The University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative is launching the Faculty Arts Ambassador Program, supporting two U-M faculty members in bringing community-centered arts experiences to locations across Michigan this summer.
Designed to expand access to the arts and strengthen connections between U-M and communities statewide, the program supports participatory events — such as workshops, exhibitions and artist-led conversations — co-created with local partners. Engagements will take place across Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula between May and August 2026.
Faculty ambassadors receive project funding, travel support, and a stipend, along with logistical and marketing support from the Arts Initiative.
A formerly incarcerated poet, memoirist, and lecturer in LSA’s Department of English, Language, and Literature, Holland leads multidisciplinary creative workshops that engage individuals impacted by the criminal justice system. His project will bring writing, performance and visual art workshops to prisons and partner organizations across Michigan, emphasizing storytelling, creative confidence and community connection.
“Poetry has given me purpose — through loss, addiction, incarceration, and transition,” Holland said. “I’m excited to cultivate community and hope through this work, because no matter where life takes us, writing is always there. All you need is a pen, a piece of paper, and an idea.”
As part of the program, Holland will collaborate with U-M’s Prison Creative Arts Project to lead a two-day writing workshop series with incarcerated participants in Upper Peninsula correctional facilities centered on storytelling, accessibility in creative practice, and personal narrative as a tool for reflection and expression.
Read about more U-M Arts Initiative programs, including the Faculty Arts Amabassador Program, on the State of the Arts page of the U-M Arts website.
