Skidmore a semifinalist for innovative grant

Skidmore is one of31 semifinalists in the 2010 Creative Campus Innovations Grant Program, coordinated by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters of Washington, D.C.

Funded by theDoris Duke Charitable Foundation, this program was designed to support a set of innovative projects on American campuses that exhibit the importance of the arts to the educational, service, and scholarly missions of the academy and that fully integrate the performing arts into the life of the academy and the community.The projects are intended togo beyond conventional practice and perspectives on collaboration and learning to connect arts and non-artsconstituencies through the creation of new interdisciplinary work. The program is also designed to stimulate discussion anddebate on such issues as creativity, knowledge transfer, and community interaction.

Partnershipsdeveloped through the Creative Campus Innovations Grant Program will integrate the work of arts presentersacross the campus and within the surroundingcommunity.

Semifinalists, selected from a pool of 150 applicants, will each receive $7,000 tohelp develop each project concept for consideration in the next and final step of this grantprogram. Up to 10 one-to two-year project grants, ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 each, will beawarded next August to college and university-based presenters.

Skidmore's project, titled "Water, Conflict, and Collaboration: New Performances and Perspectives for Change," is designed to join the historical strengths of the College's performing arts tradition to the energy of its interdisciplinary Water Resources Initiative (WRI). The hope is that the grant would enable the College to invite one or two guest artists to partner in the project, which would involve the creation of original works, and would strengthen the collaborative relationships between the WRI, Skidmore's academic departments, the Office of the Dean of Special programs, the First-Year Experience, student groups, local businesses, and community groups.

Skidmore's effort is being led by the Office of the Dean of Special Programs, in conjunction with Saratoga Arts (formerly the Saratoga County Arts Council). The goal of the of the project is to create and present powerful performing arts events that will spur new approaches to the issue of water conflict and a commitment to achieving change. Participants will identify "glocal" (global and local) issues and engage in workshops with the artists to create performance projects on campus and off, which will be platforms for campus and community discussion/action. In addition to the performances, other strategies for engagement include team-taught classes, new courses, collaborative research projects, and lectures.

The Association of Performing Arts Presenters is the national serviceorganization for the field of arts presenting. Nearly 2,000 members represent the nation's leadingperforming arts centers, civic and university performance facilities, the full spectrum of artistagencies and managers, a growing roster of self-representing artists; and national consultingpractices and vendors that service the field.

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation www.ddcf.org is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties.