Call for Proposals: 2019 a2ru National Conference
Deadline: April 5
https://www.a2ru.org/events/2019-national-conference/
The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) invites proposals for the 2019 a2ru national conference, knowledges: artistic practice as method to take place at the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas, November 7-9, 2019. The 2019 theme is an invitation to explore modes of knowing, especially as arrived through the discovery of artistic practice. This theme is anchored in, but not limited to, the following questions:
– How do artistic practices map onto other methods of knowledge production?
– If contemporary artists are trained from the outset to be critical of their medium(s), how might this critical reflection inform more discrete disciplines, which often treat academic form as neutral vessels for the delivery of content?
– What can researchers across the arts, sciences, and humanities learn from one another’s practices and approaches?
The University of Kansas, host of this year’s a2ru conference, aims to infuse the arts into its research culture by advancing interdisciplinary projects across the sciences and humanities. This is accomplished through existing structures, such as the Integrated Arts Research Initiative (IARI) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation at the Spencer Museum of Art, The Commons, and the Research Excellence Initiative through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The exhibition and dialogue among artists and scholars developed through the IARI colloquium (November 6, 2019) will launch the 2019 a2ru national conference.
a2ru invites proposals for presentations from researchers, artists, field leaders, and other practitioners about arts-integrative research, practice, and curricula that explore the potential of artistic and other practice-led methods for inquiry across disciplines. In an effort to unpack different ways of knowing, proposed sessions will follow a structure that mimics the process of knowledge generation. Proposal formats will include 1) inquiries, 2) lightning talks, and 3) presentations. a2ru encourages proposals that represent diverse backgrounds, pursuits, affiliations, locations, ages, and institutions. This active format invites participants into the collective co-creation of knowledge.