Arts & Literature Laboratory Inc

Arts & Literature Laboratory fosters creativity through arts and literature by providing a platform for artists and writers to connect, collaborate, and engage with the community, enriching cultural experiences and promoting artistic expression.

Join us on Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 2:00pm on the second floor for a Tatreez Workshop by the Teejop Tatreez Community, who are featured in our&nbsp;Threading Solidarity show on view through August 29. Learn about the history of Palestinian tatreez and experience a hands-on embroidery lesson (materials provided).

Tatreez Workshop

Join us on Saturday, August 15 at 7 PM for a special reading with local poets Fabu Carter, Araceli Esparza, and Guy Thorvaldsen. Don&#39;t miss a word!&nbsp;We have assistive hearing devices available. If you&#39;d like to reserve one, you can reach out to us in advance at liz@artlitlab.org. Then simply arrive at least 10 minutues early.

August Watershed Reading

Join us in the Perennial Garden at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Saturday, August 15, 10:00-12:00pm for a meditation and weaving workshop with Mo Oberman, part of <a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/events/neuroarts-festival-at-olbrich-gardens" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">NeuroArts Festival</a> organized by the community curation project,&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://artlitlab.org/Lab4" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">LAB^4.</a> There will be 10 spots available. Community weaving experience with guided meditation and movement. Weaving as an attempt to cultivate awareness and capture the experience of the sound garden, bringing in elements of sensation into the weaving. Mo will provide materials and participants will take home their creations.

Woven Moments: An Embodied Practice

Join us in the Perennial Garden at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Thursday, August 13, 5:00&ndash;7:00pm for a meditation and weaving workshop with JG Everest, part of <a fr-original-style="" href="https://artlitlab.org/events/neuroarts-festival-at-olbrich-gardens" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">NeuroArts Festival</a> organized by the community curation project,&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://artlitlab.org/Lab4" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">LAB^4.</a> There will be 20 spots available. In this free workshop, led by composer and musician JG Everest, participants will have an opportunity to connect with the sounds that surround us in Olbrich&rsquo;s Perennial Garden, and then discover ways to join in the spatial concert happening in nature. We will first orient to the space with a short garden tour, and then practice &ldquo;Deep Listening&rdquo;, becoming more attentive to the spatial aspects of the sonic field. Then we&rsquo;ll learn to play handheld &ldquo;Human Windchimes&rdquo; provided for participants, and practice some simple improvisational movement and spatial scores along the paths and within the garden spaces. Eventually, participants can play their own instruments, too. Workshop participants will be invited to participate in the roving &ldquo;Free Range Orchestra&rdquo; performance during the Sound Garden events on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th! Two hour time slots are available throughout both days (1-6 on Friday, 10-6 on Saturday). Please reach out to mattsky75@gmail.com with questions or interest. No previous experience necessary. Registrants under 16 years of age are to be accompanied by an adult.

NeuroArts Spatial Sound & Music Workshop

Join us at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Wednesday, 5:00-7:00pm for a poetry workshop with Aurora Shimshak, part of <a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/events/neuroarts-festival-at-olbrich-gardens" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">NeuroArts Festival</a> organized by the community curation project,&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://artlitlab.org/Lab4" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">LAB^4.</a> There will be 12 spots available. In this workshop, writers will be encouraged to ground in place. We will cultivate awareness of all five senses in Olbrich&rsquo;s Perennial Garden. This workshop includes a walking tour led by an Olbrich gardener. After learning a little bit more about the plants and animals around us, we will write poems inspired by our experiences in the garden. In closing, we will share our work with one another. If participants agree, the artist James Everest will use the poems written during this workshop to inspire the creation of his sound garden.&nbsp; There will also be an opportunity for participants to read their poems live in a poetry walking tour as part of the sound garden event on Saturday Aug 15th at 3pm! Please reach out to mattsky75@gmail.com&nbsp;with questions or interest. No previous experience necessary. Registrants under 16 years of age are to be accompanied by an adult.

