UCIRA Inititiatives
We are committed to demonstrating the value of the arts across the UC system and in the crucible of California's dynamically-evolving culture and economy by expanding UCIRA's role as a sponsor of cutting-edge art work and innovative arts programs, and by acting as the University of California Embassy for the Arts on the national and even international stage. We remain committed to the Institute's long-term objective of integrating arts practice more fully into the public research profile of the UC system. What follows is a list of programs, initiatives, and new paradigms that would supplement and to some extent reinvent the agenda of the Institute, expanding its scope and impact. Working closely with a system-wide faculty advisory board and faculty from the different campuses, alert to the strengths and needs of individual campuses as well as the enormous potential of systemwide collaborations, we would like to develop these new arts initiatives.
UCIRA Annual State of the Arts Conference
We propose a major, annual conference organized by UCIRA: The State of the Arts. The first annual conference, to be held May 19-20, 2006 will address practical and policy issues confronting artists, arts administrators, and educators. At the same time, it will challenge and move beyond conventional academic conference formats by showcasing new work in the arts and new approaches to arts education. This will be a forum for presenting the results of some of the UCIRA Arts Research initiatives. The conference may combine elements of an arts festival and a conference that would bring together UC artists, policy makers, and arts educators for workshops and discussions. A model for such a gathering is the two-day conference held in 2004 at the British Museum, "Free State".
UC Arts Showcase
A related program will be an annual UC Arts Showcase designed to publicize and highlight the most successful projects completed that year and sponsored by the Institute. The Showcase (or an edited version) will be presented at the annual State of the Arts Conference and possibly circulate during the academic year to each of the UC campuses. With adequate resources, UCIRA also could sponsor traveling exhibits (selected by curatorial teams and juries) or performances, ideally in partnership with public and private museums, galleries, or performance venues throughout the state, to showcase exciting work by UC faculty and students. The first UC Arts showcase will be held in Santa Barbara during May of 2006 in conjunction with the Annual Conference.
International Arts Programs and Education Abroad
Work to establish international exchange visits for UC arts faculty.
Work with the Education Abroad Program (EAP) to establish a global arts research network that would facilitate study abroad in arts programs, international arts curriculum, new study center opportunities for faculty, and faculty exchanges.
The Visiting Artist Residencies shared among two or three UC campuses would be ideal for artists from outside the United States.
University/Community Partnerships
The creative arts inspire and foster community dialogue and engagement. As a public university with a commitment to public scholarship, the UC system and its arts network are particularly well-poised to initiate and sustain partnerships with a range of institutions within a regional and state-wide context. UCIRA should work with faculty to foster long-term partnerships with a diverse and expanded range of arts institutions as well as local and state community agencies and non-profit organizations .
We are interested in developing new paradigms for arts training that will create new and viable career trajectories for art students. In order to better prepare our students for careers in the arts, UCIRA would develop a "classroom of the community" educational mode l to supplement on-campus instruction. Such a model seeks to foster multiple opportunities for student residencies and internships through partnerships with regional private and public arts organizations, institutions, and businesses.
Innovative Residency Programs
We propose a visiting artist-in-residence program that would be shared by two or three campuses at a time. For example, a visiting artist would receive a stipend to be a UCIRA Artist in Residence for an academic quarter, spending three weeks at UC Irvine, three weeks at UCLA, and three weeks at UC Riverside (or an academic term split among UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis). This residency could be tied to a collaborative project that would bring faculty and students from the three campuses together at the end of the quarter.
UCIRA should cultivate partnerships for student internships and faculty and student residencies at museums, arts organizations, and other related agencies across the state.
New Technologies and the UC Digital Arts Research Network
UC faculty appointments in digital and media arts over the past fifteen years have created unparalleled strengths in the area of digital arts and new media. The formation of DarNet, the UC Digital Arts Network, exemplifies how the UC system can capitalize on the talent and resources of its affiliated faculty to generate a powerful identity within the arts. UCIRA would welcome partnerships with DarNet and others to connect campuses and the individuals working within them with larger local and global networks, providing a more effective means of research dissemination.
UCIRA is also working with UCSB's Center for Film, Television and New Media to form partnerships with UCTV and others in support of these same goals.
Public Policy and Arts Advocacy
Currently, California ranks last in the nation for state per capita arts funding. The UCIRA, and by extension the University of California, has an important role to play as an advocate for the arts statewide.
UCIRA should work with the University of California system-wide and campus offices of State Governmental Relations, as well as others, to bring to the attention of elected officials and the public the importance of the arts to the state's economic and cultural well-being.
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