2016 a2ru National Conference
Theme
As a “big ideas” event, the 2016 a2ru National Conference theme, ArtsRx: Creative Venture, Wellbeing, and the New Humanities, looked at the way the arts intersect with four other domains of research and learning: entrepreneurship, health, the humanities, and S.E.A.D (Science, Engineering, Arts & Design). ArtsRx spotlights these emerging and evolving fields because a2ru’s growing network of research universities is leading in these domains.
Featured Speakers
Liz Lerman is a choreographer, performer, writer, educator, and speaker. From a piece about her days as a go-go dancer in 1974 to a recent investigation of origins that included putting dancers in the tunnels of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, she has spent the past four decades making her artistic research personal, humorous and intellectually vivid. A key aspect of her artistry is opening her process to various publics from shipbuilders to physicists, construction workers to ballerinas, resulting in both research and outcomes that are participatory, relevant, urgent, and usable by others. Now she is pursuing new projects with fresh partnerships, including a recent semester at Harvard University as an artist-in-residence; initiating the National Civil War Project which pairs theaters and universities to create new work and new research related to our civil war; the new work Healing Wars, an investigation of the impact of war on medicine (2014); the genre-twisting work Blood, Muscle, Bone with Jawole Willa JoZollar and Urban Bush Women; work in London with Sadler’s Wells Theatre, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the National Theatre Studio, and the London Sinfonietta; and an online project called “The Treadmill Tapes: Ideas on the Move.” In 2013 she curated Wesleyan University’s symposium “Innovations: Intersection of Art and Science,” bringing together teams of artists and scientists from North America to present their methods and findings. Liz has been the recipient of numerous honors, including a 2002 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2011 United States Artists Ford Fellowship in Dance, and the 2014 Dance/USA Honor Award. Her work has been commissioned by Harvard Law School, the Lincoln Center, American Dance Festival, and the Kennedy Center among many others.
John Bennett is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation Initiatives at the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Center, where he leads Inworks. Previously, Bennett was at CU Boulder, where he was the Archuleta Professor of Computer Science and the Director of the ATLAS Institute. Bennett holds MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science from the University of Washington Seattle, and BSEE and MEE degrees from Rice University.
Todd Siler received a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Psychology and Art from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986, becoming the first visual artist to receive this doctoral degree at M.I.T. He was also a Visiting Artist/Scientist at the Computer-Aided Design Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (1986-88 & 1991).He has been exhibiting his artworks internationally in major museums and galleries for the past three decades. His artworks are in numerous private and public collections worldwide, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in Moscow, and the Belsar Verlag Print Archives in Stuttgart and Zurich.Siler is a recipient of an I.B.M. Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to Paris, France (1975-76), aFulbright Fellowship to India (1985-86), and a Meitec Fellowship (1989-91), awarded by the Meitec Intelligent Technology Corporation in Tokyo, among other fellowships and awards. In addition, he holds a number of patents on a wide range of inventions, including a computer-graphics input device and textile printing machinery.The World Cultural Council, who awarded him the 2011 Leonardo DaVinci World Award of Arts, recognized Siler’s lifelong practice of applying the “ArtScience” process to envision viable solutions to real-world global challenges. He has a longstanding interest in exploring the potential of alternative nuclear fusion energy systems that can help create a sustainable future.
Host
In the heart of downtown Denver, The University of Colorado Denver combines innovative research and accessible education with the advantages that only a dynamic urban environment can provide. Its connection to the vibrant city inspires leading research, creative work, and civic engagement. Their collaboration with Denver’s businesses and local government helps set them apart from other universities. With a history that began in 1912, CU Denver has operated independently since 1973. Its location in downtown Denver serves more than 15,000 students. In Colorado and around the world, its talented graduates form a diverse and growing Lynx family.They work to create welcoming and respectful learning environments where a culture of inclusion can flourish. At CU Denver, they honor diversity of experiences and perspectives in the committed belief that they enrich the educational experience for all.
Special Events
The New Theater of Medicine Presents The Autopsy of Dr. Melinda J. Smith
The New Theater of Medicine’s (NTM) mission is to advance and improve healthcare through professionaltheater inspired by the real world of medicine. THE AUTOPSY OF DR. MELINDA J. SMITH, a NTM original one-act play, has engaged national and international healthcare professionals through its creativepost-show talkback and artistic portrayal of medical training, clinical practice, and burnout.
NTM will also present a workshop during the conference in which attendees will have a opportunity to learn about and experience NTM’s approach including live samples of original work developed for health organizations (CDC, AAMC), national and international medical schools/hospitals (Yale, UNC, Universidad de la República), and healthcare events (AARP Dementia Care and Innovation Forum)
Workshop: Friday, November 4, 8:30-9:45am, Auraria Campus
Performance: Friday, November 4, 1:30pm, Anschutz Campus
Bluegrass Ensemble
The University of Colorado Denver Bluegrass Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Greg Garrison, is designed to give students the opportunity to interact with Bluegrass music and its variants. Students are challenged to learn the history, common repertoire, and current musical trends associated with American improvised string band music.
The Bluegrass Ensemble will perform during the closing reception on Saturday, November 5 at 1:30pm in the Four Square Ballroom of The Curtis Hotel.
Mobile Device Ensemble
The CU Denver Mobile Device Ensemble is a group of six students using only laptops,iPads & iPhones to perform as an ensemble. The music ranges from modern EDMgrooves to more experimental ambient stylings and all things in-between. Led by localmusician and CU Denver faculty member Todd Reid, this ensemble will perform solo,duo and group pieces that feature original music and remixes of popular songs.
Performance: Friday, November 4, 8:30-9:45am
Inworks Making Sessions
Inworks provides an extensive range of offerings in our state-of-the-art design and rapid prototyping space to facilitate the process of making innovative ideas into tangible realities.
Multiple sessions are scheduled throughout the conference. Sign-ups will be available for these sessions in the weeks leading up to the conference. Join special guest, Katie McCurdy for the session on the Anschutz campus on Friday, November 4!
MIT’s Chibitronics
Chibotronics aims to combine art making with circuit building to engage a broaderand more diverse audience through learning and creating their own technologies.The circuit sticker toolkit enables artists, educators, and makers to build circuitsusing arts and crafts techniques – learning circuit theory while engaging in a newmedium for self-expression. By introducing engineering through arts and crafts,circuit building becomes magical, friendly, and fun.
Multiple sessions are schedule Thursday and Friday in the Pre-Function Lounge area so conference goers can drop in as they’d like.