UGA Arts Collaborative

a2ru Webinar: Creative Practitioners as Leaders

Creative Practitioners as Leaders: Reflections on the Art of Academic Leadership
Monday, December 7 at noon
https://a2ru.org/event/creative-practitioners-as-leaders-reflections-on-the-art-of-academic-leadership/

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

The co-editors and several authors from the anthology Creative Practitioners as Leaders: Reflections on the Art of Academic Leadership will discuss how they use the tools and skills of their embodied artistic practice within their academic leadership roles. This new edited collection of essays and interviews is a tool for theatre practitioners who are interested in academic leadership roles as well as a resource for those from other disciplines who may want to think about acquiring and implementing skills from the performing arts in their leadership.

This webinar is presented in partnership with a2ru and the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD).

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
– 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 Startup Social

UGA Startup Social
Thursday, September 24 from 4-7 PM
Sanford Stadium West End Zone – Gate 10
https://franklin.uga.edu/startupsocial

Come by the Arts Collaborative table to learn more about the mini grant program and get some free stickers!

An evening of free food, great conversations, and connections with students, faculty, staff, and community members interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. Whether you’re looking to meet future collaborators, learn about new ideas, or expand your network, this casual startup social is the perfect place to discover the entrepreneurial community across UGA. At 5 PM, jump into our Pitch Karaoke competition and develop a rapid-fire startup pitch for a chance to win prizes. No experience necessary! Just bring your creativity and be ready to have some fun.

Reading Room: The “Evolving” Crisis

American Journal of Arts Management
“The ‘Evolving’ Crisis: The Precarious State of the Arts in Higher Education”
by Rebecca Taylor, Debra Mexicotte, Claudia Dorn, and Nicoleen Willson
https://www.artsmanagementjournal.com/editions/volume-14-issue-2-may-2026

This paper argues that the contemporary state of the arts in U.S. higher education is characterized
by two structural dynamics that help explain the persistent vulnerability of non-revenue-generating
programs: the Advocacy-Resource Trap, a self-reinforcing cycle in which understaffed units cannot
generate the impact evidence needed to secure resources; and the Decentralization Paradox,
wherein programming distributed across multiple units produces fragmentation rather than
integration.

2026-2027 Mini Grants

Arts Collaborative Mini Grants support new creative interdisciplinary projects with mentorship and funding. Congratulations to the new mini grant recipients!

To learn more about the Mini Grant program, visit https://ugaartscollaborative.com/arts-collaborative-mini-grants/

Inquiring artfully: Provocations toward creative exploration

How might we create a bridge to artful inquiry for those who do not consider them “artists” or even creative? The project will develop resources that encourage scholars and community members across a diverse range of positionalities and disciplines to incorporate artful practices into their research and everyday life. Drawing on a wide range of sources and inspirations, we engage in community and interdisciplinary thinking, inviting participants not just to absorb ideas but to reflect, respond, and engage deeply with resources.

Project participants

Maureen Flint, Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy
Kiana Willis, Educational Theory and Practice

Remedios y Relaciones: Oral Traditions, Herbal Knowledge, and Healthcare Trust in Latino Communities

Remedios y Relaciones is an interdisciplinary arts-and-health collaboration exploring how herbal health knowledge is passed down through oral traditions, family relationships, and community memory within Latino communities in Athens, Georgia. The project brings together medical students, Latino community leaders, humanities scholars, and student artists/designers to examine how culturally rooted healing practices are communicated across generations and how they are discussed, misunderstood, or withheld within healthcare settings.

Project Participants

Amy Baldwin, UGA School of Medicine
Madeleine Ling, MD student
Nicholas Tsavaris, MD student
Ricardo Ramos, MD student
Venecia Lai, Psychology student
Charlotte Ling, Linguistics and Cognitive Science

Evolution Myths

Evolution Myths: True Stories about Life on Earth will be a musical composition that explores natural history and evolution with presentations by STEM students about the organisms and evolutionary developments depicted in the music. The composition is scored for clarinet, cello, and piano, and tells the story of six important milestones from the history of life on Earth, including the evolution of multicellular life and the emergence of the first amphibians onto dry land. It will also include a musical and scientific look forward to the future of evolution on our planet in the context of the climate crisis.

Project Participants

Nora Farley, Music
Kristen Miller, Biology
Emily Koh, Music
Grace LaCourte, Pharmacy, Biology, and Art
Rachel Trotter, Journalism,

Spotlight on the Arts Research Competition

Spotlight on the Arts LIVE Research Competition 4’33”
Deadline: October 23
https://arts.uga.edu/spotlight-on-the-arts/433-contest/

An homage to John Cage’s landmark composition of the same name, the 4 Minutes, 33 Seconds Contest highlights UGA student research in the arts. The event offers an opportunity for students to win prizes and to share their creative inquiry with peers, faculty, administrators and alumni throughout the university community. The competition is open to any graduate student or undergraduate student working on an advanced project who is conducting research related to the literary, visual, or performing arts or artists. The 4’33” Contest consists of an oral research presentation no longer than four minutes and 33 seconds in length. The 4 Minutes, 33 Seconds Contest will take place on Monday, November 16 from 1:30-3:30 PM and is part of UGA’s annual Spotlight on the Arts festival.