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Articles by Alisyn Amant
Every Dog Has Its Artist
About two months ago, footage of trembling beagles imprisoned at a biomedical research facility in Wisconsin, and of the tear-gassed activists who tried to rescue them, went viral. Photojournalists captured the dogs huddled together. They look into the cameras. They look at us — the humans who put them there. It feels dreadful to return the gaze, to acknowledge the intense pain one species can cause another. Yet, it is essential to do so, as Thomas W. Laqueurargues in a new book.
Celebrate New Year’s Eve at these local events
Across Madison, restaurants, businesses and community organizations are preparing for their New Year's Eve celebrations on Dec. 31. Each of these events — ranging from fine-dining to family fun — will celebrate the past year and welcome the next one. Canter Inn This New Glarus restaurant, which opened in October, is ushering in 2026 with a three-course dinner accompanied by hors d’oeuvres.
These 10 light displays make the season bright
From time-honored local traditions to unique experiences (like the underground lights at Cave of the Mounds), these festive displays are already brightening up the winter season. Holiday Fantasy in Lights What started as a small display in 1989 has become a beloved Madison tradition. Each year, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 159 chapter sponsor and construct the show in Olin Park.
Madison's residency programs support creativity across disciplines
If you walk into Madison Circus Space on Winnebago Street on a Sunday, you’ll find the place aflutter with jugglers, German wheel gymnasts and trapezists. On Tuesdays — parkouring seniors. Wednesdays — martial artists and contemporary dancers. It’s a landing spot for out-of-the-ordinary people and talents. In an age when the arts face continued undervaluation, especially in Wisconsin, an entire space dedicated to circus arts feels relatively out of the ordinary, too.
Do We Need to Vindicate Paul Gauguin?
Paul Gauguin frequently called himself a “savage from Peru.” Forget that he spent more time as a stockbroker in France than he did as a child in the Peruvian household of his aristocratic great-uncle, waited on by enslaved people. To indulge in the grand self-mythology he conjured up to accompany pieces like “Manaò tupapaú (Spring of the Dead Watching)” (1892),forget that.
On Storybook Hill in Mineral Point
Throughout her decades-long career, Renée Graef has illustrated over 80 children’s books. Many kids who grew up in the 1980s, ’90s and early 2000s cherished at least one (if not two or 12 or 20) of the stories Graef brought to life. Those who remember reading American Girl’s “Meet Kirsten” books and snuggling with the doll version of the titular character might recall the story of this Swedish 9-year-old who immigrates to the U.S. frontier with her family in the 1850s.
A New Documentary Attempts to Correct ‘Crypto Bro’ Misconceptions about Digital Art
A few years ago, like a lot of people on the internet, documentary filmmaker Dan Sickles got turned onto the blockchain. Or, more specifically, cryptocurrency, digital art, and NFTs. As Sickles tells it, the connection happened somewhat randomly. When his apartment was broken into, Sickles tried to stay out of the way of investigating police by chatting with online acquaintances he met while researching how to survive as an independent artist and filmmaker.
How to be a lifelong learner in Madison
Graduating school doesn’t have to mean the end of education. Many adults continue to learn throughout their lives by attending workshops, lectures, or taking advantage of other resources provided by community organizations. Madisonians are particularly lucky when it comes to options for adults who are eager to continue learning. The city is home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Madison Area Technical College and the Madison Metropolitan School District.
Cafe Domestique to open third location in former The Heights Kitchen space
The former home of The Heights Kitchen at 11 N. Allen St. has new tenants. Cafe Domestique owner Dan Coppola revealed on social media that he is opening a third location of the coffee shop there sometime this spring.
7 upcoming film festivals and screenings in Madison
Over the next two months, four film festivals and many more individual screenings will take place across Madison — evidence of a strong community of cinephiles and film enthusiasts. Despite this, Wisconsin is currently only one of four states that does not have a film office, and one of thirteen which doesn't offer production incentives.