Poems in Place

Mills Folly Microcinema presents Project Projection Summer 2026, a program of locally produced film and video, Wednesday, July 29, at 7:00pm. Free admission, donations encouraged.&nbsp; Join us for an evening of experimental films, short documentaries, music videos, and animation produced by filmmakers who reside in Madison and Dane County. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Program running time: approximately 80 minutes. A Q&amp;A session with the filmmakers in attendance will follow the screening.&nbsp; The order of the films will be provided in the program notes at the screening. The target running time will be 75 minutes (pending submissions).

Project Projection Summer 2026

Join us on Saturday, July 18 at 7 PM for a special reading with local poets Meg Kim, Winshen Liu, and John Paul Martinez.

July Watershed Reading

Auricle New Music Series is proud to welcome Horse Lords for their Summer 2026 tour on Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 7:00pm. Horse Lords were founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 2010; they evolved from the experimental collective Teeth Mountain and began as a trio with drummer Sam Haberman, guitarist Owen Gardner, and bassist Max Eilbacher, soon adding alto saxophonist Andrew Bernstein to the core ensemble. Though Horse Lords grew out of the fertile Baltimore noise and leftfield rock scene, a storied environment for artists and weirdos that has nurtured many an influential outsider band (Lungfish, Matmos), their approach is more omnivorous than the stippled rhythms of instrumental electric rock would indicate.

Horse Lords

Madison Music Collective and Arts + Literature Laboratory are proud to present NYC-based French-Malagasy pianist, composer, producer, and bandleader Mathis Picard in an intimate solo concert on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 at 7 PM.

Mathis Picard

Don&#39;t miss the Sonic Saxophone Summit at Cafe CODA, on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 8:00pm, during the 2026 Madison Jazz Festival. Tickets $25.&nbsp; Gathered by Hanah Jon Taylor and featuring legendary improviser Roscoe Mitchell, this all-star ensemble will also include Peter Mathistad, Tom Gullion, Anders Svanoe, Pawan Benjamin, David Hart, Christopher Rollins, Jamill Shaw, Lord Yancyy, Kevin Carnes, Dushun Mosley, Ben Ferris, Darius Savage, and more.<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">

Sonic Saxophone Summit

Join us on&nbsp;Friday, June 19 at 7:30 PM&nbsp;for a screening of Makin&#39; Cake the film directed by&nbsp;Dasha Kelly.&nbsp;For most of human history, baking required patience, resources ... and luck. Ingredients were scarce and expensive; chemistry was fickle; and the chain of procedures required days. When our nation began experiencing abundance for the first time, most Americans couldn&rsquo;t afford basic cake ingredients. Doors open at 6:30 PM.<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" id="isPasted" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Makin&rsquo; Cake is a documentary that explores the cultural history of baking in America through the lens of equity, class and race. Writer and performance artist Dasha Kelly travels across the country speaking with bakers, social scientists and historians while incorporating live footage from her nationally touring stage production of the same name. Blending documentary storytelling, performance art and personal experimentation in the kitchen, the film reveals how a beloved dessert reflects deeper stories of race, class, and privilege in American life.

Makin' Cake Film Screening with Dasha Kelly

Mills Folly Microcinema welcomes filmmaker Emily Pelstring for an in-person presentation of&nbsp;Our Psychedelic Nature, &nbsp;a program of her short films, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5.00. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Mills Folly Microcinema: Short Films by Emily Pelstring

Join us for a reading and conversation with Madison-area poet Krissy Kludt and Montana-based essayist Nicholas Triolo on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 6:30pm. The authors will read from their new books, Kludt&rsquo;s I Could Walk Forever and Know So Little and Triolo&rsquo;s The Way Around. They will discuss their work and how weaving writing with walking invites us into fields of radical affection, centering awe and possibility in our uncertain times. They will discuss how revision, both on the page and on the path, can distill what&rsquo;s true in a life, and how devotion to unending pilgrimage of curiosity is perhaps the most renewable energy source.

