First Wave - Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives

We could never forget our 2025 Fall Graduates! These scholars combine to create the 17 total First Wave graduates of this academic year! 🎓❤️‍🔥

Join the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives in congratulating the 2026 First Wave Graduates below 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

The Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) 19th Annual Line Breaks Festival was unlike anything we’ve done before! Thank you to our community, guests artists, and partners for contributing to this year’s monumental experience.

The Line Breaks Festival is a flagship initiative of OMAI that consists of performances, workshops, lectures, and discussions by First Wave artists-scholars and invited professionals artists engaging with the Madison community, on and off campus.

For more information about this festival, visit: OMAI.wisc.edu

Viviane Silvera’s film “See Memory” informed of us of the complex neuroscience of memory formation, trauma, and reconsolidation through the vehicle of art. The talkback that followed allowed us to gain deep insight and reverence of the importance of this work.

For more on this one-of-a-kind festival, visit: go.wisc.edu/LineBreaks2026

“Developing [The 19th Annual Line Breaks Festival] collection challenged her to experiment with diverse art forms that showcased a deep history beyond and outside of herself.”

This month we highlight an exceptional community member, Sammy Dyrud. Sammy is a visual artist and a member of the 15th Cohort of First Wave.

Read more about this jack-of-all-trades at: go.wisc.edu/FWSpotlight

Madison McFerrin amazed us all with a powerful display of talent and vulnerability! Our First Wave Artists began the night with rhythms and rhymes that matched their ambitions. This is what the Line Breaks Festival is about.

For more on the 19th Annual Line Breaks Festival, visit: go.wisc.edu/LineBreaks2026

The 18th Cohort Showcase was a multi-disciplinary performance that incorporated work developed by the Cohort over the course of their first year at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

For more information about this legendary community, visit: OMAI.wisc.edu

The Interdisciplinary Arts Community Session featuring Madison McFerrin in conversation with Professor Amy Lewis was creatively and professionally inspiring!

For more information on this festival, visit: go.wisc.edu/LineBreaks2026

Saturday’s Performance Showcase left us captivated and in awe!

3 months in the Ether by Teja Davis and Charbagh by Adina Shaikh were works that inspired our community and next generations.

For more information about the 19th Annual Line Breaks Festival, visit: go.wisc.edu/LineBreaks2026