Spotlight on the Arts is the University of Georgia’s monthlong festival celebrating the literary, visual and performing arts. Organized by the UGA Arts Council, the festival aims to showcase student and faculty achievements while engaging both the campus and wider Athens community. This November, the Georgia Museum of Art will join over a dozen UGA units in hosting a variety of events that range from artist talks, exhibitions and performances to poetry readings, lectures and theater productions.
In addition to multiple special events, the Georgia Museum of Art will continue to host its regular programming over the course of the festival: Tour at Two (November 5 and November 19), Creative Aging Seated Yoga (November 6), Family Day: Native Roots (November 8), Toddler Tuesday: Gobble, Paint, Play (November 11), Artful Conversation: Joan Mitchell (November 12), Morning Mindfulness (November 14), Sunday Afternoon Tour (November 16), Yoga in the Galleries (November 20) and Third Thursday (November 20).
Check out our event recommendations below, and explore the full list of Spotlight on the Arts programming for even more educational and entertaining experiences.
10 Must-See Events
UGA Poetry Festival
November 4, 5:30 p.m. • University of Georgia Chapel • Free • Event Link
November 5, 5:30 p.m. • Georgia Museum of Art • Free • Event Link
The UGA Poetry Festival will kick off with a keynote on November 4 featuring readings and a Q&A with celebrated poet Edward Hirsch, a MacArthur Fellow and president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and Robin Coste Lewis, a National Book Award winner and former poet laureate of Los Angeles. The festival will continue on November 5 with readings, Q&As and book signings with poets Michael Collier, Vievee Francis and Garrett Hongo.
Sponsored by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, the Georgia Review, the department of English and the creative writing program
Lecture: Rebecca Nagle, “By the Fire We Carry”
November 6, 5:30 p.m. • Georgia Museum of Art • Free • Event Link
In conjunction with the exhibition “asinnajaq: Three Thousand,” the museum will host a conversation between visiting writer and journalist Rebecca Nagle and Kathryn Hill, the museum’s associate curator of modern and contemporary art. Citizen of the Cherokee nation and author of “By the Fire We Carry,” Nagle is an award-winning advocate and writer focused on advancing Native rights, expanding Indigenous representation and educating on federal Indian law and tribal sovereignty.
Sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art and UGA’s Institute for Native American Studies
Fall 2025 Dodd Market
November 7, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. • Atrium + Courtyard at Lamar Dodd School of Art • Free • Event Link
Organized by the Lamar Dodd School of Art’s Dodd Ambassadors, this signature student-run event showcases over 100 student artists. The Dodd Market’s mission is to provide valuable selling experience to art students while introducing these artists to the wider UGA and Athens communities. Expect a variety of paintings, prints, fiber arts, ceramics, jewelry and more.
Sponsored by Lamar Dodd School of Art and the UGA Parents Leadership Council
Music Performance: “Woven”
November 7, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. • The Georgia Museum of Art • Free • Event Link
This collaborative project brings together the music composition studio and the trumpet studio at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music in an exploration of melodic weaving, drawing inspiration from the new sculptural installation by artist Rachel B. Hayes on view in the museum’s Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden. Just as Hayes layers fabric and color to create immersive environments, the student composers approach melody as a pliable material — stretching, overlapping and intertwining lines to form intricate sonic tapestries.
Sponsored by Hugh Hodgson School of Music and the Georgia Museum of Art
UGA Opera Theatre: “Ring of Polykrates”
November 7, 7:30 p.m. • Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center • $6 (students), $18 • Event Link
Wilhelm Arndt has it all: a loving wife, a long-awaited promotion and an unexpected inheritance. Life is golden — until Peter Vogel, an old friend from the past, arrives unannounced. With just one word, Peter’s cordial visit turns to a roller-coaster of emotional chaos, sending Wilhelm into a suspicious frenzy with hilarious results. Composed in 1914 by a 17-year-old Erich Wolfgang Korngold — decades before his Oscar-winning Hollywood triumph “The Adventures of Robin Hood” — this sparkling comic opera brims with youthful brilliance, lyrical charm and a dash of psychological intrigue. Romantic, clever and strikingly modern, “The Ring of Polykrates” is a witty reminder: be careful what you wish for — perfection is a fragile thing.
