Past Performing Arts | Music

Emily Wells

Artist sitting outstretched in a brick wall niche. She is a white person with long brown hair and wears white pants, a white t-shirt, and black boots.
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Nov 04, 2022 8:00 PM
Mershon Auditorium

$6 access
$12 members, seniors, and students (suggested)
$18 general public (suggested)
$36 access sponsor

We believe the arts are for everyone.
By providing personal choice on ticket pricing, we seek to reduce barriers to the arts. Please choose the ticket price that is right for you based on your own needs. If you are able, please consider paying access sponsor pricing, which generously supports these efforts to provide access to our communities.

At the request of the artist, all audience members 5 and older must provide proof of vaccination on entry, either in the form of their vaccination card or image of their card, along with their valid state-issued or university ID, or a negative COVID-19 test conducted no earlier than 72 hours prior to show time.

Click here to view our latest COVID-19 protocols.

ACCESSIBILITY
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as CART captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Accessibility Manager Helyn Marshall at accessibility@wexarts.org or via telephone at (614) 688-3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

Become a Member

Emily Wells and her ensemble visit the Wex to present Regards to the End, a beautifully layered new album that addresses the AIDS crisis, climate change, and the redemptive power of art.

Composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Emily Wells is known for blending classical and contemporary instrumentation, bridging the genres of pop and chamber music. She assembles songs with vocals, synths, drums, and piano, as well as string and wind instruments, creating haunting music that explores how humans relate to the natural world.

In Regards to the End, Wells explores environmental collapse, the AIDS crisis, and her lived experience as a queer musician through layered songs that are sparse yet powerful. Throughout the album, she references contemporary artists and activists who informed her work, including Félix González-Torres, Jenny Holzer, and Kiki Smith, connecting them across time through her music.

Interested in the way recording and performance influence one another, Wells will present the album with projections featuring intersecting imagery of contemporary dance, extreme weather, and the effects of the climate crisis. 

Related Event

DIVERSITIES IN PRACTICE ARTIST TALK
Emily Wells and Hanif Abdurraqib in Conversation
Film/Video Theater & wexarts.org
Thu, Nov 3 | 5 PM
Q&A follows
Free for all audiences (RSVP requested)

Learn more

"Like the artists and activists she memorializes, Wells herself creates art that speaks to the masses and extends heart-felt pleas for better."
VMP Magazine
Artist sitting outstretched in a brick wall niche. She is a white person with long brown hair and wears white pants, a white t-shirt, and black boots.

Emily Wells, photo: Rachel Stern.

Artist is standing vertically and gesturing in front of a colorful abstract painting

Emily Wells, photo: Rachel Stern.

Artist with tattoos on arm stands in profile in front of a colorful abstract painting, creating a dramatic shadow

Emily Wells, photo: Rachel Stern.

Artist in a beige suit sits on top of a chair in front of a brick wall

Emily Wells, photo: Rachel Stern.

More about the artist

Emily Wells chevron-down chevron-up

Composer, producer, and video artist Emily Wells’s evocative music (described as “visionary” by NPR) and performances (called “quietly transfixing” by the New York Times) impel listeners to be attuned. Her latest release, Regards to the End, is a work of radical empathy that foregrounds the power of art, critique, and care to connect and perhaps redeem us. Read more on the artist’s website.

Tag(s)

PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Greater Columbus Arts Council 
The Wexner Family
National Endowment for the Arts 
Ohio Arts Council
L Brands Foundation
The Columbus Foundation
Nationwide Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Mike and Paige Crane
Axium Packaging
CampusParc
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
President Kristina M. Johnson and Mrs. Veronica Meinhard
Nancy Kramer
Larry and Donna James
Lisa Barton
Johanna DeStefano
Jones Day
Alex and Renée Shumate

Discover More

Collage featuring photos of the two speakers
Past Talks & More

Emily Wells and Hanif Abdurraqib in Conversation

Diversities in Practice
Thu, Nov 3, 2022
Artist sitting outstretched in a brick wall niche. She is a white person with long brown hair and wears white pants, a white t-shirt, and black boots.
READ, WATCH & LISTEN | LISTEN

Playlist: Emily Wells

Mon, Oct 31, 2022
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Past Performing Arts

Emily Wells

Nov 04, 2022 8:00 PM EST
Mershon Auditorium

$6 access
$12 members, seniors, and students (suggested)
$18 general public (suggested)
$36 access sponsor

We believe the arts are for everyone.
By providing personal choice on ticket pricing, we seek to reduce barriers to the arts. Please choose the ticket price that is right for you based on your own needs. If you are able, please consider paying access sponsor pricing, which generously supports these efforts to provide access to our communities.

At the request of the artist, all audience members 5 and older must provide proof of vaccination on entry, either in the form of their vaccination card or image of their card, along with their valid state-issued or university ID, or a negative COVID-19 test conducted no earlier than 72 hours prior to show time.

Click here to view our latest COVID-19 protocols.

ACCESSIBILITY
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as CART captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please contact Accessibility Manager Helyn Marshall at accessibility@wexarts.org or via telephone at (614) 688-3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

Become a Member