Mills announces new arts office

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the university is launching a new office to support faculty seeking creative awards and will host a series of discussions with prominent alumni in the arts. The programming, announced in a universitywide memo last week, aims to expand on NYU’s “long legacy of leadership in the arts.”

President Linda Mills and Provost Georgina Dopico said in the memo that Tisch’s anniversary inspired an upcoming series of events “that will shape the future of the arts at NYU — and beyond.” 

“Few research universities have as deep, wide-ranging and a prominent commitment to the arts as NYU,” Dopico wrote to WSN. “The new arts initiative highlights NYU’s leadership in these fields and our commitment to sustaining it, in a moment when we especially need the arts to provide the vision, critical insight and creative courage needed to solve the world’s most complex problems.”

The Office of the Provost will develop an Arts and Creative Industries Awards Office in collaboration with the NYU Production Lab. The office is modeled after NYU’s Office of Global Awards, which helps fund research, professional opportunities and merit-based fellowship applications, such as the Rhodes and Truman scholarships. The new arts office aims to help NYU faculty with scholarship and awards recognition.

New “Global Arts Salons” will bring industry leaders and scholars across NYU’s network to discuss “the many new frontiers that are redefining the arts.” Tisch and Steinhardt professors spearheaded the upcoming series, which will be led by Tisch Associate Dean Sheril Antonio, Tisch professor Susan Hilferty and Steinhardt Artistic Director of Music Composition Julia Wolfe. In a statement to WSN, Antonio said that more details will be shared in the “coming weeks” about this programming.

“We look forward to bringing together artists, scholars and educators from around the world to highlight our achievements and forge a dynamic future together,” Antonio said. “I am thrilled to participate in this — to have the opportunity to showcase NYU’s creative expertise.”

Tisch’s anniversary will be celebrated with an annual gala featuring two honorees and a series of student performances. For its 50th anniversary in 2016, the gala was hosted by actor Alec Baldwin and director Spike Lee, and featured NYU alumni including costume designer Paul Tazewell, TV producer Wendy Calhoun and engineer Lili Cheng. Last year’s gala honored Winnie Holzman, who wrote the Broadway musical “Wicked,” and award-winning actor Daniel Dae Kim.

This memo follows the introduction of the NYU Arts & Impact Initiative earlier this semester, which will host year-round events connecting social issues to specific artistic disciplines. The two efforts mark a significant increase in arts-oriented programming spearheaded by the President’s Office, with Mills’ leadership otherwise characterized by substantial investments in science and technology. 

Announcements about other developments in NYU’s arts programs will be made as early as this week, including one from Polendo regarding Tisch’s anniversary.

Contact Dani Biondi at dbiondi@nyunews.com.

This story Mills announces new arts office appeared first on Washington Square News.

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the university is launching a new office to support faculty seeking creative awards and will host a series of discussions with prominent alumni in the arts. The programming, announced in a universitywide memo last week, aims to expand on NYU’s “long legacy of leadership…