The Forever Pilgrimage: A Conversation with Nicholas Triolo and Krissy Kludt

Celebrate the launch of &quot;Wild Freedom&quot; by Dale Kushner 📚✨Join&nbsp;novelist, poet, and essayist Dale M. Kushner&nbsp;for a thoughtful and engaging conversation exploring journeys of self‑discovery, creativity, and inner wisdom on Friday, June 5 at 7 PM. Drawing from her acclaimed new book,&nbsp;Wild Freedom, Kushner invites readers into an intimate exploration of what it means to listen deeply to ourselves and move toward wholeness&mdash;especially in times of uncertainty, competing commitments, and even one&rsquo;s own personal crisis.Blending insight with warmth and humor, Kushner&rsquo;s work offers simple yet powerful reflection on how we can tap into our innate wisdom and navigate life&rsquo;s complexities with courage and compassion and curiosity. This session will include conversation, reflection, and audience Q&amp;A, making it ideal for writers and readers drawn to literary fiction, memoir, spirituality, and personal growth.&nbsp; Event details &amp; registration Reserve your spot using this form so we can plan seating and refreshments.&nbsp;

Wild Freedom Book Launch

Synthfest Madison is an all-day day event on Saturday, May 30. Workshops:<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" id="isPasted" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">10:00 - 12:00 - DIY Synth Building with Tim Kaiser - Third floor education studio<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">12:00 - 1:00 - [Break] Synth Gallery - First floor gallery<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">1:00 - 3:00 - Hybrid synth systems in practice and performance with Lorna Dune - Third floor education studio<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">3:00 - 3:30 - [Break] Synth Gallery - First floor gallery<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">3:30 - 5:30 - Creating and manipulating sound using Max/MSP with Jeff Herriott - Third floor education studio<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">6p-6:30 [Break] Synth Gallery - First floor gallery<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">7:30 Concert (Doors at 7)

SynthFest 2026

Join us for an evening with guitarist and composer Marisa Anderson 🎸 Experience her genre-blurring sound in an intimate setting that reflects Arts + Literature Laboratory&rsquo;s commitment to adventurous, inclusive arts programming. 🎶 Reserve your spot to be part of this shared listening experience.

Marisa Anderson

Join us for an evening of modern chamber music with&nbsp;ATLYS&nbsp;on&nbsp;Friday, May 15th at 7:00pm.&nbsp;Doors at 6:30pm.<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" id="isPasted" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Buckle up for a high-energy, explosive string quartet concert unlike anything you&rsquo;ve seen before, featuring a genre-blurring mix of original music, reimagined covers, and brand-new pieces you haven&rsquo;t heard yet. If you love the music of Bridgerton, attending candlelight concerts, listening to film scores on blast, or the timeless charm of string quartet music&mdash;with a bold, modern twist&mdash;this concert is for you.

ATLYS

Join us Thursday, May 14 at 7 PM for unforgettable performance by former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly.&nbsp; For most of human history, baking required patience, resources ... and luck. Ingredients were scarce and expensive; chemistry was fickle; and the chain of procedures required days. When our nation began experiencing abundance for the first time, most Americans couldn&rsquo;t afford basic cake ingredients. Makin&rsquo; Cake is written and performed by Dasha Kelly, author, poet laureate, and creative change agent. Kelly cuts into a cake, revealing what its history and ingredients can teach us about race, class and equity in America.

Makin' Cake

Join us on Wednesday, May 13 at 6:00pm for a film screening featuring a selection of three short films related to the topic of laundry, curated by LAB^4 artist India Johnson.

