A close friend of the three Muslim students slain in Chapel Hill in 2015 will bring a multimedia performance he created in their honor to the UNC campus in the spring.

The arts and humanities inform, inspire, energize and excite us. They bring context and meaning to the important issues of the day — and to our lives. This fall, the College of Arts and Sciences kicks off a major new initiative, “Carolina’s Human Heart: Living the arts and humanities.”

“Spoken word poetry and oral storytelling are at the core of what it means to be human.” More from Will McInerney.

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the making of our magazine cover in this photo shoot for “Carolina’s Human Heart: Living the Arts and Humanities,” featuring assistant professor of music Cherie Ndaliko and spoken word poet Will McInerney.