The May flowers are in full bloom, and the first full moon of the month, appropriately called the Flower Moon, appears May 1. This month is your last time to experience a packed university calendar before the lazy days of summer commence.
Art
Find a new piece of art for your workspace at the Spring Lonely Craft Sale May 8 in the Erb Memorial Union.
Cinema
Learn about other countries, cultures and history just by going to a free movie. Several of the directors will be at the screenings for discussions with the audience.
May 4 is the Yoko McClain Public Documentary Screening: Black Box Diaries and a conversation with director Shiori Ito, the woman who sparked Japan’s #MeToo movement.
The Department of Cinema Studies presents a film set on the Oregon Coast, Sometimes I Think About Dying that includes Q&A with director Rachel Lambert May 7.
The May 11 screening of Singing for Justice with codirector Estelle Freedman is followed by a singalong. Also on May 11, The Dawn is Too Far shares the untold stories of eight Iranian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area.
This month, the Filmlandia Screening Series presents 1975’s Street Girls May 20 and the Ken Kesey classic Sometimes a Great Notion May 27.
Catch the Buena Vista Social Club, Wim Wenders’ award-winning documentary that captures one of the most celebrated musical rediscoveries of the 20th century, following American songwriter Ry Cooder on a journey to Havana to meet and record with Cuba’s greatest living musicians. Shows May 21 in the Knight Library Music Classroom.
End the month May 28 with Celluloid Social: Labor Movements, a selection of short films about labor to celebrate International Workers’ Day.
Celebrations
Check out some of the student-organized events of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month that are open to the UO community.
Celebrate the diversity, artistry and identity that highlights the unique beauty found in every tradition with the International Student Association, May 2, at I-Night 2026: Worldwide Gala — A Celebration of Culture.
Take the train to Alishan May 5 to Taiwan Night 2026, hosted by the Taiwanese Student Association, and enjoy a lively night featuring special guest artist Asumuh.
Kultura Pilipinas displays their filipino heritage through food, performances, games and more during the May 9 Pilipino Culture Night.
Dance
Experience the joyous, pulse-pounding rhythms of the Dema African Performance Ensemble at the show May 15.
The Dance Student Spotlight offers three nights of performances in the Dougherty Dance Theatre May 28-30.
Exhibitions
May 1 is Free First Friday at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. UO employees get free admission any day, but now you can take friends and family.
Lectures
One of the best aspects of working at a university is the chance to learn new things from experts and artists. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art curators Soojin Jeong and Heejung Chang will lead a talk discussing the current exhibition of Korean art “Navigating Through Centuries” May 2.
The Oregon Humanities Center presents a Wine Chat, “Incantation: The Power of Legal Language and Black Feminist Imagination,” with Faith Barter, associate professor of English and Black studies, May 20 at Capitello Wines in Eugene.
The Visiting Artist Lecture Series hosts two artists this month: “From Loom to Screen: Weaving Textiles into Animation” with Kate Nartker May 14, and “Absurd Thinking: Between Art and Design” with Allan Wexler May 28.
On May 14, Museum of Natural and Cultural History Executive Director Todd Braje discusses “The Power of Collections in a Changing World” that preserve stories of how humans have faced crisis and change over thousands of years.
Two food-related lectures are on the menu: “Food Fit for a King: What the 1611 Cookbook Teaches Us about Early Modern Spanish Foodways” is May 22 and “A Mediterranean Nightshade: Tomatoes, Trade, and Travel over the Longue Durée”dern Spanish Foodways” is May 23.
Music
The end of spring term brings performances from most of the student groups in the School of Music and Dance from jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras and percussion to hip-hop/pop, gospel and a musical theater review.
The Berliner Philharmoniker annually marks Europe Day with a special performance at a site of deep musical history; this year’s Europakonzert (concert) takes place May 1 at Esterházy Palace, where Joseph Haydn lived and worked for over four decades. Meet in the Knight Library to enjoy an exclusive live feed of this historic performance.
Adventure awaits May 2 at two performances of Wild About Oregon – A Symphonic Exploration of Oregon’s Many Animals, a brand-new children’s concert with engaging narration, wildlife photography and a dazzling 26-piece chamber orchestra.
Yoisho Hai Yoi Yoi! Ahiru Daiko, the UO’s Japanese drumming ensemble, returns to the Global Scholars Hall for its spring concert May 9.
Three levels of opera are available to sample. Get the full opera experience May 9-10 with Ordo Virtutum, a morality play about the struggle for a human soul between the virtues and the devil. Or try Opera and Love: It’s Complicated! for the tastiest morsels from the world’s greatest opera composers, May 22. From the world-renowned Lincoln Center, witness the Met Opera Watch Party: Aida, a sweeping story of love, loyalty and betrayal set against the grandeur of ancient Egypt. Come for the spectacle, stay for the drama, May 14.
“Appalachian Spring” blooms at Beall Concert Hall May 17 with the Manhattan Chamber Players, a chamber music collective of New York-based musicians.
Readings
The Creative Writing Reading Series presents poet and professor V. Penelope Pelizzon from the University of Connecticut, May 14 in the Knight Library Reading Room.
Theater
Dive into the world premiere of WaterWorks, an original musical drama. Brian McWhorter, School of Music and Dance professor, serves as the production’s conductor, and Naomi Castro, patron and community engagement coordinator, is the choral master. Show is May 1-3 at Lane Community College.
Radium Girls ends its run May 1-3 including a Sunday matinee. The timely play tells the dark side of scientific progress.
Workshops
Learn new things for free! Visit the library’s GIS Lab every Friday afternoon in May for the workshop series The Arts and Crafts of Mapmaking, hands-on crafts and projects centered on getting creative with maps. Learn how to make map boxes, lanterns, magnets, jewelry and more. Snacks and beverages served.
Those with musical skills can learn about a music notation application in the May 5 The Basics of Dorico 90-minute workshop. Gather tidbits for your next trivia night and hear some great scores at the May 19 workshop on The History of Film Music.
Learn how to develop a perfect grid (tik-khang) and how to draw a Buddha face at the May 20 Workshop: Foundations of Thangka Iconometry at the art museum.
—Jennifer Archer, University Communications