For an updated listing of upcoming events, please visit our website at http://arts.unl.edu.
• Continuing through Aug. 28: "Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Matlin explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer.
• Continuing through Aug. 28: "The Last Class." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich always considered teaching his true calling. As he faces his final class, he wrestles with the dual realities of his own aging and his students inheriting a world out of balance.
• Aug. 29-30: "Unsettled Domains." 6 p.m. each night. Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. Free and open to the public. "Unsettled Domains" is an original work that explores the concept of “space” and people-place relationships via three two-person dance-theatre vignettes and will be presented by Dance Tramp and sloDance.
• Aug. 29-Sept. 11: "East of Wall." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. Set in the Badlands of South Dakota, "East of Wall" is a portrait of female resilience in the ‘New West’ inspired and played by the women and girls who live it. Writer/Director Kate Beecroft will be at The Ross Aug. 29 and will join the audience for a discussion following the 7:30 p.m. screening of her film. Presented by Friends of The Ross and the Norman A. Geske Cinema Showcase.
• Aug. 30-Sept. 1: "Sunset Boulevard." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. Three days only. Iconic, darkly comedic and thrilling, the three-time Oscar®-winning "Sunset Boulevard" returns to the big screen for its 75th anniversary. Tickets and showtimes coming soon. Visit https://theross.org for more information.
• Sept. 2: Made in Nebraska: "My Friend Norman." 7:30 p.m. Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org/events/made-in-nebraska/. Take a journey with Norman Geske, Nebraska’s Father of the Arts, with this feature-length documentary about the impact one man has had on the artistic and cultural heritage of Nebraska and beyond. Directed by Laurie Richards.
• Sept. 4: Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist Lecture: Mickey Smith. 5:30 p.m. Sheldon Museum of Art. Free and open to the public. Smith is a master chronicler of libraries, having turned her camera to these repositories of knowledge for over 20 years. Her prolific series explores the life cycles of library collections and the dedicated labor of those who care for them. Her exhibition, “Morphologies,” presents Smith’s profound insights, showcasing work from her long-term documentary project “Volume,” alongside selections from “As You Will,” “Believe You Me,” “Denudation” and new work created during her residency at Macalester College’s DeWitt Wallace Library. The exhibition reflects Smith's deep engagement with her long-term subject, as well as her collaboration with Macalester College students and library staff during her residency from 2022-2024.
• Sept. 5-11: "A Little Prayer." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. A loving father (David Strathairn) grapples with how to protect his daughter-in-law (Jane Levy) when he discovers that his son is having an affair in a sensitive and searching portrait of a Southern family.
• Sept. 5-26: "Mickey Smith: Morphologies" exhibition. Eisentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall. An opening reception will be held Friday, Sept. 5 from 5-7 p.m. in the gallery. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday, noon-5 p.m. Admission is free. The Eisentrager-Howard Gallery is presenting this exhibition in conjunction with Fiendish Plots, 2130 Magnum Circle, in Lincoln. Over the past two decades, Smith has documented significant cultural shifts in academic and public libraries, primarily across the U.S., Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the South Pacific. Her photography captures the evolution of libraries, from traditional card catalogs and stacks to digitization and the advent of artificial intelligence, highlighting their role as stewards of knowledge. The exhibition features Smith’s acclaimed projects—VOLUME, Denudation, and As You Will: Carnegie Libraries of the South Pacific—alongside new video work and an installation made from deaccessioned books, donated to the project by University of Nebraska’s libraries.
• Sept. 7: Single Reed Day. Noon-6 p.m. Westbrook Music Building. Free. Advanced registration requested at https://go.unl.edu/reedday. The Glenn Korff School of Music will host the inaugural Single Reed Day. This free event is open to clarinet and saxophone players from middle school through college, as well as music educators interested in exploring the performance and pedagogy of single reed instruments.
• Sept. 8: Bernard Rosenberg Lecture: Scott Mubarak. 5 p.m. Peterson Room of Love Library. Free and open to the public. Mubarak, who writes as C.J. Cook, is an award-winning author and historian with a long interest in the history of the South Pacific. His lecture is titled “Leeteg, Tyree and Rembrant: Black Velvet Art and the South Pacific.” Black velvet is a distinctive and dramatic medium that emerged as a popular genre in the 20th century. The Bernard Rosenberg Lecture is made possible with a gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation by Dr. Stuart P. and Lynn S. Embury of Holdrege, Nebraska. The lecture is named in honor of Rosenberg, who died last year. Rosenberg lived in New York and became a premier book dealer for American Art books and was very knowledgeable about both the art and the artist.
• Sept. 11: Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist Lecture: Suze Lindsay. 5:30 p.m. Sheldon Museum of Art. Free and open to the public. . Lindsay owns and operates Fork Mountain Pottery in western North Carolina. She hopes her pots entice the user to enjoy everyday activities, inviting participation, promoting hospitality, starting a day with coffee in a comfortable mug, going out into gardens to fill a vase with freshly picked flowers, then to end the day with table settings, bowls full of food, candles lit in candlesticks, for an intimate dinner.
