The Integrated Arts Research Initiative (IARI) launched at the University of Kansas and funded by a grant from the Andrew W Mellon Foundation, will bring artists and non-arts academics together to create ‘hybrid, collaborative projects’ and integrate arts into the research agenda of the university. The initiative’s mission includes bringing external scholars and creative professionals to the museum each year to work on particular projects. In 2017 this includes exhibitions on the topic of ‘Big Botany’. IARI will also include, field trips and roundtable discussions for scientists and artists.
Director of the Spencer Museum of Art, Reece Hardy said “We hope this can become a prototype for other university art museums to galvanize their collections, as well as their creative power for higher education”.
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