Mapping Transitions Through Arts

Faculty leader:
Thomas Rose (Art)

Mapping Transitions through the Vehicle of the Arts has received generous funding from the Luce Foundation to strengthen partnerships across institutions, both within Minnesota and between Minnesota and China. These partnerships are focused on faculty collaboration in teaching and student collaboration in learning. Participating institutions include the University of Minnesota, Carleton College, St. Olaf College, University of St. Thomas, Macalester College, and College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. In building these partnerships, we develop a comprehensive strategy for continuing and expanding connections and collaboration in the field of Chinese art. 

The initiatives of the grant are grounded in the examination of cultural, social, and economic transitions, both historical and contemporary, as they apply to artistic education, practice, and exhibition in China. Thematically, the initiatives are grounded in the examination of artistic transitions at three points in time:

  • The multiple transitions of the contemporary era
  • The Ming-Qing transitions of the 16th and 17th centuries
  • The transitions that accompanied the introduction of Buddhism to China

Signature programs include the teaching of collaborative courses and cultural exchanges through visits of Chinese scholars and artists to Minnesota and American scholars to China.

Internships

Degree-seeking, advanced undergraduate and graduate students are invited to apply for funding for internship opportunities where the student creates a research or artistic project as a means to further promote the collaborations outlined by Mapping Transitions through the Vehicle of the Arts. For more information and application instructions, see the Transitions through Art Internship page. 

Exhibitions

Local galleries and museums will provide venues for creative output wherein members of the collaborative will seek to develop mechanisms for sustaining an evolving partnership between Minnesota students, faculty, and artists and their counterparts in China.