• Sept. 12-25: "The Baltimorons." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist.
• Sept. 12-25: "Bring Them Home." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. Narrated by Lily Gladstone, "Bring Them Home/Aiskótáhkapiyaaya" chronicles a decades-long initiative by members of the Blackfoot Confederacy to bring wild buffalo back to the Blackfeet Reservation.
• Sept. 16: Kenneth Overton Masterclass. 4-6:30 p.m. Westbrook Music Building Rm. 131. Free and open to the public. This pre-Robert Owens Centenary Festival masterclass is presented in partnership with Opera Omaha. Baritone Kenneth Overton is lauded for blending his opulent baritone with magnetic, varied portrayals that seemingly “emanate from deep within body and soul.” Kenneth Overton’s symphonious baritone voice has sent him around the globe, making him one of the most sought-after opera and concert singers of his generation. For more information, visit https://go.unl.edu/wegr.
• Sept. 17: Student Night at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. Show your student ID to get $1 tickets, popcorn and drinks for all screenings on Student Night. Open to all students with a valid student ID, including UNL, Nebraska Wesleyan, Southeast Community College, Union College, high schools, etc.—all student IDs accepted. $1 tickets must be purchased at the Ross Box Office (not available online).
• Sept. 17-19: Robert Owens Centenary Festival. Westbrook Music Building. Hosted by the Glenn Korff School of Music. The festival is organized by Jamie Reiman Seaman, the Richard H. Larson Distinguished Professor of Music (Voice), and will celebrate the life and legacy of this influential African American composer. All festival events are free and open to the public, though advanced registration is requested. Registration is due by Aug. 15. Visit https://go.unl.edu/owensfestival for registration and a schedule of events.
• Sept. 18: Opening reception for the exhibition “The Muck, the Seeds, the Weeds, the Blossoming: The Journals of Karen Blessen." 5-6:30 p.m. Love Library, second-floor link. The exhibit will be on display through February 2026 during regular library hours. The exhibit features 24 of UNL School of Art, Art History & Design alumna Blessen's journals recently donated to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries Archives & Special Collections.
• Sept. 18: Guest recital: Steven Cohen, horn. 7:30 p.m. Westbrook Music Building Rm. 130. Free and open to the public. The program features works by living composers who have truly made their mark in the 21st century writing for horn, alongside a world premiere from Philip Glass. The concert will share Drew Phillips' Distant Echos, "Meet You Again" from Australian composer Emma Gregan, which is inspired by Walt Whitman's poem "To a Stranger;" the Conclusion of Act III from Philip Glass' mesmerizing opera, "Satyagraha," arranged for horn and piano by Glenn Korff School of Music Marguerite Scribante Professor of Piano Paul Barnes; and three works from James Naigus—his monumental "Sonata for Horn," and two pieces for two horns and piano. Cohen will be joined on the Naigus works for two horns by two special guests, Glenn Korff School of Music Professor of Horn Alan Mattingly and Airman First Class Karlee Kamminga from the USAF's Heartland of America Band.
• Sept. 18: UNL Opera presents a concert reading of Robert Owens' comedic opera "Culture! Culture!" 7:30 p.m. Kimball Recital Hall. Free and open to the public, but reserved tickets required. Visit https://go.unl.edu/cultureculture to reserve free tickets, which will be available at will-call the night of the performance. Part of the Robert Owens Centenary Festival.
• Sept. 24: Guest recital: Michael Mayo. 7:30 p.m. Kimball Recital Hall. Free and open to the public.
• Sept. 26-28: "Hundreds of Beavers." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. Three Days Only! A slapstick epic about a frostbitten battle between a drunken applejack salesman and hundreds of diabolical beavers who stand between him and survival.
• Sept. 26-28: "Animation Mixtape." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. Three Days Only! Two-time Academy Award nominee and Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner Don Hertzfeldt partners with Ink Films to present an exciting collection of animated short films from around the world, showing only in theaters for a limited time.
• Sept. 26-Oct. 9: "Eleanor the Great." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. In "Eleanor The Great," June Squibb brings to vivid life the witty and proudly troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who after a devastating loss, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own. Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut is a comically poignant exploration of how the stories we hear become the stories we tell.
• Sept. 27: Viola Bash. All-day. Westbrook Music Building Rm. 130. For more information, contact Professor of Viola Clark Potter at cpotter1@unl.edu.
• Sept. 27: Cellobration. All-day. Kimball Recital Hall. For more information, contact Professor of Cello Karen Becker at kbecker2@unl.edu.
• Sept. 29-Oct. 2: "Rebel with a Clause." Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 13th and R streets. Four days only! For showtimes and ticket information, visit https://theross.org. A grammar guru takes her pop-up grammar advice stand on a rollicking road trip across all 50 states to show that comma fights can bring us closer together in a divided time. Filmmaker Brandt Johnson and star Ellen Jovin will visit The Ross on Monday, Sept. 29 to join the audience for a discussion following the 7:30 p.m. opening night screening of their film. Presented by Friends of The Ross and the Norman A. Geske Cinema Showcase with generous support from Maureen and Ken Hake.