Laundry Film Screening

Auricle New Music Series&nbsp;welcomes&nbsp;the Matt Blair Trio&nbsp;opening for&nbsp;Emily Rach Beisel&nbsp;on&nbsp;Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 7:00pm.<br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" id="isPasted" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><br style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; box-sizing: inherit;" fr-original-style="color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Emily Rach Beisel&#39;s spring tour features music from the upcoming solo record, Sumptuous Branching, to be released April 10, 2026. The performance blends bass clarinet, voice, and analog electronics, moving between composed material and open forms. It balances song-based structures with dense, heavy textures drawn from doom metal and experimental sound worlds. Acoustic and processed sounds are layered in real time, creating an immersive listening environment that shifts between intensity and quiet, meditative moments.

Auricle Presents Matt Blair Trio & Emily Rach Beisel

Auricle New Music Series welcomes Tatsuya Nakatani on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 7:00pm. Tatsuya Nakatani is an avant-garde percussionist, composer, and artist of sound. Active internationally since the 1990s, Nakatani has released over 80 recordings and tours extensively, performing over 150 concerts a year. His primary focus is his solo work and his large ensemble project, the Nakatani Gong Orchestra. He teaches master classes and lectures at universities and music conservatories around the world. Originally from Japan, he makes his home in the desert town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. With his activity in new music, improvisation, and experimental music, Nakatani has a long history of collaboration.

Auricle Presents Tatsuya Nakatani

Join us on Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 6 PM to celebrate the best published work from 2025 by Wisconsin writers. The award ceremony includes brief readings by first place winners and will be followed by a reception and book signing by the authors. Don&#39;t miss the opportunity to hear some of Wisconsin&#39;s best writers reading from their work. This event is free and open to the public. Winners will be announced at the ceremony!

2025 WI Writers Awards Ceremony

Mills Folly Microcinema presents Project Projection Spring 2026, a program of locally produced film and video, Wednesday, April 29, at 7:00pm. Free admission, donations encouraged.&nbsp; Join us for an evening of experimental films, short documentaries, music videos, and animation produced by filmmakers who reside in Madison and Dane County. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Program running time: approximately 80 minutes. A Q&amp;A session with the filmmakers in attendance will follow the screening.&nbsp; The order of the films will be provided in the program notes at the screening. The target running time will be 75 minutes (pending submissions).

Project Projection Spring 2026

🎉 Join us for an evening of jazz with the Matthew Endres Quartet featuring pianist and composer Dr. Ryan Tomski on Friday, April 24th at 7:30pm. Doors at 7:00pm.

Matt Endres Quartet Featuring Ryan Tomski

Join us for the 2026 Midwest Video Poetry Fest 🎬📖The sixth year of the Midwest Video Poetry Festival (MVPF) takes place Saturday, April 4th, 2026 at Arts + Literature Laboratory in Madison, WI. This cutting-edge art form celebrates the amazing breadth of expression when one of humanity&rsquo;s oldest art forms is interpreted through the lens of one of its newest. The 30 featured videos range from 1 minute to just over 6 minutes long. They have all been created within the last two years, many of them within the last few months, promising a fresh, contemporary point of view. About Arts + Literature LaboratoryArts + Literature Laboratory (ALL) is a contemporary arts space where artists, writers, and community members connect, create, and grow together. We support visual, literary, and performing arts through exhibitions, readings, concerts, and hands-on educational programs for people of all ages.&nbsp; Our goal is to give artists and audiences the freedom to explore bold ideas, share diverse experiences, and hold meaningful conversations. Because we believe creativity is a powerful tool for understanding, connection, and positive change, we are committed to making the arts accessible and welcoming to everyone while valuing and fairly compensating the makers whose creative work makes this possible.&nbsp;

2026 Midwest Video Poetry Fest

Join us for an evening of jazz with the Matthew Endres Quartet featuring saxophonist Chip McNeill on Friday, March 20th at 7:00pm. Doors at 6:30pm.<br style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: auto; text-decoration-style: solid; caret-color: rgb(55, 61, 66); color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; box-sizing: inherit;" id="isPasted" fr-original-style="font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: auto; text-decoration-style: solid; caret-color: rgb(55, 61, 66); color: rgb(55, 61, 66); font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">

The Matthew Endres Quartet featuring saxophonist Chip McNeill

Test_Tracking helps us understand how audiences connect with our exhibitions, readings, and workshops 🎭📚. By sharing a few details, you support Arts &amp; Literature Laboratory&rsquo;s mission to be a hub for creative work and community dialogue. Your responses guide how we plan future programs, improve access for artists and writers, and strengthen opportunities for collaboration. Thank you for taking a moment to help shape what happens in our space.

