Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Erica Blust
(315) 443-5891
Seven projects led by faculty members in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) or based in the college have been awarded Enitiative grants. Enitiative (the Syracuse Campus-Community Entrepreneurship Initiative) is funded by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, focusing on entrepreneurship in the arts, technology and our neighborhoods. To learn more about Enitiative, visit http://www.entrepreneurship.syr.edu.
The projects are:
Looking at My Neighborhood: Making a Book about a Place
Sarah McCoubrey, associate professor of foundation in the School of Art and Design, will produce a book about the Near West Side of Syracuse for use in art as well as social studies classrooms.
Working with the Near West Side Initiative, the Partnership for Better Education and SU’s Writing Program, this project will bring together artists and poets, Blodgett School students and SU students, Blodgett faculty and SU faculty to create a curriculum and learning experience that draws together these diverse populations into a common study of art as a means to understand social history. For SU students, this project will provide an opportunity to oversee the development of a multi-partner project, bringing together a diverse set of participants toward the completion of multi-media (book, coloring book, etc.) for a specific client, Blodgett Middle School. Students will research the neighborhood, accumulate material and see firsthand the transformation of that effort into a product.
Urban Video Project as a Connective Classroom
Denise Heckman, associate professor of industrial and interaction design in the School of Art and Design, will expand the Urban Video Project (UVP) to include multiple institutions of higher education located in or near the city of Syracuse.
UVP projects art on the side of buildings, making use of underutilized space in urban areas, such as abandoned buildings. The Enitiative Sustainable Entrepreneurship grant will enable Heckman to expand the academic focus of UVP in a way that includes multiple institutions of higher education located in or near the city of Syracuse. Several colleges and universities will participate in classes, seminars and activities that bring students together in shared classrooms working on projects that explore the city of Syracuse or issues of specific relevance to the post-industrial condition of medium-sized urban areas.
219/Red House Project
Chris McCray, assistant professor in VPA and mad scientist of COLAB, an interdisciplinary initiative based in VPA , and Scott Allyn, a local entrepreneur, will develop 219 South West LLC and the Red House into mutually sustainable enterprises on the Near West Side of Syracuse.
219 South West LLC is a small business development firm focused on for-profit and non-profit endeavors in the creative arts. Faculty and students will develop new models for collaborative business development between a for-profit and non-profit organization (219 and the Red House). They will explore the best use of space, how best to interact with the community and what business relationships need to be developed to sustain the Red House. 219 will also work with VPA’s Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries to provide incubator space for student music production companies.
Mitigating Bright Flight: How to Retain Students in the Upstate Region
Many students come to Ithaca, Rochester and Syracuse to attend the universities, but most students leave these areas after graduation. COLAB will host a charrette aimed at retaining students in the Upstate New York region after graduation. Students and faculty from Cornell University, the University of Rochester and SU will participate in a three-day intense charrette and propose innovative solutions for keeping university graduates local.
Entrepreneurship in Design Curricula
The Department of Design in the School of Art and Design will bring guest entrepreneurs into several program areas to participate directly in course projects and lectures, student reviews and brainstorming sessions with faculty. The entrepreneurs will work with students to develop an entrepreneurial project appropriate for that discipline that may be further developed and manufactured via the COLAB incubator. The entrepreneurs will also observe and review existing curricula to suggest teaching methods and projects to integrate entrepreneurship into the current class structures.
Central New York International Film Festival
Since 2004 the Syracuse International Film Festival has become one of the largest and most influential international festivals on the East Coast. In light of SU's and FilmFest's desires to connect the entire Central New York academic region, they will explore interest in repositioning and re-branding the festival as a Central New York International Film Festival.
Incorporating CNY into the festival could generate significantly more educational opportunities for SU students and faculty through greater Scholarship In Action and community engagement programs, create new collaborations, develop new funding partnerships, expand economic growth in Syracuse and CNY and shed an international spotlight on the entire region. A new Film Festivals course will be offered each fall beginning in 2010 and corresponding with the October festival, along with Film Business for Artists, a course that prepares film students for entering festivals, applying for grants, understanding copyright law and budgeting productions, among other entrepreneurial topics related to filmmaking, exhibition and distribution.
Mindful Web Connection
Mindful Web Connection brings arts and technology students together at SU to build an inclusive entrepreneurial community that exhibits creativity and collaboration. Led by Anne Beffel, an associate professor of foundation in the School of Art and Design, the project creates mindful connections by means of (1) contemplative video art workshops; (2) development and implementation of web 2.0 technologies to archive and exchange videos and ideas at an Everson Museum of Art screening; and (3) an "inter-generational" team that includes art and technology students and a top industry designer. SU students will connect with students from the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central High School and the Everson Museum, which will host a public video screening and experiential gallery talks. Ultimately, the project will help students learn to cultivate rapport necessary for successful collaborations.
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