Brown Arts Institute (BAI) is an institute at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

for the practice, theory and scholarship of the performing,

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

, and

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. Founded in 2016, the BAI is home to the university's six academic arts departments, the David Winton Bell Gallery, and the

Rites and Reason Theatre Rites and Reason Theatre is a theater within the Africana Studies department of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1970 by Professor George Houston Bass, and Professor Rhett Jones, is one of the longest-running cont ...

. The BAI structures programmatic offerings including exhibits and lecture series around three-year long rotating themes.

History

The Brown Arts Initiative was founded 2016 and launched in March 2017 with Professor of Music Joseph “Butch” Rovan as its inaugural faculty director. The initiative's launch coincided with the university's announcement of a plan to construct the

Lindemann Performing Arts Center The Lindemann Performing Arts Center is a performing and visual arts facility under construction at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The building is located at 144 Angell Street on Brown's main campus in the city's College Hill neig ...

. The venue, set to be completed in 2023, is located adjacent to the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. The_Lindemann_Performing_Arts_Center_at_Brown_University

The_Lindemann_Performing_Arts_Center_at_Brown_University

In August 2017, the BAI launched the

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

and Allison Kanders Lecture Series which brings four artists, critics, and curators to campus each year to engage in dialogue about

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

and its impact. The inaugural installment of the lecture series featured

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

Wangechi Mutu Wangechi Mutu (born 1972) is a Kenyan-born American visual artist, known primarily for her painting, sculpture, film, and performance work.Shirin Neshat Shirin Neshat ( fa, شیرین نشاط; born March 26, 1957 in Qazvin) is an Iranian visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and th ...

, and

Thelma Golden Thelma Golden (born 1965 in St. Albans, Queens) is the Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City, United States. Golden joined the Museum as Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Programs in 2000 before succeeding ...

. In 2020

Thalia Field Thalia Field (born 1966) is an American author known for innovative fiction and interdisciplinary literature. She teaches experimental fiction and interdisciplinary performance at Brown University, where she also serves as Faculty Director of th ...

succeed Rovan as faculty director and Avery Willis Hoffman was appointed the institute's inaugural artistic director. In July 2021, the Brown Arts Initiative transitioned to the Brown Arts Institute.

Offerings and programs

Professors of the Practice

Since 2016, the Brown Arts Institute has brought practicing artists to campus as ''Professors of the Practice.'' These appointments last two semesters with one dedicated to teaching and another to research. Past Professors of the Practice include

Tania Bruguera Tania Bruguera (born 1968 in Havana, Cuba) is an artist and activist who focuses on installation and performance art. She lives and works between New York City and Havana, and has participated in numerous international exhibitions. Her work is in ...

Coco Fusco Coco Fusco (born Juliana Emilia Fusco Miyares; June 18, 1960) is a Cuban-American interdisciplinary artist, writer, and curator whose work has been exhibited and published internationally. Fusco's work explores gender, identity, race, and power thr ...

Erin McKeown Erin McKeown (pronounced ) is an American multi-instrumentalist and folk-rock singer-songwriter. McKeown's music encompasses pop, swing, rock, folk, and electronic music, as well as several other genres. Music career They grew up in Freder ...

, and

Ralph Lemon Ralph Lemon (born August 1, 1952 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American choreographer, company director, writer, visual artist and a conceptualist. Raised in a religious environment, he developed his artistic creativity as a child.Diana Stockon, � ...

Grants

The Brown Arts Institute offers a range of grant programs which offer up to $1,000 to students to facilitate the production, study, and criticism of the creative arts. In 2021, the BAI announced the David Dornstein ’85 Grant, which awards a total of $50,000 annually to at least one graduating senior and graduating graduate student.

References

External links

Official website
{{Brown University Brown University 2016 establishments in Rhode Island Arts organizations based in Rhode Island