Sponsored by Hugh Hodgson School of Music
Artist Talk: Joe Peragine, “Hell on Wheels Redux”
November 10, 5:30 p.m. • Willson Center for Humanities and Arts • Free • Event Link
“Hell on Wheels Redux” is an exhibition of paintings and drawings by artist Joe Peragine, director of UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art. The exhibition includes watercolors made while teaching in Normandy, France, where decommissioned Sherman Tanks are commonly left in front of memorials, outside museums and in town squares. The work investigates the tank as an object, symbol and metaphor, reflecting on how “they shift from being weapons to becoming memorials and reminders, marking both the destruction and the resilience of the people who lived through it.”
Sponsored by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and Lamar Dodd School of Art
Student Choreography Concert
Nov. 12, 13, and 14, 7:30 – 9 p.m. • UGA Dance Theatre • $11 (seniors and students), $17 • Event Link
The UGA Department of Dance Student Choreography Concert is both a senior exit and emerging choreographers’ showcase, choreographed and produced by the students with faculty and staff guidance and mentorship. Encompassing various music genres and styles of dance, the show has a vast spectrum of creativity and something for every audience member to enjoy.
Sponsored by the department of dance
UGA Theatre: “Evil Dead: The Musical”
November 13, 14, 18, 19, 20 and 22, 8 p.m. & November 16 and 23, 2 p.m. • UGA Fine Arts Theatre • $6 (students), $18 • Event Link
“Evil Dead: The Musical” follows a group of friends as they venture into the proverbial “cabin in the woods,” unwittingly unleashing ancient forces, disgusting demons and a rollicking soundtrack. The musical’s wild blend of slapstick comedy and horror tropes makes for a devilishly good time. Replete with tongue-in-cheek lyrics, interactive moments and a self-aware sense of camp, “Evil Dead: The Musical” invites audiences to revel in the fun of classic B-movie horror — with a toe-tapping twist. Expect an unforgettable night of laughs, shrieks and catchy tunes that pay loving homage to Sam Raimi’s original films while carving out its own gleefully gory identity.
Sponsored by the department of theatre and film
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
November 14, 7:30 p.m. • Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center • $74 – 139 • Event Link
Beethoven’s watershed Ninth Symphony is one of the grandest works by one of the great musical revolutionaries. Hear this colossal choral wonder performed with a lineup of outstanding soloists and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Nathalie Stutzmann opens with Bach’s piquant Concerto for Oboe and Violin, featuring the stunning artistry of ASO principal musicians Elizabeth Koch Tiscione and David Coucheron. The world-renowned Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus sings Bach’s exquisite Cantata BWV 56.
Sponsored by the UGA Performing Arts Center
Branford Marsalis Quartet, “Belonging”
November 16, 7 p.m. • Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center • $48 – 92 • Event Link
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner, and Tony and Emmy Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet. After receiving Grammy nominations on its last two albums, “Upward Spiral” and “The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul,” the Quartet recently made its Blue Note Records debut with the release of “Belonging,” a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 ECM album of the same name. This celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of original compositions, jazz standards and popular classics. A free pre-performance talk by assistant professors Greg Satterthwaite and James Weidman will be held in Ramsey Concert Hall 6:15 – 6:45 pm.
Sponsored by the UGA Performing Arts Center
15 Exhibitions on Campus
“Looking Through a Sewn Sky: Rachel B. Hayes” at the Georgia Museum of Art (through July 30, 2027)
“asinnajaq: Three Thousand” at the Georgia Museum of Art (through June 28)
“Museum Studies Pop-Up Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art (November 20, 5 – 9 p.m., November 21, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and November 23, 1 – 5 p.m.)
“Krista Clark: Assembly” at the Athenaeum (through November 22)
“Steven Thompson: Ever Loyal, Ever True” at the Athenaeum (through November 22)
“Kristine Potter: The Body Politic” at Dodd Galleries: Margie E. West Gallery (through November 14)
“Aidan Koch: Mountain Tongue” at Dodd Galleries: Lupin Foundation Gallery (through November 14)
“slinko: NEOLOGISMS” at Dodd Galleries: Plaza Gallery (through November 14)
“Jennifer Levonian: Speed Reader” at Dodd Galleries: N303 (through December 2)
“Jackie Dorsey: Living Legends of Georgia Music” at Performing Arts Center Lobby Gallery (through January 5)
“From Farms to Fast Fashion: Unraveling the Need for Sustainable Style” at UGA Special Collections Libraries (through December)
“Displaced in the New South: A Photography Project by David Zeiger” at UGA Special Collections Libraries (through December)
“Sustained Excellence: A History of UGA Swim & Dive” at UGA Special Collections Libraries (through May)
“Captain Planet: The Power is Yours” at UGA Special Collections Libraries (through May)
“Joseph Peragine: Hell on Wheels Redux” at the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts
Authored by:
Jessica Smith
