For John Bernos, the dream of a career on the stage started here in Ann Arbor. At Pioneer High, sports were his passion—until he discovered the Pioneer Theatre Guild. His focus intensified when he won FutureStars, a singing competition between students from Ann Arbor’s public high schools.
Read More
UCMC founder and executive director Allyson Cohen envisions a world where “everyone has access to exceptional musical performances and feels included and valued in classical spaces.”
Read More
Have fraudsters ever tried to make their way into Ann Arbor’s Art Fair?
Read More
Pioneer Theatre Guild’s reimagined Hamlet embodies exactly the type of theater program Quinn Strassel wants for students: “Theater is better when everyone is invited to the table.” And in Ann Arbor Public Schools, high school students have an open invitation.
Read More
When I walk up to the hot pink facade of Cluster Museum on Main, I often get a little jolt of excited anticipation—I never know what artist I might meet, what new creative work I might experience, what spark of conversation might ignite me.
Read More
Hear.Say Brewing + Theater is a lot of things: a craft brewery, a taproom, and a performance space for comedy of both the stand-up and improvisational varieties. Nestled into a cozy west-side commercial strip on W. Liberty, between Stadium and Maple, it’s also a welcoming neighborhood hub.
Read More
We spoke with three painters, one from each fair, whose work engages with “intersections,” a concept that encompasses much of what the fairs are all about: exploring points of connection and embracing individuality and commonality at once.
Read More
Ann Arbor native Trevor Zhou is no stranger to bringing his personal life into his films.
Read More
The local orchestra program broadens young people’s horizons—and has a broader reach than just Ann Arbor.
Read More
WEMU’s music director Michael Jewett and news director David Fair will retire in June.
Read More
Sareka Unique has expanded from artwork in once-vacant Briarwood storefronts to a storefront of her own.
Read More
A former ballet studio on N. Main is ready for a star turn in a new artistic direction. Cluster Museum, a new collaborative of local artists, hosts a small commercial gallery with art supplies for sale in the front section. Behind the wide viewing window is an ample floor for contemporary thematic exhibits, workshops, and author readings.
Read More
“I was really fascinated by the fact that all these kids were really great storytellers but weren’t really good readers,” recalls Bailes, now a U-M medical student. Once back in the United States, she began working with a pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to better understand how to keep kids who are falling behind on track to learn to read. She thought, “Why can’t dance and literacy come together to get kids excited about reading and learning?”
Read More
Atomic Trading Co., Alex Kent’s new vintage boutique in Nickels Arcade, is the furthest thing you’ll find from a market-analysis-based enterprise tailored to capitalize on consumer trends.
Read More
Founder Pat Montgomery established Clonlara School in 1967 to “allow children to be themselves, free to explore their interests and develop into individuals who [feel] free in their own skin,” she told the Observer in 2017. Through what it calls Full Circle Learning (FCL), Clonlara empowers its students to pursue topics that spark their curiosity, and learn what they learn along the way.
Read More
Theatre NOVA is heading into its eleventh season in 2026 in the face of financial uncertainty. In the summer of 2025, the Trump administration called for a 35 percent cut in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. Its grants are vital to many creative organizations, and Theatre NOVA is no exception.
Read More
Wandering the lines of booths that snake through downtown, the Ann Arbor Art Fair feels like a single vast event. But within it are three separate fairs, each with its own governing board, jury, and territory. And every year, each expresses itself with an original poster and merchandise created by one of its artists. This year is no exception, and all three artists, in their own ways, are exceptional.
Read More
Without waiting for Congress to act, his appointees cancelled NEA grants that had already been approved—including $30,000 for the Ann Arbor Film Festival. The 2025 festival was in March, and “I had already submitted our final report and payment request,” says executive director Leslie Raymond.
Read More