Florida State University will organize the 2026 Festival of the Creative Arts, an event that brings together faculty and students from various disciplines to showcase their work in February and early March. The festival is managed by FSU’s Office of Research.
Departments across campus will participate, highlighting innovative projects that blend different forms of artistic expression with other academic fields. Iain Quinn, festival director and FSU’s Research Fellow in the arts and humanities, said: “Each year, the Festival of the Creative Arts celebrates interdisciplinary engagement across campus with events that include faculty and student participation. In addition to ongoing research conversations that develop from one festival to another, there are also new collaborations and multiple first performances.”
The program includes activities for K-12 students and families. One such event is “It’s the Weather!” at the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee on Saturday, Feb. 7, which features hands-on experiences connecting art and science. There will also be a premiere performance involving digital art and music. According to Quinn, “It’s an excellent opportunity to learn about the historic and contemporary connections between art and science with multiple hands-on activities. The festival is always a special opportunity for everyone to be inspired by the creative spirit that defines FSU.”
All events during the festival are open to the public at no cost, with no reservations required. More information can be found at research.fsu.edu/fca.
Scheduled events range from poetry readings, collaborative performances across dance, hospitality, music, and poetry; educational programs about weather; planetarium storytimes; symposia focused on arts-health-humanities; classical literature readings; film screenings including a presentation based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Nickel Boys”; lectures on cultural practices such as flânerie; faculty exhibitions examining landscapes; concerts dedicated to composers like Frank Martin; panel discussions on family in contemporary film; a 24-hour create-a-thon for students working in teams across disciplines; a mixed media gala culminating in a fashion show; as well as several art exhibitions addressing themes like indigenous ecologies or healing.
Exhibitions associated with the festival will take place at venues including the Museum of Fine Arts and Robert Manning Strozier Library.
