From live performances to in-person exhibitions, from student work to the contributions of local artists and patients, the arts at UAB are soaring
Story by Shannon Thomason
In 2021 we came together again—even when we had to keep our distance—to perform on stage or watch from a hushed audience, to share, witness, grieve, celebrate, lift our spirits, and calm our hearts and minds. This year also marked milestones: Theatre UAB observed its 50th anniversary season, the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is celebrating its 25th season, and ArtPlay its 10th year of service.
Regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or geography, the arts connect us. At UAB they are more than education and entertainment—the arts are places of acceptance and belonging, healing, growth, catharsis. Whether offering an emotional outlet, providing diverse learning opportunities, or embracing inclusion and equity, the arts at UAB help us confront the challenges facing our communities.
In the past year, as we have come together again in person, many digital offerings remain to serve as diverse an audience as possible, providing practical help, engaging performances, educational activities, and creative conversation to more people, in more ways, than ever before.
The Peony Project, by Birmingham artist Amy R. Peterson, features 50 flower paintings in honor of the women who entered the UAB Maternal-Fetal Medicine Comprehensive Addiction in Pregnancy Program in its first year.
Alabamians affected by cancer shaped an original dance work by UAB Arts in Medicine and Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater. After the project halted abruptly in March 2020, participants were finally able to share the performance—created to honor their journeys of healing, hope, longing, and loss—in Oct. 2021.
A work by student Hannah “Bayly” Brower takes shape in a figure-painting class.
Artist Delrico Gibson can make art again after being treated at UAB and healing from extensive burns. He looks forward to a viewing of his works in Jan. 2023 in UAB’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts.
Musical theater students rehearse in class.
This season, Theatre UAB recognized its 50th anniversary with a masterful retelling of the original “Godspell.
The UAB Gospel Choir performs on the Jemison Concert Hall stage.
“Pyrrhic Defeat” by Mark Loughney, part of the exhibition “Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration” at UAB’s AEIVA.
Published April 2022
