A year of change and transition at Hancher Auditorium and the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement.
This past year, Hancher celebrated its landmark 50th anniversary with a series of public performances that honored its roots as a leading university performing arts presenter. Behind the scenes, the staff undertook a period of remarkable organizational change led by Executive Director André Perry.
In July 2022, Hancher moved into the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost as part of the newly formed Office of Performing Arts and Engagement. In doing so, Hancher became a key element of the university’s evolving Performing Arts at Iowa initiative.
The Office of Performing Arts and Engagement is a central hub that stewards partnership between all UI performing arts units, including the Department of Dance, Hancher Auditorium, the School of Music, the Performing Arts Production Unit, and the Department of Theatre Arts. Together, these units affirm Iowa’s commitment to the arts while positioning the institution and surrounding community as a national leader in the performing arts.
Working closely with Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel and in direct alignment with the university’s Strategic Plan 2022–27, Perry developed a five-year strategy for Hancher Auditorium and the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement.
“Our vision of building a first-choice, destination performing arts campus for our students, faculty, staff, wider community, and artists from around the world drives all our work,” says Perry.
The five-year plan includes initiatives such as:
- Nurturing community and belonging for students, faculty, and staff across the UI’s performing arts units
- Aligning visiting artist work with the student classroom experience
- Creating a partnership between Hancher, the Department of Dance, the School of Music, the Performing Arts Production Unit, and the Department of Theatre Arts to develop student-driven creative productions
- Further evolving Hancher’s world-class performing arts series to serve a range of campus and community members—focusing on access and outreach for both new and seasoned patrons of the arts
- Developing the Performing Arts at Iowa brand
Many of these initiatives are already in motion:
- Launch of the Performing Arts at Iowa website during spring 2023 via a unique and innovative cross-unit performing arts communications team
- A packed series of artist engagements in the classroom developed for the 2023–24 academic year, including a collaboration in which the UI Department of Dance students will share the Hancher stage with the Martha Graham Dance Company on March 29
- The co-production partnership will yield two major performances at Hancher—Dance Gala will be presented Nov. 10–11 and the new opera Fierce, written and directed by assistant professor of jazz studies William Menefield, will run April 26–27
- More than 3,000 people enjoyed the Fall Welcome Concert featuring Brittany Howard, Dawn Richard, and UI alum Elizabeth Moen on the Hancher Green on Aug. 25
“This Performing Arts at Iowa partnership is so important,” says Perry. “Each of us comes from unique units and we’re learning to work together. We are building connections that will help us realize the potential of all this incredible talent across campus, visiting artists, and, of course, our state-of-the-art facilities.”
As part of the five-year plan for Hancher Auditorium and the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement, the university has committed $1.3 million annually for strategic and operational support as well as continued support of core facility costs, estimated at $750,000 in FY24. Earned revenue, through ticket sales, and generous support from donors and supporters continue to play a major role in the ongoing plan, those sources accounting for 73% of a $7.8 million budget in FY24.
Perry’s leadership and collaborative approach is already enhancing the university’s extraordinary arts campus, says Kregel.
“The creativity and growth of this initiative on campus and in the greater community is exciting,” says Kregel. “The university has a wealth of talent and resources related to the arts, and I look forward to seeing how we will continue to build upon the momentum of this past year.”
Creating this new vision is a complex, challenging, and exhilarating job, Perry says.
“It’s easy to be inspired: we just look to our history as an arts leader for over 100 years. Our first creative writing class was in 1897, we started building the MFA degree in 1922, and by 1940 we had launched the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and established the Iowa Idea through the School of Art and Art History. And we’re building on our 50-year legacy at Hancher,” Perry says. “The arts are embedded in our university’s DNA.”
Tickets and more information about the 2023–2024 Hancher season events are available at hancher.uiowa.edu.
