UGA Arts Collaborative

The Living Forest Events

The Living Forest: A Proposal for Indigenous-Led Conservation and Climate Change Mitigation
Monday, October 13

Lecture: Tulio Viteri
3 PM
Park Hall 265
https://calendar.uga.edu/event/the-living-forest-a-proposal-for-indigenous-led-conservation-and-climate-change-mitigation

Tulio Viteri, an indigenous leader from the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon, will give a presentation on the Living Forest Proposal, a grassroots initiative for Indigenous-led conservation and climate change mitigation.

Film Screening and Q&A with Director Eriberto Gualinga
5:30-8 PM
Cine, 234 W. Hancock Ave.
https://calendar.uga.edu/event/helena-from-sarayaku-film-screening-and-director-qa

Helena from Sarayaku depicts Sarayaku’s struggle against environmental degradation in their territory. Traveling between her life in Finland and her mother’s homeland deep in the rainforests of Ecuador, 17-year-old Helena Gualinga yearns to protect her Indigenous community from extractive development and the repercussions of climate change.

a2ru A[]RTS Webinar

A[]RTS: Artificial intelligence, artistic intelligence & possible futures for the arts
Thursday, October 9 from 3:35-5 PM
https://a2ru.org/event/arts-artificial-intelligence-artistic-intelligence-possible-futures-for-the-arts/

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

What might the future of the Arts look like in the age of AI? Join us for a transdisciplinary conversation that critically explores the disruptive impacts of artificial intelligence on creative labor, education, and artistic identity–while imagining new, generative possibilities for artistic practice made possible by creative uses of generative AI.

This webinar is ideal for creatives, educators, technologists, and anyone curious about the evolving relationship between AI and human creativity. Whether you are a designer, performer, writer, or educator, this session provides a platform to rethink your role in a world increasingly shaped by AI-enhanced workflows for creative practice.

Join us to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping creative practice — and how artists, educators, and cultural institutions can respond with critical insight, ethical intention, and imaginative action.

Conversation: Malady Mysteries

Arts Collaborative Conversation: Malady Mysteries
Friday, September 26 at noon
Lamar Dodd Building Room S360

Join Grace Snuggs (Augusta University and UGA Medical Partnership) to learn more about the Malady Mystery Project, a collaboration of medical students and experts in theatre, improv, and gender studies. This interactive murder mystery set in the 1890s blends dramaturgy, feminist praxis, and historical research to examine gender, class, disability, and medicine. How does embodying different roles impact empathy?

Hosted by the Arts Collaborative student organization. The Malady Mystery Project is supported in part by the UGA Arts Collaborative.

Reading Room: The “Blooming” Field of Neuroarts

The “Blooming” Field of Neuroarts
By Juliet M. Beverly
September 3, 2025
https://www.brainfacts.org/neuroscience-in-society/the-arts-and-the-brain/2025/the-blooming-field-of-neuroarts-090325

For decades, research has shown artistic endeavors including music, painting, writing, crafting and others can provide therapeutic benefits for people experiencing PTSD, depression, or anxiety. What’s been missing is a framework to ensure cohesive, rigorous evidence underpins the field of neuroaesthetics.

Reading Room: Can creativity in science be learnt?

Nature
“Can creativity in science be learnt? These researchers think so”
By Esme Hedley
August 8, 2025
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01913-3

“The biggest takeaway from the talks, in terms of individual activities that you can undertake to improve or engage your own creativity, is to experience very widely,” says neuroscientist and conference co-organizer Leandre Ravatt at the Charite – Berlin University of Medicine and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Berlin. “A lot of early-career researchers feel that they’re often pigeonholing themselves into a specialization,” Ravatt explains, “often focusing really strongly on the literature of their field.”

“What we learnt from the conference is that if you do this, you’re actually blocking out a lot of avenues for creativity. The biggest recommendation was to read from other fields; go to talks from other fields,” she says.

Image credit: Shunichi Kasahara

Arts Collaborative Mini Grants

Arts Collaborative Mini Grants
Call for Proposals
No deadline

Proposals received after January 20 will be added to a wait list pending availability of further funding in 2026.

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 environmental issues

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.