Reaching Out: An Other-Focused Academic Approach to the Visual Arts

Art faculty and art educators are exploring innovative approaches that blend skills and processes traditionally associated with visual arts with collaborative and interdisciplinary strategies often linked to design disciplines. Within contemporary studio art circles, a growing awareness is evident as faculty members expand their unique creative visions and actively involve other academics, students, and communities into their artistic practices. Our focus is on artist practitioners serving within academic institutions, who are developing innovative ways to extend their artistic endeavors into practice-based research and creative activities involving unique collaborations, into novel teaching models, and into visionary outreach efforts for the greater good. By embracing diverse perspectives and harmonizing them with their individual artistic visions, art faculty engage in fresh and empathetic ways of reimagining the discipline. How can academic artistic inquiry expand beyond personal creativity? What role do interdisciplinary collaborations play in fostering cross-disciplinary artistic practices? What are some ways to use new technologies towards enhancing collaborative teaching and research in the arts? How can teaching artists involve themselves and their classes in community outreach and engagement efforts to create meaningful and impactful experiences of art? How can teaching artists contribute to educating a broader audience a broader audience on the value of art in improving people’s quality of life and personal growth? We welcome a wide range of viewpoints on this session’s theme.