Guest Artists

A student sitting at a piano looks at a guest artist giving them feedback.

Guest Artists 

Across the college, our students have access to internationally renowned guest artists, performers, art exhibits, films and filmmakers through the robust connections of our renowned faculty and partners at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, Sheldon Museum of Art, Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center and Nebraska Repertory Theatre. 

Guest Artist Highlights

A guest artist works on a ceramics project during a class demonstration.

School of Art, Art History & Design 

The School of Art, Art History & Design’s Hixson-Lied Visiting Artists & Scholars Lecture Series, presented in collaboration with Sheldon Museum of Art, invites artists and scholars each semester to Lincoln to meet and work with our students and present a public lecture. The series enriches our program and exposes our students to exciting new artists and ideas.  

Recent Hixson-Lied Visiting Artists & Scholars have included: 

  • Steve Anderson, filmmaker 
  • Isabel Barbuzza, sculpture  
  • Matt Belk, painter 
  • Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker, archaeologists  
  • Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, interdisciplinary  
  • Christopher Fox, graphic design 
A band plays on stage with a guest artist.

Glenn Korff School of Music 

The Glenn Korff School of Music has partnered with the Lied Center for Performing Arts to host transformational performances and educational engagements with the iconic artists visiting the Lied Center each year. 

Recent masterclasses have included:  

  • The musical “Hamilton” held a masterclass for UNL dance students. 
  • Pianst Emanuel Ax visited with students after his performance. 
  • Jake Shimabukuro, virtuosic ukelele player and composer, led a lecture/demonstration during convocation. 
  • Nine-time Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis held a jazz ensemble masterclass. 
  • Grammy and Avery Fisher Prize-winning violinist Joshua Bell and opera singer Larisa Martinez led masterclasses for music students.
A man sits on stage at a kitchen table with a woman in pink housecoat looms over him.

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film 

The Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s guest artist program provides students with the chance to enhance their learning and gain real-world insights into both the craft and business sides of the film and entertainment industries.  

Recent guest artists have included:  

  • Deb Barylski, Emmy-award winning casting director 
  • Kersti Bryan, actress, director and writer 
  • Ron Himes, founder and producing director of the Saint Louis Black Repertory Company. 
  • k. Jenny Jones, educator, professional stunt actor and fight master 
  • Kathryn Moncrief, scholar, author and educator 
  • Paul Prendergast, sound designer in theatre, television and film 
A film camera is adjusted for a shot with guest artist giving direction.

Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts 

The Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts’ IGNITE Colloquium gives students access to emerging media arts industry professionals through in-person and Zoom lectures each week. The center also commissions industry professionals to serve as teaching artists that design unique, boundary-pushing courses for our students. 

Recent guests have included: 

  • Katie Williams, digital paint supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic’s Vancouver studio 
  • Signe Baumane, Latvian-born, Brooklyn-based filmmaker, artist, writer and animator 
  • Gigi Louisa Johnson, creative futurist and managing partner at Rethink Next and Maremel Studios 
  • Gale Ann Hurd, award-winning film and television producer (“The Walking Dead,” “The Terminator,” and “Aliens”)