UGA Arts Collaborative

Organoids project earns awards

Congratulations to the Organoid project team, recipients of multiple awards to continue their collaborative research.

Project leader Nadja Keltner received an NSF CAREER grant for multi-year support of engineering next-generation adrenal gland organoids with arts-integrated methods.

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2335133

Graduate assistant Christina James received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, a five-year award to help ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.

https://www.nsfgrfp.org

The project was awarded one of five Franklin College Rapid Interdisciplinary Proposal grants, responding to the need for new paradigms that shape future research, life-long learning, public discourse, service, and dynamic entrepreneurship.

https://franklin.uga.edu/news/stories/2024/franklin-college-multidisciplinary-seed-projects-program-funds-six-research

2024 Emerging Creatives Summit

Four graduate students from UGA participated in the 2024 Emerging Creatives Student Summit, hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru). Saurabh Anand (English), Emily Dustman (College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), Jana Ghezawi (Art), and Christina James (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) joined students from across the a2ru network to explore the theme of “Play” in the RIT Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED), a new facility that provides flexible spaces for technology, art, and design under one roof. Participants worked in interdisciplinary teams to create arts-integrative projects with training from a2ru staff on best practices for collaboration. More details about the summit and final presentations are available here.

Christina James reflected that “the Summit’s emphasis on interactive modes of learning, such as physical models, games, and experiential activities, has inspired me to explore novel avenues for incorporating play-based methodologies into upper-level biology courses.”

Emily Dustman contributed an essay about her summit experience to E-Squared, an art+science publication and website. Her analysis on the collaborative process suggests that “together, cooperation and collaboration translate to much more meaningful work and build a strong foundation for successful teamwork and problem-solving in all aspects of life.” You can read the full essay here.

Rescue: Waste and Redemption

Rescue: Waste and Redemption
April 6 to June 15
Lyndon House Arts Center
https://www.accgov.com/10873/Rescue-Waste-and-Redemption

Artist Reception and Curator Talk, Tuesday, April 9 at 6 PM

Rescue Fashion Event: Thursday, May 23 at 6 PM

Rescue: Waste and Redemption exhibition is guest curated by Lizzie Zucker Saltz. This group exhibit was a call for submissions in which Saltz selected 22 artists from 90 submissions. Artists included consider the transformation of industrial byproducts into artworks or craft objects thus creating artworks that save materials from the landfill or rescue raw materials from the fate of becoming environmental pollutants.

The Mask You Wear

“The Mask You Wear” Performance and Conversation
Thursday, April 25 at 7:30 PM
Cine, 234 W. Hancock Ave.

“The Mask You Wear” is a musical composition collaboratively created by composer Julien Berger and composer and lyricist Cassie Chantel. Supported by the Athens Hip Hop Harmonic, this work blends classical saxophone quartet music with multi-genre vocalist and recording artist Chantel’s riveting lyrics. This event will include a live performance of the piece, featuring saxophone quartet Mixed Media with Chantel, and a discussion with the composers and moderator Nkululeko Zungu.

Conversation: (art)WORK

Washing/Tracks/Maintenance: Outside by Mierle Laderman Ukeles, 1973, via Brooklyn Museum

Arts Collaborative Conversation: (art)WORK
Friday, April 5 at noon
Lamar Dodd room S360

Join graduate assistants in interdisciplinary arts research for a conversation about art and labor. Pay and professional standards vary widely in creative spaces. Emerging artists often face challenges in obtaining fair compensation and equitable treatment in entry level positions. All are welcome to share their experiences and strategize together about the challenges of working in the arts.

Hosted by the Arts Collaborative student organization.

Image: Washing/Tracks/Maintenance: Outside by Mierle Laderman Ukeles, 1973, via Brooklyn Museum

Webinar: Towards Better Tools

Towards Better Tools: Shaping the Future of AI for the Arts and Design in Higher Education
Friday, April 5 at noon
https://a2ru.org/event/towards-better-tools-shaping-the-future-of-ai-for-the-arts-and-design-in-higher-education/

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

a2ru, The Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) and the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD) invite their shared communities to participate in a panel discussion envisioning more productive, equitable, and artful futures for the use of AI in arts and design higher education. In the midst of rapid technological development and the anxiety that attends these changes, how can academic and artistic leaders work collectively to proactively shape the continued development of these tools and their deployment in research, teaching and practice?