Research/Creative Practice

“The arts teach us new ways of seeing. They teach us how to be more persuasive, more compassionate, and more creative. And the arts connect us with the humanity of people across the globe. Where there are people, there will be art. Art reflects the way we make meaning of our experience, and in some cases, art itself becomes the meaning. I have been moved to see the creative ways our colleges and schools express those truths.” – Provost Laurie McCauley

Activate interdisciplinary discovery and arts research

The U-M Arts Initiative exists to promote the arts in collaborative, multidisciplinary research and artistic projects to aid scholars and students in discovering new approaches to challenges. This includes direct funds for arts-centered projects, and supporting existing granting models for faculty and staff research.

Direct funding for faculty and students arts research and engagement

There is incredible demand, interest, and need for supporting arts research. As a top public research institution, U-M can be the leader in this field. Nationwide there are very few opportunities that support arts research. The benefits can be outstanding, changing the way our students learn, our faculty teaches, and helping us to solve our greatest challenges. Direct support for faculty and student research projects also will help attract and retain leading faculty and students.

Arts Research (ARIA)

Arts research is an area in which there is incredible demand, interest and a need for support—both on campus and across the country.

Arts Asset Mapping

This research project gathered the data necessary to map all of the arts assets at the university in order to understand and demonstrate the depth and breadth of the arts at the university.

Past Projects

Fiddler on the Roof in Concert, featuring the orchestrations of John Williams. Promotional illustration courtesy: UMS

Collaborative Projects

The Arts Initiative is interested in a broad scope of projects that reflect collaboration, involve multiple units/organizations, promote engagement and the growth of new and diverse audiences, and align with the mission of the University and the Initiative.

Future of Art

Working in collaboration with the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), the Institute for the Humanities, and the Digital Studies Institute – the Arts Initiative co-presented a series of discussions which aimed to envision what the future of art looks like from a variety of perspectives.

Pilot Projects

Arts Initiative pilot projects were a part of the Public Art & Engagement Fellowship.

Michigan Monuments

This research project examined how history gets made and remade through public art, and it will leverage public artistic practice as a catalyst for imagining a more just future for the State of Michigan.