Sam Van Aken is a contemporary artist and Associate Professor of sculpture at Syracuse University who works beyond traditional modes of art making, crossing artistic genres and disciplines to develop new perspectives on such themes as communication, botany, agriculture, climatology, and the ever-increasing impact of technology. Employing “anti-structures and unknowing as generative processes”, Van Aken’s interventions in the natural and public realm are seen as metaphors that serve as the basis of narrative, sites of place making, and in some cases even become the basis of scientific research.

Residency Dates: December 8-11

Program Details

Six artists will be invited to travel to the FSU Facility for Arts Research (FAR) and participate in the symposium with a group of approximately six FSU researchers. The symposium will include opportunities for discussion, short presentations, a hands-on workshop, and will culminate in a public lecture by an invited speaker. The symposium will conclude with a group visit to Wakulla Springs, including a boat tour of the Wakulla River. FAR will pay for meals during the symposium and provide a stipend to cover travel and lodging.

Application

All applications must be submitted by midnight, December 31, 2019.
Florida artists, working in any discipline, are invited to apply. Disciplines include, but are not limited to, visual art, performance, choreography, writing, music, video and film.

The online application can be found here:

Apply Here

The application consists of a statement of intent describing why you are interested in participating in this symposium (500 words), a narrative illustrating evidence of past, current, and/or future research and creative activities on the topic of climate change (1000 words or less), links to supporting documentation of the above works, and a letter of reference that speaks to your ability to knowledgeably discuss your work with a group of artists and scholars as part of this symposium.

The goal of this symposium is to make connections and develop potential collaborations between FSU researchers and invited Florida artists. If you are an FSU faculty member, please email the FAR co-directors to see how you can be involved in a capacity other than as a visiting artist. Students that are currently enrolled at any institution are not eligible. The Facility for Arts Research is supported by the FSU College of Fine Arts.

Selection and Notification Process

Proposals will be selected by jurors Meredith Lynn (Assistant Curator, FSU Museum of Fine Arts), Daniel Luedtke (Assistant Professor, FSU Department of Art), and the co-directors of the FSU Facility for Arts Research: Denise Bookwalter, Rob Duarte, and Judy Rushin. Six artists will be chosen based on their ability to converse knowledgeably on the subject of climate change and the relevance of their past or current work to the topic of climate change as it relates to Florida and the Gulf Coast. Women and historically underrepresented communities are especially encouraged to apply.

Contact Information

If you have any further questions, contact Celeste Ivory at artsresearch@fsu.edu

Overview

Artists and researchers from the arts, humanities, and sciences all approach their work…approach their work from a broad common ground: they question human nature and the nature of the physical universe, materials, and structures. The Florida State University Facility for Arts Research (FAR) is pleased to announce a symposium of artists and scholars on climate change in Florida and the Gulf Coast.

From colleges across FSU, researchers are working in their respective fields to address issues related to climate change, with a specific focus on Florida and the Gulf Coast. This symposium will bring together a group of FSU researchers and a diverse cohort of Florida and Gulf Coast artists to discuss their individual efforts to address climate change and to be exposed to new modes of thinking about this important topic.

We are currently seeking participants from FSU. All current faculty (excluding the College of Fine Art) are eligible. Interested faculty should email Celeste Ivory, Operations Manager/MMAP Project Leader, with a short description of your research and the reason for your interest. Deadline for proposals is December 31st.

Program Details

• The symposium will take place on April 23-25, 2020 at the FSU Facility for Arts Research in Tallahassee
• A core group of twelve symposium participants will be comprised of:
• Six invited FSU scholars from a variety of disciplines
• Six Florida and Gulf Coast artists, selected by a jury from a pool of applicants
• The symposium will include opportunities for discussion, short presentations, a hands-on workshop, and will culminate in a public lecture
• The symposium will conclude with a group visit to Wakulla Springs, including a boat tour
• FAR will pay for meals during the symposium and provide a stipend to cover travel and lodging

This conference offers a unique invitation to engage in cross disciplinary discourse around the role of people, objects and environments and how our individual practices and professions are, in reality, inseparable from each other. It asks how the things and spaces we design and create are experienced and how they impact on people: their potential, learning capacity, wellbeing, social inclusion, desires, actions, behaviors, moods, thinking, and more. This gathering supports the notion that artists and designers need to understand the insights of educators, psychologists, health professionals and diverse user groups to create the products and spaces we will all need in the future.

Keynote Chris Downey. sight-impaired architect serves as the keynote speaker, sharing his thoughts on the importance of the senses to human experience and design Thursday night. Angela Spangler of the International Well Building Institute is the second day keynote speaker who will celebrate the importance of healthy places that support human well-being.

Learn More

Florida State University celebrates its preeminence during FSU Day at the Capitol. The event will take place from 10 A.M. – 2 P.M., WEDNESDAY, FEB. 12, at the FLORIDA CAPITOL.

The event will feature FSU’s renowned Student Veterans Center, along with several of the university’s colleges and academic departments, who will have displays and informational tables set up on the plaza level, second and third-floor rotundas from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public. Fans are encouraged to wear garnet and gold apparel during the festivities.

Michael Rosato will be the featured artist for the Opening Nights Chain of Parks Art Festival Event.

The lecture will be held on April 16, 2020, in the FSU Alumni Center Ballroom.

Tickets are $25 and include a pre-lecture reception with the artist that begins at 6:30 pm.

Michael Rosato specializes in designing and painting large-scale murals for public and private spaces. Mr. Rosato is regularly commissioned to create artworks for display in museum exhibits, corporate headquarters, retail spaces, restaurants, sports arenas, outdoor venues and private residences. His recent mural of abolitionist and conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, has received international acclaim.

Picture: Harriet Tubman Mural by Michael Rosato

Overview

The work of FAR and Away 2019/2020 artist Sam Van Aken

The Florida State University Facility for Arts Research (FAR) invites applications from artists of any discipline working in the Gulf Coast region to join a symposium focused on the effects of climate change on the state of Florida and the Gulf Coast. The symposium is a continuation of our FAR & Away program, which brings visiting artists to Tallahassee to gain new perspectives on their work by interacting with researchers at FSU.

From colleges across FSU, researchers are working in their respective fields to address issues related to climate change, with a specific focus on Florida. This symposium will bring together a group of FSU researchers and a diverse cohort of Florida artists to discuss their individual efforts to address climate change and to be exposed to new modes of thinking about this important topic. See below to see how to apply to be one of the symposium’s invited artists.

Program Details

Six artists will be invited to travel to the FSU Facility for Arts Research (FAR) and participate in the symposium with a group of approximately six FSU researchers. The symposium will include opportunities for discussion, short presentations, a hands-on workshop, and will culminate in a public lecture by an invited speaker. The symposium will conclude with a group visit to Wakulla Springs, including a boat tour of the Wakulla River. FAR will pay for meals during the symposium and provide a stipend to cover travel and lodging.

Contact Information

If you have any further questions, contact Celeste Ivory at artsresearch@fsu.edu