About Arts in Action on Grounds

“Arts in Action on Grounds,” a new public arts initiative at the University of Virginia, will bring artists who have achieved excellence in their fields and modern master works to Grounds to engage students and faculty in academic, arts-based research and to support the development of an arts-informed curriculum.

The two-year initiative, led by the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts, is funded by the Commission on the Future of the University

“This money will allow us to develop the culture for the arts at U.Va. as we move to a new level of interaction and engagement with artists, both inside and outside the University,” Elizabeth Hutton Turner, vice provost for the arts, said. “By providing resources for faculty research and increasing the connections with the arts University-wide, this money will highlight the arts in the teaching and research mission of U.Va.

“We are most interested in the creative practice, allowing artists to grow, develop and share their work. The initiative will be broad and deep – not staging come-and-go events, but bringing artists and activities for extended dialogue and increasing our ability to showcase the arts.”

The initiative will include four main components:

• Plan, site and present a work of world-renowned sculpture in diverse areas around Grounds each year. The Public Art Committee will work in collaboration with the University Art Museum and the Office of the University Architect to make the final selection of the sculpture and the appropriate campus site.
• Enhance the visiting artist-in-residence program to bring professional artists to Grounds to work with and enrich students’ experiences. Selected in consultation with the Arts Grounds Committee, a world-renowned artist or artist group will prepare performances or exhibitions that increase the visibility and influence of the arts at the University. This program will especially seek to commission new work, or to act as a partner in the development of new work.
• Create an Arts in Action Project Grant to provide funding for an annual collaborative public art project in the new Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds. This grant will be open to teams of U.Va. faculty and students and could take the form of performance or exhibition. It is also meant to highlight faculty research and to encourage the creation of new work that engages a University-wide audience.
• Launch Arts in Action Online, an interactive website designed to encourage students to explore their relationships to works of public art. Using audio and video discussions, edited blogs, interviews, images, drawings and designs, the website will be a valuable resource and site for multi-disciplinary online participation.

These components build on collaborative initiatives coordinated through the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts. Over the past three years, students, faculty, staff and community members have worked together to enhance the University’s arts community through the creation of the Creative Arts Awards, open to all student artists and coordinated through the Center for Undergraduate Excellence; and by connecting the museum’s collections and offerings more closely to the University’s academic mission.