Expanding arts programming and opportunities through the A&S Arts Project
The College of Arts and Science has long been an innovator and leader in the arts—from theater to studio art to cinema to architecture. Faculty and students alike create, build, and explore in visionary ways that affect the way we interpret and live in the world around us.
To further develop the arts at Vanderbilt, the college has launched the Arts and Science Arts Project. The strategic initiative aims to elevate, expand, and connect art initiatives at Vanderbilt, develop new programming, and build collaborations with the arts community around Nashville and beyond. The Arts Project will be led by Leah Lowe, Director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy and Professor of Theatre.
“The arts provide a vital form of scholarly inquiry,” Lowe said. “Art asks us to look within ourselves and affects how we understand and live in our world. This effort aims to forge new and stronger connections between the various forms of art on campus and extend those connections to other disciplines and partners.”
Lowe is supported in this effort by a steering committee that includes: Vesna Pavlović, Paul E. Schwab Chair in Fine Arts and Chair of the Department of Art; Claire Sisco King, Professor of Communication Studies and Chair of the Department of Cinema and Media Arts and the Department of Theatre; Kevin Murphy, Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities and Chair of the Department of the History of Art and Architecture; and Amanda Hellman, Director of the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art.
The committee plans to meet with faculty, students, and partners to create a multi-year strategic plan and vision for the Arts Project.
“I think what’s different about this initiative is that it’s really grassroots,” Lowe said. “The faculty are going to frame and inform this initiative, thereby shaping the future of the arts at Vanderbilt. We have amazing people. I see this very much as a faculty-informed initiative.”
Lowe has already gotten to work. She has been having preliminary meetings with her faculty colleagues to understand their vision for the arts at Vanderbilt, and, along with campus partners, has helped to launch the Berg Global Artist-in-Residence Fellowship program. This fellowship brings renowned visual artists to Vanderbilt to expose the campus community to new ideas and approaches in the visual arts through an immersive, residential stay. The inaugural fellow, Lanecia Rouse, is an abstract painter, photographer, and mixed-media collage artist who will engage with students, faculty, and the surrounding community.
Adding to the Arts Project’s momentum, the College of Arts and Science recently became the new home to the Vanderbilt Museum of Art and the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy.
“Vanderbilt has always been a hub of discovery, creativity, and innovation in the arts,” said Timothy P. McNamara, Searcy Family Dean of the College of Arts and Science. “Our arts faculty, curricula, students, and programming are exceptional, and this project will further our offerings and our impact—on campus and beyond.”
One of Lowe’s goals is for every undergraduate student to have a significant experience with the arts before graduating. She acknowledges that our students are incredibly bright and creative, but don’t always have exposure to the arts during their Vanderbilt experience.
“The arts speak to people in a different way,” Lowe said. “The arts address the whole person—our beings, our brain. They help us grow and expand in ways that are meaningful. I want our students to leave Vanderbilt with a sense of how the arts contribute to our culture broadly, and contribute to them, personally.”