The University of Michigan Arts Initiative’s Projects in Partnership program has awarded funding to four arts-based teams representing more than 18 units, schools and colleges across U-M’s Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses and in Detroit.
PiP projects are large-scale projects that activate the campus and community, increase arts engagement for students, faculty, staff and the region, and leverage interdisciplinary partnerships for impact that could not be achieved effectively by one partner alone.
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Projects selected align with the mission, vision and goals of the U-M Arts Initiative and reflect a diversity of audiences as well as artistic, intellectual and expressive practices. Selected projects also had to include at least one non-university-affiliated community partner.
“A primary goal of the U-M Arts Initiative is to spark cross-campus collaborations that create new opportunities for our communities to deepen their relationship to the arts,” said Mark Clague, executive director of the Arts Initiative.
“Each of our partnership awards propels the extraordinary artistic talent at U-M to engage with new audiences in new ways, while introducing new partners to the creative process from areas we might not typically associate with the arts.”
The latest round of selected PiP projects and campus partners are:
We The Publics …: Art-Making as Reciprocal Partnership in Education and Development
Partners: A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, Alliance for the Arts (a2ru), Sweet Water Foundation, and three select Detroit-based nonprofits
Goal: Taubman College faculty and students will collaborate with the Sweet Water Foundation on a yearlong project to extend SWF’s “We the Publics …” exhibit in Detroit and at U-M.
The project will involve more than 100 direct participants and reach thousands through exhibits and research dissemination. It aims to reform approaches to urban challenges by learning from and contributing to community-based solutions.
The collaboration will culminate in installations that showcase the unique perspectives of the Detroit community and engage a wider audience in critical conversations about public resources and community development.
Empitheater
Partners: Taubman College, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, School of Social Work, School for Environment and Sustainability, UM-Dearborn Global Engagement, ArtsEngine, A Host of People and LSA Residential College Drama Department.
Goal: Empitheater is an interdisciplinary project merging puppetry and theater to address climate change and global inequities. Led by Taubman College and involving U-M schools and units across the Ann Arbor campus, it aims to inspire empathy and climate action through artistic expression.
The project will leverage puppetry’s ability to convey complex narratives through imagination with the goal of creating empathetic understanding of climate-induced migration and inspire environmental activism through art.
Art in Residence Halls Program
Partners: U-M Museum of Art, Detroit’s Library Street Collective, Louis Buhl & Co., LSA Undergraduate Education and Bridge Scholars Plus.
Goal: The Art in Residence Halls Program aims to create a lending library of art works that U-M students can borrow to decorate their dorm rooms.
By creating a personal relationship between U-M students and individual works of art, the program aims to inspire future art leaders and advocates while emphasizing the importance of the arts and humanities in a meaningful and fulfilling life.
It offers a unique, personalized art experience that brings art directly to students “on their own terms,” with potential for expansion after this initial pilot phase.
Well-being Pavilion
Partners: Well-being Collective, Wolverine Wellness, and North Campus units
Goal: In an ever-more urbanized and fast-paced world, the need for spaces that foster well-being, human connection and creativity is paramount.
The Well-being Pavilion, a new structure envisioned to be installed on the North Campus Diag, represents a visionary project that seeks to merge the natural world with artistic expression to promote a holistic sense of wellness, happiness and inspiration. Arts Initiative funds will support the initial design phase of the project.