Test_Tracking helps us understand how audiences connect with our exhibitions, readings, and workshops 🎭📚. By sharing a few details, you support Arts & Literature Laboratory’s mission to be a hub for creative work and community dialogue.Your responses guide how we plan future programs, improve access for artists and writers, and strengthen opportunities for collaboration. Thank you for taking a moment to help shape what happens in our space.

Test_Tracking

Your gift keeps the Monthly Jazz Newsletter in tune 🎷. This free monthly newsletter keeps our community informed with and engaged in local jazz.&nbsp; Thank you for helping this ongoing jazz conversation stay alive and accessible!

Your gift keeps the Monthly Jazz Newsletter in tune 🎷. This free monthly newsletter keeps our community informed with and engaged in local jazz. Thank you for helping this ongoing jazz conversation stay alive and accessible!

Support the Monthly Jazz Newsletter

Your gift keeps local arts and literature alive. You help us present exhibitions, readings, concerts, film screenings, and workshops that give artists and writers room to experiment and grow. 🎨📚 Support our 10,500 square foot community space where over 200 events each year welcome youth, adults, and neighbors to connect, learn, and create. Your donation is especially vital for artists who have been excluded or underrepresented.

Your gift keeps local arts and literature alive. You help us present exhibitions, readings, concerts, film screenings, and workshops that give artists and writers room to experiment and grow. 🎨📚Support our 10,500 square foot community space where over 200 events each year welcome youth, adults, and neighbors to connect, learn, and create. Your donation is especially vital for artists who have been excluded or underrepresented.

Support the arts in our community!

Join us on Saturday, August 8 from 3:00pm - 7:00pm for Creating Belonging: A Celebration, an interactive celebration featuring performances by Foggy Notion Physical Theater, live music by The Scrappy Rat Band, creative activities, and community connection.

Creating Belonging: A Celebration

Creating Belonging: Exchange as Practice Artist Panel, a discussion moderated by Madison Boeder and organized by <a fr-original-style="" href="https://artlitlab.org/Lab4" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">LAB^4</a>, will take place&nbsp;Saturday, August 29th at 3:00 PM. This panel reimagines &ldquo;belonging&rdquo; as an act of co-creation, rather than something that is static. The goal is to create a space where artists and community members actively exchange ideas, stories, and inspirations, revealing how belonging is made through shared creative energy.

Creating Belonging: Artist Panel

Join us Saturday, August 29th, 3:00-4:00pm for Creating Belonging: Exchange as Practice Artist Panel, a discussion moderated by Madison Boeder and organized by&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://artlitlab.org/Lab4" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">LAB^4</a>. This panel reimagines &ldquo;belonging&rdquo; as an act of co-creation, rather than something that is static. The goal is to create a space where artists and community members actively exchange ideas, stories, and inspirations, revealing how belonging is made through shared creative energy.

Rescheduled | Creating Belonging: Artist Panel

<a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/programs/music-performing-arts/auricle" id="isPasted" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; -webkit-user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Auricle New Music Series</a> welcomes Setting to kick of the Fall 2026 Auricle season on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:00pm

Auricle Presents: Setting

Join us on Friday, September 11, 2026 at 7:00pm for an evening of Rakugo storytelling with Katsura Sunshine: Katsura Sunshine&#39;s RakugoA show of hilarity and culture in equal doses! Katsura Sunshine completed his grueling traditional apprenticeship in Rakugo comic storytelling under the great Rakugo Master Katsura Bunshi VI in 2011. His performances have delighted audiences throughout the world as well as all over Japan. Sunshine has graced the Broadway stage with a different delightful Japanese story each month since 2019, at the famous New World Stages in Manhattan. Come for an hour of laughter and leave with a piece of Japan in you heart! &quot;A Master Storyteller!&quot;-The New York Times &quot;The King of Kimono Comedy!&quot;-Reuters New York &quot;There is only one Sunshine!&quot;-The New Yorker

