U-M Creative Currents

In this special Alumni Edition of Creative Currents , host Mark Clague sits down with two University of Michigan alumni who have built careers rooted in creativity, collaboration, and saying "yes" to the unexpected. Tony DeRosa , co-founder of Ann Arbor's Hear. Say Brewing , shares how a career in leadership development at Google led him back to Michigan to create a brewery where cr...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague sits down with historian and professor Colin Gunckel from the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Gunckel is a faculty member in both the Program in American Culture and the Department of Film, Television, and Media (FTVM), where he also serves as department chair. Colin shares insights from his exte...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague talks with Clare Croft, Faculty Director of Research & Creative Practice for the U-M Arts Initiative, and Anne Mondro, visual artist and professor at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design. This episode is part of Creative Currents’ special podcast series on the Michigan Arts Festival (September 25 – October 26, 2025). Feature...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague talks with Aaron Coleman , poet, translator, and professor of English and Comparative Literature in U-M’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. He also serves on the faculty of the U-M Helen Zell Writers’ Program. Coleman shares how poetry and translation shape his creative practice and how the Michigan literary community fosters...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague interviews Anya Sirota, designer, professor, and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Initiatives at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. This episode is part of Creative Currents’ podcast series building excitement for the inaugural Michigan Arts Festival (September 25 – October 26, 2025). Featured Programming & High...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague interviews Paul Feeny, Director of Concerts & Events at the University of Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance. This episode is part of U-M Creative Currents' podcast series building excitement for the inaugural Michigan Arts Festival (September 25 - October 26, 2025). Featured Programming & Highlights include...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague interviews Srimoyee Mitra, Director of the Stamps Gallery at the University of Michigan. This episode is part of a U-M Creative Currents' podcast series building excitement for the inaugural Michigan Arts Festival (September 25 - October 26, 2025). Featured Programming & Highlights include: Untold Stories, Part II : a Stamps Facu...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague interviews Cayenne Harris, Vice President for Learning & Engagement, and Mark Jacobson, Vice President for Programming and Production, both from the University Musical Society (UMS). This episode is part of a U-M Creative Currents' podcast series building excitement for the inaugural Michigan Arts Festival (September 25 - October...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , join host Mark Clague as he interviews Chrisstina Hamilton, producer and director of the University of Michigan's prestigious Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series and Roman Witt Visiting Artist Program . This special episode is part of a U-M Creative Currents' podcast series building excitement for the inaugural Michigan Arts Festival (Sept...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague interviews Jim Leija , Deputy Director for Public Experience, Learning, & Operations at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA). This episode is part of a U-M Creative Currents' podcast series building excitement for the inaugural Michigan Arts Festival (September 25 - October 26, 2025). Jim is a nationally recognized art...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , we sit down with NPR’s correspondent and New York Times classical music critic Anastasia Tsioulcas—an award-winning journalist who has shaped national conversations around music, identity, and culture. As the inaugural Knight-Wallace Arts Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan, Anastasia brings a unique perspective on the evolving role of arts jo...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague continues the conversation with artist and filmmaker David Chung, professor at U-M’s Stamps School of Art & Design. Building on Part 1, this discussion delves deeper into Impossible Conversations , exploring themes of restorative justice and the personal transformations that can arise when individuals with opposing ideologies find a w...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague explores the intersection of art and science through a unique campus collaboration at the University of Michigan. Joining the conversation are Professor Todd Allen, Department Chair of U-M’s Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences (NERS), and Devin Wright, a Michigan-based artist and illustrator. Together, they discuss their recen...

Today on Creative Currents, you’ll learn all about how artists get paid. In this episode, Mark talked with Makeda Easter about her project “ Making It: $napshots from the Artist Pay Project ,” an anonymous journalistic series that explores how artists navigate financial realities.  Makeda is an award-winning journalist and artist who works at the intersection of arts and social justice focusing on...

In this thought-provoking episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague welcomes a distinguished panel of guests at the intersection of art, social research, and community engagement: artist Rick Lowe, curator Abigail Winograd, professor Christian Davenport, and social scientist Kate Cagney. Together, they examine how art serves as a catalyst for social exploration, change, and collective st...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , Mark Clague sits down with Professor Rogério Meireles Pinto, artist, scholar, and social worker, to discuss his powerful multimedia exhibit, Colorism . Through video, photography, sculpture, and audience interaction, Colorism questions the ways skin color has been used to assign value, separate communities, and reinforce biases—both across and within raci...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , we introduce listeners to the 2024-2025 Creative Careers Residents—Leah Crosby, Kara Roseborough, and sara faraj. Host Mark sits down with each resident to discuss their work, creative processes, and upcoming projects. From audio storytelling and jazz ballet to participatory photography, these artists and scholars are pushing boundaries in their respectiv...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , we introduce listeners to the 2024-2025 Creative Careers Residents—Leah Crosby, Kara Roseborough, and sara faraj. Host Mark sits down with each resident to discuss their work, creative processes, and upcoming projects. From audio storytelling and jazz ballet to participatory photography, these artists and scholars are pushing boundaries in their respectiv...

In this episode of U-M Creative Currents , host Mark Clague welcomes award-winning documentary filmmaker, Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Documentary Practices at London College of Communication, Pratāp Rughani, to discuss his latest film installation and exhibition: Impossible Conversations . The episode examines the complexities of restorative justice and the personal transformations...

In today’s episode of U-M Creative Currents , we’re diving into the inspiring journey of two talented University of Michigan graduates—Anna Baumgarten ('15), writer and director, and Danny Mooney ('08), producer. Their award-winning feature film Disfluency is making waves on the film festival circuit and is gearing up for its wider release in theaters and on streaming platforms. Disfluen...

Today on U-M Creative Currents , you’ll learn all about how musicals get made. In this episode, we’re spotlighting one of our “Arts Research: Incubation & Acceleration” (ARIA) grant projects: Perpetual Sunshine & The Ghost Girls , a new musical theater work that tackles the exploitation of women workers in the early 20th century. Mark talked with playwright-lyricist, Sara Cooper , whose re...

Today on U-M Creative Currents , you’ll learn all about “social practice artist,” cultural strategist, and curator Philippa Hughes . The concept for this “social sculpture” exhibit , open at UMMA now through February 9, 2025, started in Hughes D.C. home in 2016. Hughes developing relational and creative experiences are aimed at strengthening democracy and repairing the social fabric of our country...

From making a personal voting plan and getting registered to vote, Mark Clague walks through the 2024 election hub at UMMA with Professors Stephanie Rowden and Hannah Smotrich to discuss the nonpartisan Creative Campus Voting Project on this episode of U-M Creative Currents. Since 2018, the pair have been utilizing behavioral science insights and art and design to expand access to voting, create m...

We're thrilled to have Andrew Kohler, Alfred and Jane Wolin Managing Editor, and Jacob Kerzner, Associate Editor, from the Gershwin Initiative join us on U-M Creative Currents to talk about the Gershwin brothers' musical masterpiece, Of Thee I Sing , taking stage November 3 at the Michigan Theater. With narration delivered by NPR and New York Times music journalist and U-M Arts Journalis...

Tune in now for an inspiring conversation with U-M student Lauren Horne, a rising senior majoring in film and screenwriting in LSA's Department of Film, Television, and Media. As the co-president of the Black Film Society and a multifaceted artist, Lauren shares her journey from small-town Georgia to becoming a leader in Michigan's campus arts community. In this episode, we explore: The...