Reading Room: a2ru Challenge Grants

Reading Room: a2ru Challenge Grants Catalyze Interdisciplinary Student Research
https://a2ru.org/a2ru-challenge-grants-catalyze-interdisciplinary-student-research/

One winning team — Richie Arndorfer, Eliana Gelman, Nicholas Myers, and Jeanne Marie Martineau, all from the University of Georgia — proposed HeartSong, a project to develop a group-based singing biofeedback system that both translates heart rate variability data into images and composes music in real time. Using sensors, real-time visuals, and live-looped vocals, they sought to transform nervous system data into a collaborative art experience — part meditation, part musical composition. The project embodied the intersection of its four team members’ interests and expertise: voice as cultural expression, music composition that responds to audio and data in real time, group vocalization and cognition, and human-computer interaction.

Image: a2ru conference attendees from Penn State University participate in the HeartSong vocalization activity

Making science move: Organoids project re-imagines adrenal glands through models and motion

By Kylie Earnhardt
February 3, 2026
https://research.uga.edu/news/making-science-move-organoids-project-re-imagines-adrenal-glands-through-models-and-motion/

In 2024, University of Georgia Associate Professor Nadja Zeltner received a grant to advance research in human cell generation, including adrenal gland organoids used to study disease. Adrenal gland organoids are tiny, lab-grown versions of your body’s stress response control center—adrenal glands release hormones in response to stress or excitement, regulate energy and metabolism, manage blood pressure, support immune response, and more. Supported by a subsequent seed grand and the UGA Arts Collaborative, this project expanded to explore how art and science intersect to create new perspectives across disciplines.

Quantum Castle

Exhibition: Quantum Castle
February 5 – March 20
Lamar Dodd Building Suite Gallery (3rd floor)
https://art.uga.edu/exhibition/quantum-castle/

There exists a realm beyond the visible — always present, ever shifting. Deep within this imaginal space lies the Quantum Castle, where visitors learn of the Time Guardian’s quest and begin a whimsical journey. Made interactive through games, riddles, and activities, works of art engage with cross-disciplinary ideas from quantum mechanics, philosophy, world spiritualities, and depth psychology.

The exhibition is coordinated by Arts Collaborative Research Affiliate Jeanne Marie Martineau and featured artists Adah Bennion, Eve Brown, Brian George, Jana Ghezawi, Clara-Beth Hamill, and Maddy Underwood.

Supported in part by the UGA Arts Collaborative.

Conversation: Benjamin Wolff

Arts Collaborative Conversation: Benjamin Wolff
Friday, January 30 at noon
Lamar Dodd Building Room S360

Benjamin Wolff will virtually join the Arts Collaborative for an informal conversation about creative leadership. He is a New York City-based writer, speaker, and cellist who has been a Forbes Leadership contributor since 2017, reporting on insights for business from the world of the arts. Wolff graduated from Columbia University with a degree in history and studied cello and chamber music at the Juilliard School and Rice University. He is the author of The Value of Immeasurable Things: Why The Arts—and Artists—Are Essential to the Future Of Work.

https://www.bwolff.com

Lyrric Jackson Events

Lyrric Jackson Performance and Workshop
Thursday, February 5 at 1:15 PM
Dance Building room 276

Visiting artist Lyrric Jackson will perform an excerpt from The Last Rest Stop Before Jupiter, followed by audience discussion and a mini workshop in breathwork and movement syncing. Co-hosted by the UGA Arts Collaborative and the Department of Dance. Free and open to the public.

Arts Collaborative Conversation: Lyrric Jackson
Friday, February 6 at noon
Hugh Hodgson School of Music Building room 264

Visiting artist Lyrric Jackson will share insights from her practice about creativity, leadership, and collaboration. Co-hosted by the Arts Collaborative student organization and the Student Composers Association in the Dancz Center for New Music. Free and open to the public.

Lyrric Jackson is an American multidisciplinary artist, educator, and data scientist. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Lyrric Jackson Dance Company, a Lecturer of Dance Performance and Choreography at Spelman College, an Atlanta University Center Consortium Data Science Initiative Faculty Affiliate, a Spelman Faculty CODE Scholar, a Certified Data Carpentries Instructor, and a Sloan Data Science Faculty Fellow. Her work extends to local and global arts and educational institutions, including Brenau University, Emory University, and Mashirika Performing Arts in Kigali, Rwanda. She received her BA in Drama/Dance Concentration from Spelman College and holds an MA in Arts Administration and an MFA in LXFM from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

https://www.lyrricjacksondance.com

Webinar: Expanding Pathways

Webinar: Expanding Pathways: Crafting Arts in Health Careers
Tuesday, February 10 at 3 PM
https://a2ru.org/event/expanding-pathways-crafting-arts-in-health-careers/

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

This webinar will look at the broadening range of arts in health careers, ranging from creative therapies to positions within the rapidly growing area of social prescribing/arts on prescription. The panel, moderated by Jen Cole, Dean of the Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University, will explore the range of arts in health roles available to graduates; current efforts by NOAH (National Organization for Arts in Health) to further professionalize and expand the field; the most important skills and competencies for students to develop that are interested in arts in health careers, and more.

Panelists

Sarah Hoover, Associate Dean for Innovation in the Arts and Health, Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Adrienne Hundley, Head of Community Strategy, Art Pharmacy

Presented in partnership with the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) and International Council for Arts Deans (ICFAD)

Reading Room: a2ru Challenge Grants