes Alliance
- Dineo Dowd, children’s author
- Henry Vilas Zoo
- Insect Ambassadors
- Nature Net
- Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center, UW- Madison
- UW-Madison Arboretum
- UW-Madison Center for Climatic Research
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry
- Wisconsin Energy Institute, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Ken Lonnquist at Kids in the Rotunda (FREE)
SAT, APR 18 at 9:30 AM, 11 AM and 1 PM | Rotunda Stage
Ken Lonnquist celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! Join us at Kids in the Rotunda to see why his “Earthy Songs” concerts have inspired Wisconsin audiences for 40 years! Sing along with fun, imaginative and meaningful songs about our natural world. Ken’s positive outlook and witty lyrical content keep audiences laughing and learning at the same time, connecting the idea of a “good time” with being good to each other and the planet.
Listen Local with Halo O Malo (FREE)
TUE, APR 21, 6–7 PM | Rotunda Stage
Native Hawaiian artists Malia Chow and Angel Cuevas deliver authentic island flavor and rich vocal harmonies in their fresh, unique blend of traditional and contemporary Polynesian music. They’ll entertain you with ancient chants and generational folk songs as well as pop songs embraced by the islands as their own. Hawaiian music is as diverse as the Hawaiian landscapes and the many cultures that now inhabit them. Both artists started their performance careers as Polynesian dancers, touring nationally and internationally with Hale O Malo, The Hawaii Visitors and Do Ho, spreading their aloha and pride of their culture to audiences everywhere.
National Geographic Live: From Summit to Sea (Ticketed, $40-69)
TUE, APR 21, 7:30 PM | Capitol Theater
Award-winning filmmaker and photographer Andy Mann combines his passions with purpose as a voice for the world’s oceans, following scientists to some of the most extreme locations on the planet in the hope of inspiring change.
GALLERY EVENTS
Overture Galleries Spring Cycle (FREE)
TUE, MAR 10 – MON, JUN 1
This spring marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. During this “Year of the Environment,” Overture Galleries partners with the Nelson Institute in presenting programs exploring environmental topics. Our featured artists will challenge us with questions about the impact of human behavior on the health of our planet through their artwork that explores the experiences of inhabiting our Earth and human relations with our fellow creatures.
Gallery I – Endgame | John Riggs & Hannah Sandvold
John Riggs and Hannah Sandvold record landscapes of the Pacific Northwest in transition. Riggs’ photographs are a call to action, linking the devastating results of clearcutting to our climate crisis. Sandvold uses traditional printmaking techniques to create layered visual journeys, mimicking the experience of moving through natural spaces.
Gallery II – Altered Scapes | Ginnie Cappaert & Lynne Roark
Ginnie Cappaert and Lynne Roark depict the beauty of natural landscapes, distilling them into their essential elements. Cappaert’s intimate works, created with 30-40 layers of oil paint and cold wax, speak to the small, but important fragments of life. Roark uses aerial photography to capture the abstract beauty of Iceland’s glacial waters, bringing attention to the fragility of our world’s receding glaciers.
Gallery III – Unaccountable Abodes | Erin Liljegren & Robert Jaeger
Erin Liljegren and Robert Jaeger present both Earth’s human and animal inhabitants in man-made environments. Liljegren addresses the deprivation of the environment caused by human overpopulation and massive consumption through mixed media and recycled materials. Jaeger photographically documents the juxtaposition of zoo visitors and the resident animals in captivity within the context of environmental degradation and extinctions.
Webinar: ClearCut – the Wages of Dominion (FREE)
This in-person event in Wisconsin Studio has been rescheduled as a webinar on APR 2 at 6:30 PM. To watch the webinar click the button below:
Join artist John Riggs and UW scholar Monika Shea as they discuss clearcutting as a metaphor for the tensions that exist in how humans perceive and interact with the natural world, and more broadly how clearcutting can be seen as a useful metaphor for our current climate crisis. The discussion will include an overview of the history and ecology of clearcutting in the Pacific Northwest and Wisconsin. Co-presented with the Nelson Institute.
Playhouse Gallery – Earthly Kin
MON, MAR 9 – MON, JUN 1
Exhibition Reception: TUE, APR 21, 5-7 PM (FREE)
The relationships between humans and our fellow living creatures are ancient and complex. In this exhibit, artists explore the mysteries, beauty and tragedy of our shared lives.
Poetic Justice: Words on Environmental Crisis (FREE)
WED, APR 22, 6:30 PM | Main Gallery, UW Memorial Union
Join us for an evening of spoken word performances from local students, faculty and artists on the subject of climate change and the environmental crisis, as well as a reading from artist/photographer John Riggs, whose exhibition: ClearCut – The Wages of Dominion, is jointly presented by Overture Center and The Wisconsin Union Directorate.
The Truth About Recycling: Here and Around the World (FREE)
WED, APR 29, 6 PM | Wisconsin Studio
A panel of Madison’s knowledgeable waste management professionals and UW scholars discuss recycling on a local and global level and answer questions from the community.
