Dean Valerie B. Morris and David B. Pankratz, Director of Evaluation & Research at Emc.Arts, LLC, are co-editors of the newly-published book The Arts in a New Millennium: Research and the Arts Sector. The book examines underlying trends and ways to achieve the well-developed, field-wide research capacity in the arts that will be needed by artists, arts administrators, and policy-makers in the 21st century.

The book outlines the many initiatives that have been undertaken since the mid 1990s to build an effective arts policy community. It does so through featured writings by distinguished change agents in the arts: leaders of think tanks, program officers at foundations, scholars, educators, and practitioners.

Pankratz contributes two chapters: “Values and Policy Paradigms: Foundations for Research on the Arts Sector” and “The Nonprofit and Commercial Arts in America: Research on New Interrelationships.”

These initiatives and the increase in research capacity that was evident by the end of the 1990s have stimulated the development of new topics and forms of inquiry that are relevant to the current and future challenges that arts leaders face. The trends featured in The Arts in a New Millennium include: visioning and core values; analysis and evaluation of program and policy outcomes; research paradigms on cultural productions, arts participation, economic impact, community-based arts activities, and cross-national comparisons of systems of support for the arts.

-Press Release courtesy of Emc.Arts

The School of the Arts hosted members of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD) on campus in July of this year. Valerie Morris and Steve Rosenberg presented information to the ICFAD representatives regarding its Transnational Initiatives Projects program in France.

In 2002 ICFAD selected the School of the Arts as a project site, one of five globally, for its Transnational Initiatives Projects program. Steve Rosenberg and the Charleston Pro Musica are involved in this two-year pilot project that is designed to study effective transnational collaborative partnerships.

For several years Rosenberg has led a group of students to France during the summer for a series of performances and study opportunities. In 2003, videographers from South Carolina Educational Television traveled with the group to create a video that aired on the State’s network.

The membership of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD) elected Dean Valerie B. Morris to a two-year term on its Board of Directors during its annual meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. Speaking of her election to the Board, Dean Morris said “ICFAD is a terrific organization. I am honored that my peers have elected me to serve on the Board. I look forward to working with my colleagues as we face a changing landscape in the arts and education.”

Just one year shy of its fortieth anniversary, ICFAD is an alliance of fine arts administrators representing over 200 institutions of higher education. ICFAD provides leadership in arts education and offers a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. ICFAD is committed to encouraging global understanding and cooperation and offering leadership for the arts in society.

The William Halsey Gallery will host three exhibitions: “Chris Sullivan: Language and Photography;” “Gay Outlaw: Extrusions;” and “Molly Renda: Traveling Library (Part I)” from October 24 to December 13. Sullivan and Outlaw’s work is on display in the Halsey Gallery and Renda’s work is on display in the foyer of the Robert Scott Small Library.

Outlaw is a sculptor who often creates works using repetitive forms such as pencils, puff pastries, fruitcakes, plumber’s pipes, and caramel. Sullivan, a self-proclaimed “language photographer,” finds humor and profundity in the signs and letters that surround us. The foyer of the Robert Scott Small Library will feature work from an expanding collection of volumes, drawings, and ephemera by Renda, one of America’s most respected contemporary book designers. Limited circulation may be available. Renda’s exhibition is co-sponsored by the Halsey Gallery and the Robert Scott Small Library.

“Chris Sullivan: Language and Photography”

Sullivan’s photographs have been published and exhibited nationally. He was an artist in residence at Lightwork in Syracuse, New York and the subject of a solo exhibition at the Robert Menschel Gallery at Syracuse University. Sullivan says “I call my practice with the camera ‘Language Photography’ because my nature to understand speech as a visual medium sees it that way from a camera guided as much by ear as eye strikes me as a way to preserve both what I saw and what I thought.”

Sullivan is also the editor/publisher of a zine called the Journal of Public Domain. Each issue contains bits of found text hoisted from sidewalks, dumpsters, employee bulletin boards, car windshields, purloined personal correspondence, and community telephone poles.

“Gay Outlaw: Extrusions”

For her exhibition at the Halsey Gallery, Outlaw was in residence for the week preceding the opening creating a caramel sculpture in the kitchens of Johnson and Wales University. She also created various other works onsite, including an extruded clay piece. Outlaw is interested in having the gallery function as an extension of her studio. After receiving her undergraduate degree in French from the University of Virginia, Outlaw studied to be a chef at the Ecole de Cuisine la Verenne in Paris. After that, her creative muse led her to study photography at the International Center of Photography in New York. She quickly realized that she was trying to capture the sculptural nature of the objects she photographed and so began to concentrate on also making sculpture. All of this training is now combined into her studio practice where she feels equally at ease with puff pastry and molded caramel, as she does with tiny photo collages and extruded clay. Outlaw’s works have been shown at the Sculpture Center in New York and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

“Molly Renda: Traveling Library (Part I)”

This exhibition features book-art projects created by Renda. These works involve unique paper surfaces, folds, bindings, and presentations. Renda’s design practice is based in Durham, NC. She is the recipient of numerous awards and was selected by the North Carolina Arts Council for a residency in La Napoule, France.