Arts & Culture

As China prepares for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party, thousands of theaters have been instructed to screen at least two propaganda films each week. But political jargon and ideological mandates may not sit well with 21st-century moviegoers, argues Zhao Ma, associate professor of modern Chinese history and culture in Arts & Sciences.

The effects of climate change cannot be handled piecemeal, argues Derek Hoeferlin. Managing 21st-century waterways will require coordination on a continental scale — and a foundational understanding of how water shapes our environment.

With a storied literary past, Washington University continues to provide time, place and space to stretch as a poet.

In his latest book of poetry, Pale Colors in a Tall Field, Carl Phillips returns to some of his most enduring themes, love, vulnerability, doubt, regret and desire.

In a new solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis, alumna Ebony G. Patterson explores beauty, tragedy and what lies beneath it all.

Thom Wall started out as a busker, juggling in the street. Then he performed around the world with Cirque du Soleil. His next act is all about preserving the art form he loves.

Monika Weiss, associate professor of art, will discuss the work of Spanish painter Francisco Goya, as well as her own transdisciplinary practice, for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

“Homecoming Voices,” a series of four short plays by four celebrated alumni of the Performing Arts Department, will debut April 9.

“Hey God, why did you create COVID-19?” So asks Lucifer in “The Covid Mysteries,” an irreverent take on the 14th century York Mysteries cycle. The new play – the first campus performing arts event for a live audience in more than a year – will take place April 1-4 on Mudd Field.

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will honor seven outstanding art and architecture alumni for demonstrating creativity, innovation, leadership and vision in their respective fields April 8 as part of the school’s annual Awards for Distinction ceremony.