Wisconsin's century-long dispute with daylight saving time
On March 9, Americans in 48 of 50 states will wake up with one less hour in the day. Daylight saving time (DST) has been federal law since 1966, but Wisconsin's history of contention with the practice goes back even further. When President Woodrow Wilson passed the Standard Time Act in March 1918 as a way to lower fuel costs during World War I. Wisconsinites complied. It was their “” to do so, declared Gov. Emanuel L.
Joann is closing, but these local fabric and craft stores can fill the gap
Joann Fabrics and Crafts declared bankruptcy earlier this year in January after more than 80 years in business. Over 800 locations across the country are set to shutter — including Joann’s two Madison stores on Odana and Zeier roads. Local crafters took to social media to express disappointment at the news, with some noting that Joann offered hard-to-find supplies and made the arts more accessible to beginners and those without specialty shops nearby.
30 things to do in Madison this March
Madison Reads Leopold: Voices of a Land Ethic For over 15 years, the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum has celebrated the legacy of Aldo Leopold with a community “read-aloud” of selections from the conservationists’ pivotal “Sand County Almanac” and other writings. Come and go throughout the event to hear Leopold’s — and other environmental thinkers’ — observations on a person’s relationship to the land she occupies.
The ‘hottest ticket in town’ is a restaurant at Madison College
There’s a restaurant in Madison where reservations fill up — without fail, lately — anywhere from one to five minutes after its online booking system goes live. It’s called Diane’s Delicious Diner, located on Madison College's Truax Campus and the next generation of culinary artists hone their craft in its kitchen.
'February' ends its statewide run at the Cinematheque
The Sunday, March 2 screening of Nathan Deming’s film “February” at the Cinematheque marks the end of a month-long tour around the state. But it certainly won't be the last time Deming will tell a Wisconsin story. “February” follows Miguel (David Duran), recently immigrated to a small Wisconsin town and struggling to fit in.
How to dress like the 2025 Bird of the Year
The eerie wail of a loon across an empty, glassy lake is one of the classic sounds of summer in Wisconsin's Northwoods — and one that's often borrowed in movies or TV shows to convey a sense of mystery and wilderness. In January, the American Birding Association's (ABA) named the popular bird its 2025 Bird of the Year.
Meet the UW-Madison professor that collaborated with Bad Bunny
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo decided not to bring his laptop with him on vacation last December. He needed a break from work. He did bring his phone, though, and on Dec. 24, Meléndez-Badillo opened Instagram to find a message waiting for him. It asked if he might be interested in a collaboration with Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — the acclaimed Puerto Rican musician most widely known as Bad Bunny.
Lake Mendota reveals revolutionary findings about bacteria evolution
When Robin Rohwer realized she’d been able to generate almost 3,000 genomes from Lake Mendota's myriad bacteria species, she took her laptop down the hall to Brett Baker’s office at The University of Texas at Austin. “Oh my god,” she said to Baker, a marine science professor at UT Austin and Rohwer's advisor. “Look at all these.” It was unprecedented how many bacteria genomes Rohwer could sequence from Lake Mendota water samples.
Choose your own Valentine's Day adventure
Valentine’s Day looks a little different for everyone. At its core, though, the holiday celebrates love of all kinds — for friends, family members, significant others and yourself. However you want to commemorate the day, Madison is a city that provides options. Lots of them. To make planning easier, we brainstormed a few “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style dates. (If nothing here catches your fancy, scroll for a list of more events and V-Day deals below.) Table for Two Go out or stay in? Go out.
Madison entrepreneurs tap potential of AI
Conversations around artificial intelligence tend to head toward two extremes. Detractors warn that AI may push reality closer to "Roko's Basilisk" — the name for a thought experiment in which robots take over and punish the humans who don’t work for them. Enthusiasts, on the other hand, declare that advancements in AI technologies mean that, pretty soon, not one person will have to lift a finger in labor.
