UGA Arts Collaborative

Welcome Fall 2026

Welcome to a new semester at UGA! If this is your first visit to the UGA Arts Collaborative website, please take a few moments to explore and learn about some of the current and past projects and events. You may be interested in joining the Arts Collaborative listserv, a newsletter with local events and opportunities in the arts.

Please also welcome our new recipients of Graduate Assistantships in Interdisciplinary Arts Research: Edward Hemphill (Art), Julien Berger (Music), and Mingjun Han (Theatre and Film). These exceptional graduate students will develop creative research and collaborative work across disciplines with faculty, students, and community members.

2026 a2ru National Conference

2026 a2ru National Conference
October 22-24
University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
https://a2ru.org/event/2026-a2ru-conference-how-we-thrive-arts-health-and-human-flourishing/

As an a2ru member institution, UGA students, faculty, and staff are eligible for discounted registration.

The a2ru national conference is an opportunity for practitioners and researchers from across higher education to share innovations and perspectives in the arts. a2ru advances the full range of arts- and design-integrative research, curricula, programs, and creative practice to acknowledge, articulate, and expand the vital role of higher education in our global society. a2ru’s work, in partnership with an international network of leading higher education institutions, allies, and partners, envisions a world in which universities—students, faculty, and leaders—explore, embed, and integrate the arts in everyday practice and research.

Arts Collaborative Mini Grants

Arts Collaborative Mini Grants
Call for Proposals
No deadline

Arts Collaborative Mini Grants support new creative interdisciplinary projects and modes of collaboration. Teams must include participants from multiple academic departments and include a UGA student or faculty member to serve as a primary contact. Grant recipients are provided with a project mentor and up to $1000 in support for qualified expenses. Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis, pending the availability of funds.

Proposal form:
https://uga.questionpro.com/t/AdE57Z8ibs

Proposal requirements:

– Brief description of project, goals, and challenges

– Names and roles of collaborators

Special consideration will be given to proposals that engage the following themes:

– Circular UGA initiative

– Artificial Intelligence (AI)

– Arts and health

– Arts and environment

The Mini Grant Program is supported by the UGA Arts Collaborative, an interdisciplinary initiative for advanced research in the arts. The Arts Collaborative is supported in part by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School.

UGA’s expanded Insect Zoo turns fear into fascination

UGA’s expanded Insect Zoo turns fear into fascination with 30+ arthropod species

By Jordan Powers
Illustrations by Justin Patton
Photos by Caroline Newbern
https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/news/uga-insect-zoo-reopens/

Hundreds of crawling critters have taken up residence in Cedar Street Building B on the University of Georgia Athens campus, but there is no need to panic. The multi-legged neighbors are part of the newly reopened UGA Insect Zoo.
Supported by the Department of Entomology at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the zoo aims to not only educate but also ease the fear that often accompanies arthropod sightings.

The spacious new location is open to the public and can accommodate greater numbers of visitors. A colorful mural featuring the zoo’s arthropods, supported in part by the UGA Arts Collaborative, welcomes visitors to the new space. The illustrations were created by students in the scientific illustration program at UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art.

Reading Room: Building the Field of Neuroarts

Grantmakers in the Arts Reader
“Building the Field of Neuroarts: A Framework for Success and Impact”
By Susan Magsamen and Ruth J. Katz
June 29, 2026
https://reader.giarts.org/read/building-field-neuroarts

This is a pivotal moment in recognizing the essential role of the arts in service to society through the evolution of neuroarts, a field emerging at the intersection of the arts, science, and technology. For decades, artists, scientists, clinicians, arts practitioners, educators, technologists, architects, culture bearers, and others with either professional expertise or lived experience have independently advanced how creative and aesthetic experiences shape the human brain and body, as well as our behavior and wellbeing.

Listen Athens

Listen Athens
Monday, May 4 at 1 PM
Lamar Dodd Building Room N140

What would Athens tell you if you truly listened?

Listen Athens is a project developed through recording, mapping, and archiving the soundscapes of Athens-Clarke County. The project takes shape as an interactive website that invites visitors to explore Athens through sound. Join us to meet the team behind the project and listen in.

Project site: https://www.listenathens.org

Refreshments will be provided! All are welcome to join in this year-end event hosted by the Arts Collaborative student organization.

Project participants

Jared Holton, Music
Peter Van Zandt Lane, Music
James A. Owen, Institute of Native American Studies
Allison Injaian, Ecology

Supported in part by an Arts Collaborative Mini Grant.

Conversation: Art-Science Integration

Arts Collaborative Conversation: Art-Science Integration
Friday, April 17 at noon
Lamar Dodd Building Room S360

How are university research programs supporting the integration of art and science?

Mary Beth Leigh, Lissy Goralnik, and Megan Halpern will virtually join the Arts Collaborative for an informal conversation about convergent research and collaboration.

Leigh (University of Alaska Fairbanks) and Goralnik (Michigan State University) direct the In a Time of Change (ITOC) project, an incubator for advancing environmentally focused art-science integration in Alaska. ITOC is supported by the National Science Foundation, USDA Forest Service, and the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research Program in Alaska.

Halpern and Goralnik are leaders of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Collaboration, Learning, and Engagement (CIRCLE) program at Michigan State University. CIRCLE launched in the fall of 2023 to build community, provide training and support for interdisciplinary activities, and conduct research on interdisciplinarity.

For more information, visit:

http://inatimeofchange.org

https://research.msu.edu/circle

Hosted by the Arts Collaborative student organization.

Marie A. Douglas Events

Digital Diaspora Events
Monday, April 20

The Digital Diaspora project, supported by the Arts Collaborative Mini Grant program, explores the intersection of technology and live performance through a new piece for the UGA Wind Symphony in collaboration with composer Dr. Marie A. Douglas.

Project participants

Jack Eaddy, Music
Alvin Crews, Enterprise Information Technology Services
Marie Douglas, composer

Dr. Marie A. Douglas discussion and Q&A
5:30 PM
Music room 412

Dr. Douglas will speak about her new composition and provide perspectives on music education and performance of new band music.

UGA Wind Symphony
7:30 PM
UGA Performing Arts Center

Co-hosted by the UGA Collegiate National Association for Music Education and the Arts Collaborative.