2023 National Conference: “What’s Next?: Imagining New Educational Futures for Ourselves, Our Communities and Our Planet”
About the Conference
a2ru’s next national conference will take place from October 19 – 21, 2023 at Penn State University’s University Park campus. This will be an in-person conference, and remote participation will be an option for many sessions.
The a2ru national conference is an opportunity for practitioners and researchers from across the higher education spectrum to share innovations and perspectives in the arts. a2ru advances the full range of arts- and design-integrative research, curricula, programs, and creative practice to acknowledge, articulate, and expand the vital role of higher education in our global society. a2ru’s work, in partnership with an international network of leading higher education institutions, envisions a world in which universities—students, faculty, and leaders—explore, embed, and integrate the arts in everyday practice and research.
The Theme
The study, practice, and centrality of the arts in higher education are inextricably linked to our ever-changing social, cultural, political, and environmental landscape. These changes force us to re-evaluate old mechanisms and ideas to meet the challenges of an uncertain future. How are students, faculty, institutional leaders, and institutions grappling with this uncertainty? How have creative communities addressed regressive responses to social justice, the looming consequences of climate change, and concerns with equitable values as new technologies evolve? How are we managing to maintain healthy bodies and minds for ourselves and for communities both within and outside the educational project-at-large?
What’s Next? Imagining New Educational Futures for Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet, welcomes proposals that present and explore new modes or models of practice, pedagogy, programming, research, and community partnerships that respond to our present moment and imagine educational futures that have the potential to positively impact global communities through the arts.
Call For Proposals
The Call for Proposals has now closed.
For questions or more information, contact a2ru Conference Director Charisse Willis at a2ruconnect@umich.edu.