UW–Madison welcomes Eve L. Ewing for Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program and Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival

Eve L Ewing residency banner

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of the Arts and the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) welcome writer, sociologist, poet and professor Dr. Eve L. Ewing as Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence and featured performer for the 2023 Line Breaks Festival.

An academic year-long partnership between the Division of the Arts and OMAI, the collaboration presents a series of short-term residencies with interdisciplinary artists who represent the three pillars of OMAI: academics, arts and activism. The residency series has brought Jay Adana and Zeniba Now, Jasmine Mans and Porsha Olayiwola to UW–Madison.

The fourth and last in the academic year-long series, Ewing’s residency will be from March 30–April 1, 2023 and will include a public conversation with poet and UW–Madison faculty Paul Tran on Thursday, March 30, and feature and headline performances at the annual Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival on Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1.

OMAI’s Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival consists of performances, lectures and discussions by First Wave artist-scholars and invited professional artists engaging with the Madison community, on and off campus. Inaugurated through OMAI’s sponsored Interdisciplinary Arts Residency with Marc Bamuthi Joseph in the spring of 2007, the Line Breaks project culminated in a final performance of student work called Just Bust!. Now running for 15 years, Just Bust! has evolved into an open mic. Line Breaks brings the top new aesthetics in contemporary hip hop and interdisciplinary performance art to the UW–Madison campus and the surrounding community. It has evolved into a space for the investigation of contemporary American culture through the lens of hip hop performance. Line Breaks is now one of the largest hip hop-centered performance festivals in the Midwest and continues to be a space for the cultivation and presentation of independent and collaborative work by First Wave artist-scholars. Here, unique responses to common human experiences are explored. The narratives, myths and legends, specific to these diverse communities, are unearthed, distilled and presented in an environment that encourages discussion and continued investigation.

Public Events

Thursday, March 30 | 5:30–7 p.m.
Page & Stage: An Evening with Eve L. Ewing and Paul Tran
A Room of One’s Own (2717 Atwood Avenue)

UW–Madison’s Division of the Arts, the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives and A Room of One’s Own are thrilled to welcome Eve L. Ewing to Madison in conversation with poet and UW–Madison Assistant Professor of English and Asian American Studies Paul Tran.

Register here. This event is all ages, free and open to the public. Space is limited: register to guarantee a spot. Masks are required at this venue.

Friday, March 31 | 4:30–5:30 p.m.
Pre-Show Reception
Sunset Lounge, Memorial Union (800 Langdon Street)

Join the Division of the Arts and the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) in celebrating the opening of the 2023 Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival! Doors for Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival Showcase open at 5:30 p.m.

Doors for the Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival Showcase open at 5:30 p.m. Register here for the evening Showcase.

Friday, March 31 | 6–8 p.m.
Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival Showcase
Shannon Hall, Wisconsin Union Theater, Memorial Union (800 Langdon Street)

Join the Division of the Arts and the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) for the 2023 Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival! This Friday night Showcase features performances by First Wave artist-scholars in the 15th Cohort; Diya Abbas (14th Cohort) and Azura Tyabji (13th Cohort); Jackson Neal (12th Cohort); and featured performances by guests of Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Eve L. Ewing including Jamila Woods and Nate Marshall. The Showcase will conclude with a talkback with the featured performers and Eve L. Ewing, moderated by Amanda Torres.

Register here! This event is all ages, free and open to the public. Masks are encouraged. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

A pre-show reception will take place from 4:30–5:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Sunset Lounge.

Saturday, April 1 | 6–8 p.m.
Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival Showcase
Shannon Hall, Wisconsin Union Theater  (800 Langdon Street)

Join the Division of the Arts and the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) for the 2023 Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival! This Saturday night Showcase features performances by First Wave artist-scholars in the 15th Cohort; First Wave alumna, Shasparay Irvin; the First Wave Touring Ensemble; and headlining performance by Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Eve L. Ewing. The Showcase will conclude with a talkback with all the evening’s performers and OMAI Artistic Director Mark H.

Register here! This event is all ages, free and open to the public. Masks are encouraged.

A post-show reception will take place 8–9:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Sunset Lounge.

Saturday, April 1 | 8:00–9:30 p.m.
Post-Show Reception
Sunset Lounge, Memorial Union (800 Langdon Street)

Join the Division of the Arts and the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) to close out the 2023 Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival!

Learn more and register here for the Saturday evening Showcase.

Eve L. Ewing headshotAbout the Artist

Dr. Eve L. Ewing is a sociologist of education and a writer from Chicago. She is the author of a book for young readers, Maya and the Robot, the poetry collection 1919 and the nonfiction work, Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side. Her first book, the poetry collection Electric Arches, received awards from the American Library Association and the Poetry Society of America, and was named one of the year’s best books by NPR and the Chicago Tribune. She is the co-author (with Nate Marshall) of the play No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. She also currently writes the Champions series for Marvel Comics, and previously wrote the acclaimed Ironheart series, as well as other projects. Ewing is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other venues. Currently she is working on her next book, Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, which will be published by One World.