Why you should give a hoot about winter birdwatching
The middle of winter might not seem like the best time to pick up birdwatching. It’s cold — and haven’t they migrated already? No. Not all of them, anyway. Actually, now is a great time to “start birding and get familiar with resident bird species,” according to Kaitlin Svabek, director of communications at the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, or SoWBA, and SoWBA Director of Education Carolyn Byers — the two answered our questions in a joint written statement.
Sandhill Goods opens first in-person shop on East Johnson Street
On Jan. 11, Sandhill Goods held in-person shopping hours for the first time at its new location at 2609 E. Johnson St. Sami Head started Sandhill Goods, a vintage and secondhand shop that operated primarily online, in 2021. Selling a curated selection of secondhand vintage clothing, accessories and housewares reflects Head's personal ethos of shopping mindfully and reducing waste.
Interactive horror show comes to Overture Center
No need to wait until Halloween for a good dose of scares: an interactive experience based on the “Insidious” franchise comes to the Overture Center on Thursday, Jan. 23 — for one night only. “Insidious: The Further You Fear” transforms the classic themes and tropes from the “Insidious” films into a live, horror-filled show.
Help name Madison’s hardworking snowplows
The City of Madison owns five snowplows that — unlike the plows’ garbage-truck counterparts — don’t have names. That’s about to change. Madison’s Streets & Urban Forestry Division issued a call on Monday, Jan. 6 for name suggestions for five vehicles that plow various areas of the city, including a Jeep that maintains Capital City Trail and a traditional 5-ton snowplow that works on the isthmus. The deadline to submit ideas is Friday, Jan.
Madison beats out other U.S. cities for sauerkraut company’s new headquarters
Wisconsin just tightened its grip on the bratwurst (and sauerkraut) crown. Fermented Food Holdings — a worldwide leader in the production and distribution of sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi and other fermented foods — is moving its corporate headquarters to Madison. The competition was tough, but Madison beat out cities like Miami, Denver and Austin. Fermented Food Holdings CEO Jorge Azevedo cited Madison’s proximity to local farms as one of the qualities that won the company over to the community.
These 9 light displays make the season bright
From time-honored local traditions to unique experiences (like the underground lights at Cave of the Mounds), these festive displays are already brightening up the winter season. Holiday Fantasy in Lights What started as a small display in 1989 has become a beloved Madison tradition. Each year, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 159 chapter sponsor and construct the show in Olin Park.
Wisconsin Design Team's pop-up shop at Hilldale offers exclusive products
Share Proud Midwesterners rejoice: A new Wisconsin Design Team (WDT) pop-up at Hilldale Shopping Center gives customers a new in-person option for purchasing the local brand's apparel and accessories. The pop-up — located in the Plaza between Rowan and Morgan's Good Form Running — will run from Nov. 22 to Jan. 6. WDT's Black Friday collection and select products from the fall 2024 drop (released on Nov. 22) will be available exclusively at the Hilldale location, as well as mugs and whiskey glasses.
Wisconsin Design Team's pop-up shop at Hilldale offers exclusive products
Proud Midwesterners rejoice: A new Wisconsin Design Team (WDT) pop-up at Hilldale Shopping Center gives customers a new in-person option for purchasing the local brand's apparel and accessories. The pop-up — located in the Plaza between Rowan and Morgan's Good Form Running — will run from Nov. 22 to Jan. 6. WDT's Black Friday collection and select products from the fall 2024 drop (released on Nov. 22) will be available exclusively at the Hilldale location, as well as mugs and whiskey glasses.
8 places to try vegan food this month
November is World Vegan Month. Want to go vegan for a day in honor of the annual awareness campaign, but don’t know where to start? Try these Madison-area restaurants with vegan menus and items for breakfast, lunch and dinner. BREAKFAST Short Stack Eatery (301 W. Johnson St.) sits in the heart of the Isthmus and has become a staple of the State Street corridor.
