Arts Initiative's "Arts for All" Events

This workshop is presented in partnership by the Stamps Gallery, and the Arts Initiative.

No prior experience required, all materials will be provided. 

Join poet Caroline New for an immersive poetry workshop inspired by Stacey Kirby’s The Bureau of Personal Belonging. Open to all levels of experience, this workshop invites participants to examine how the politics of bureaucracy intersect with our lives—and how poetry can serve as both a site of power and resistance. 

Through creative, ekphrastic prompts, participants will discuss how bureaucracy affects our lives and explore how poetry can be used to reflect on these experiences. Attendees will practice turning artwork into written pieces and consider the political aspects of art and writing.Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just beginning to explore poetry, this session offers a welcoming space to discover new approaches to writing and expression.

This workshop is offered in support of the 2025 Roman J. Witt Artist-in-Residence Stacey Kirby’s installation, The Bureau of Personal Belonging. The Bureau utilizes bureaucratic forms, postures, and language in vintage office environments to engage participants and community performers in exploring questions of civil authority.

Experience Stacey Kirby’s The Bureau of Personal Belonging at her exhibition in the Stamps Gallery, on view September 27 through November 8. 

This workshop is presented in partnership by the gallery at the Institute for the Humanities, the U-M Library, and the Arts Initiative.

No prior experience required, all materials will be provided. 

Artist Narsiso Martinez (b. 1977, Oaxaca, Mexico) will lead a workshop on painting and drawing portraits on salvaged materials such as cardboard and paper bags. As in Martinez’s own work, the use of these humble materials honors both the impermanence and the significance of our everyday lives and the people within them. Participants are encouraged to bring a photo reference for their portrait.

Martinez’s drawings and mixed media installations often feature multi-figure compositions set amidst agricultural landscapes. Drawing from his own experience as a farmworker, Martinez focuses on the people performing the essential labor required to fill produce sections and restaurant kitchens across the country. His portraits of farmworkers are rendered in paint, drawing, and sculpture on discarded produce boxes collected from grocery stores.

This workshop is offered in support of the exhibition "Narsiso Martinez: Best Used By". The exhibition highlights timely issues related to worker invisibility and anonymity. As part of his project, Martinez will be researching archives related to regional agricultural history and engaging with local food service workers.

Experience Narsiso’s work at his exhibition "Narsiso Martinez: Best Used By" in the Gallery at the Institute for the Humanities, on view from November 13 through December 19.