Katsura Sunshine's Rakugo: Stories from Japan

Join us on Saturday, September 19 at 7 PM for a special reading with local poets Nick Demske, Rebecca Hewitt, and Blaine Michael Purcell.Don&#39;t miss a word!&nbsp;We have assistive hearing devices available. If you&#39;d like to reserve one, you can reach out to us in advance at liz@artlitlab.org. Then simply arrive at least 10 minutues early.

September Watershed Reading

<a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/programs/music-performing-arts/auricle" id="isPasted" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Auricle New Music Series</a> welcomes STOMACHS on Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 7:00pm. Doors open 6:30pm.

Auricle Presents: STOMACHS

<a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/programs/music-performing-arts/auricle" id="isPasted" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Auricle New Music Series</a>&nbsp;presents a screening of F.W. Murnau&#39;s Faust with live accompaniment by t<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.xklmusic.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">en thousand lakes</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;Sunday, October 4, 2026 at 7:00pm. Doors open 6:30pm.&nbsp;Experience the film&rsquo;s striking visuals with experimental sound in real time.

Auricle Presents "Faust" with Live Accompaniment by ten thousand lakes

Join us Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:00pm for Clouds: Water in its Most Poetic Form, a presentation by Mark Weller. Doors open at 6:30pm. Wisconsin-based Mark Weller explores Timestacking and the curious route to becoming a fulltime lens-based artist. This program is presented by PhotoMidwest as part of its biannual Photography Festival.

Mark Weller Presents Clouds: Water in its Most Poetic Form

<a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/programs/music-performing-arts/auricle" id="isPasted" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Auricle New Music Series</a> welcomes the Matt Blair Trio with Jon Mueller &amp; Ro Lundberg on Friday, October 16, 2026 at 7:00pm. Doors open 6:30pm.

Auricle Presents: Matt Blair Trio

<a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/programs/music-performing-arts/auricle" id="isPasted" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Auricle New Music Series</a> welcomes experimental percussionists Michael Brenneis and Dave Schoepke on Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 7:00pm. Doors open 6:30pm.

Auricle Presents: Drumming with Current

<a fr-original-style="text-align: left;" href="https://artlitlab.org/programs/music-performing-arts/auricle" id="isPasted" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Auricle New Music Series</a> welcomes the <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.lilyglickfinnegan.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Lily Finnegan Quartet</a> on Friday, November 20, 2026 at 7:00pm. Doors open 6:30pm.

Auricle Presents: Lily Finnegan Quartet

Join us on Saturday, November 21 at 7 PM for a special reading with local poets Holli Carrell, Cathryn Cofell, Megan O&#39;Gieblyn, and Melissa Range. Don&#39;t miss a word!&nbsp;We have assistive hearing devices available. If you&#39;d like to reserve one, you can reach out to us in advance at liz@artlitlab.org. Then simply arrive at least 10 minutues early.

Arts & Literature Laboratory Inc

Arts & Literature Laboratory Inc

Events

Events

Creating Belonging: A Celebration

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Creating Belonging: Artist Panel

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Rescheduled | Creating Belonging: Artist Panel

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Auricle Presents: Setting

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Katsura Sunshine's Rakugo: Stories from Japan

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September Watershed Reading

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Auricle Presents: STOMACHS

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Auricle Presents "Faust" with Live Accompaniment by ten thousand lakes

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Mark Weller Presents Clouds: Water in its Most Poetic Form

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Auricle Presents: Matt Blair Trio

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Auricle Presents: Drumming with Current

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Auricle Presents: Lily Finnegan Quartet

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November Watershed Reading

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