Middleton Market Food Hall has its first tenant - and plans for the future
Beer. Skee-Ball. Seasonal cocktails. A Mario Kart league. Classic arcade games. Pizza. Soft pretzels. Pinball machines (43 of them, to be exact). The Kickback Bar — which held its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. — furnishes the Middleton Market Food Hall (7622 Lisa Lane, Middleton) with all of this and more as its first tenant. More is yet to come for Middleton Market though, says Alaina Berger, a representative from the commercial property’s developer.
14 Madison-area restaurants and food businesses with Thanksgiving offerings
For those who find it easier to let a professional do some or all of the cooking on Thanksgiving, you're in luck: Several local restaurants and food businesses are offering in-person dining and take-home meal options for the holiday. Dine-In Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co. This year, Great Dane is keeping its doors open on Thanksgiving Day at each of its four Madison locations.
16 Madison-area restaurants and food businesses with Thanksgiving offerings
For those who find it easier to let a professional do some or all of the cooking on Thanksgiving, you're in luck: Several local restaurants and food businesses are offering in-person dining and take-home meal options for the holiday. Dine-In Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co. This year, Great Dane is keeping its doors open on Thanksgiving Day at each of its four Madison locations.
30 things to do in Madison this November
Driftless Film Festival The Driftless Film Festival returns for its 15th iteration. This year, 28 selections from filmmakers based across the country will be screened in the Mineral Point Opera House. Directors, actors and others involved in the films make regular appearances at showings for Q&As. Nov. 1-9, 139 High St., Mineral Point “Blue Comet” A forgotten comedy by Eden Phillpotts performed in England in the 1920s, “Blue Comet” has never been fully staged in the United States until now.
10 spooky dishes and drinks to try in Madison
Halloween is a week away. Before we know it, the streets will be inundated with Sabrina Carpenters, minions, Shrinker Bobs, the emotions from “Inside Out” and Dr. Dooms clamoring for treats (or tricks, if that’s your thing). Madisonians don’t have to wait for Oct. 31 to start with the treats, however.
New public art installations encourage pedestrians to 'Slow Down'
Colorful medallions throughout the multi-use paths near Olbrich Park urge bikers, joggers and passers-by to "Leave Space When Passing,” “Take Care, Be Aware,” “Slow Down for Others,” or “Keep Our Paths Clean.” These unique signs designed by formerly-local artist Daniella Echevarria along the recently-reconstructed Atwood Avenue are part of the City of Madison's "Percent for Art" ordinance, passed in Oct. 2017.
Madison myths and mysteries uncovered in historical walking tour
Sea serpents are known to lurk in the depths of Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, re-surfacing only to shed a scale, tickle the foot of an unsuspecting sunbather or frighten a fisherman at Picnic Point. Not to be confused with the water spirit of the Ho-Chunk Nation, reports say they’re 20 feet long. They have snake-like heads, large jaws, long tongues and blazing eyes. The one in Lake Mendota (named Bozho) is rather curious, and loves to prank rowers by overturning canoes or uprooting piers.
A comet last seen 80,000 years ago returns this weekend
Look to the stars this week for a chance to spot Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS — a “cosmic snowball” that is visible to Earthlings only every 80,000 years. The ideal time to catch a glimpse of the comet is between 6:45 and 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 12, according to former Madison Astronomical Society (MAS) president and astrophotographer John Rummel.
Shopbop celebrates 25th birthday with State Street pop-up
Shopbop, an online apparel and accessories retailer born in Madison, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a pop-up shop at 512 State St. from Oct. 17 through Oct. 27. Visitors can expect discounts and free customizations on women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, accessories and beauty products from a range of brands. Shopbop also promises to offer exclusive Wisconsin merchandise from Original Retro Brand, Wisconsin Design Team and Think Royln, available only in-store. Right away on Oct.
The art of being a teenage girl in 2024
Last year, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released data that showed 57% of U.S. teenage girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 — a 60% rise from 2011. Adolescence has never been easy, of course. But it’s the teenage girls of today — especially those who identify as LGBTQ+ — that have faced . As a 17-year-old junior at Middleton High School, Shay Roy-Lewis didn’t need datasets to figure this out.
3 movies you can see for free this weekend
Tucked away in Room 4070 of the brutalist labyrinth that is the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Vilas Hall is a weekly sanctuary for film buffs: the Cinematheque. A coalition of UW–Madison academics and students, Cinematheque showcases a range of films which may otherwise rarely — or never — reach Madisonians.
A 'tail-gate' for the dogs
For those who proudly call themselves both dog parents and Badger fans, it’s time to jump around: Hilldale Shopping Center is hosting a pet-friendly “tail-gate” on Thursday, Sept. 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. as part of their Yappy Hour event series.
Madison leads the way in adoption of electric vehicles
Madison and its surrounding communities are leading the way in Wisconsin’s adoption of electric transportation technologies, with more electric buses, garbage trucks and cars taking to the streets than ever before. To celebrate, Dane County- and Wisconsin-based clean energy advocates are coming together on Thursday, Sept. 26 in recognition of both the recent finalization of clean-car standards by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Madison’s own electric vehicle (EV) milestones.
4 ways to celebrate Banned Books Week in Madison
Banned Books Week is back, and Madisonians are celebrating alongside other librarians, educators, authors, booksellers and readers across the nation from Sept. 22 through Sept. 28. Launched in 1982 when its founders noticed a rise in attempts at book censorship, the annual campaign aims to highlight the value of free, open access to information in schools, public libraries and other community centers.
A New AI Project Involving 12 Major Institutions Aims to Transform Art Preservation with Color Reconstruction
Just over 130 years ago, Norwegian painter Edvard Munch went on a fateful evening walk that changed the course of art forever. “The Sun was setting. The clouds turned the color red like blood,” Munch wrote in one of his notebooks. “I painted this image, painted the clouds like real blood. The colors screamed.” Thus, The Scream (1893) was born.
A New AI Project Involving 12 Major Institutions Aims to Transform Art Preservation with Color Reconstruction
Latin America 21 hours ago On This Day: IRA founder Michael Collins assassinated United Press International - By UPI Staff • 21h Aug. 22 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1851, the U.S.-built schooner America outran a fleet of Britain's finest ships around England's Isle of … Culture 2 days ago How Edvard Munch channelled existential dread into ‘The Scream’ faroutmagazine.co.uk - Kelly Scanlon • 2d In January 1892, Edvard Munch suffered a panic attack.
Flash of Remembrance: The Multiplicities of Ed Park
Ed Park Same Bed Different Dreams (Random House, 2023) Every morning, Ed Park sits at his typewriter for twenty to thirty minutes to write. He throws on a vinyl record of some sort. Usually, it’s classical music, like a Johannes Brahms piano trio or a Georg Philipp Telemann compilation. If it’s going well, he repeatedly hits “play” until he runs out of steam. His desk is small, tucked away in a corner of the Upper West Side apartment that he shares with his wife, Sandra, and their two sons.
Bio Artists Face an Uncertain Future
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Bio Artists Face an Uncertain Future
Editor’s Note: This article was produced in collaboration with the Arts & Culture MA concentration at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. *** Cockroaches scuttled around a cubed vivarium. Their antennae wriggled at the sight of a fellow roach or the remnants of a vegetable that had been thrown into the enclosure. Three people examined the bugs’ sanctuary of dirt and transferred a few to a Tupperware container that came supplied with a slice of cucumber.
Voicing the Pain and Resilience of Burkina Faso Refugees
Editor’s Note: This article was produced in collaboration with the Arts & Culture MA concentration at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. *** In “Once the dust settles, flowers bloom” (2023), which was recently exhibited in New York at the Joyce Theater as part of French Institute Alliance Française’s Crossing the Line Festival, choreographer Olivier Tarpaga highlighted the women of Kaya, the West African city of his birth, refusing to portray them as faceless victims.
Boneset Records plans to open August 21 on the East Side
Musician Maggie Denman aims to create a cozy basement space full of vinyl and VHS. Madison’s newest record store, Boneset Records, will open its doors at 222 North Street.
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