About the Arts Council

In October 2011, the directors and department heads of various arts units on campus were invited to a meeting to explore whether there were issues and priorities in the arts that could benefit from collaboration and networking. The result was the formation of the UGA Arts Council, whose members represent the performing, visual and literary arts, as well as interdisciplinary academic units. With support from the Office of the Provost, the Arts Council now meets regularly. 

We work to foster an awareness and appreciation of the arts and an environment conducive to artistic innovation. Individually and collectively, the member units of the Arts Council promote excellence in the arts through academic programs, performances, exhibitions, scholarship and outreach activities to advance the university's goals of serving students, the state and the nation.

We want to encourage people, especially those who have never done so, to visit the Georgia Museum of Art or to attend a concert at the Performing Arts Center or to go to a theater or dance performance in the Fine Arts Building or the New Dance Theatre. We think those who have limited experience with the arts at UGA will be surprised by what they have been missing!

We want to make sure that students and others are aware that UGA is home to a nationally acclaimed literary journal in The Georgia Review, to the award-winning UGA Press, and to Special Collections Libraries that preserve the state's cultural heritage.

To encourage students and community members to become more involved in the arts at UGA, the Arts Council created the Spotlight on the Arts festival, a nine-day event highlighting units and facilities, from visual arts and creative writing to music, dramatic arts, dance and more. The inaugural festival, held in November 2012, featured more than 50 events and drew nearly 15,000 people. 

In 2016, the Arts Council joined the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) and hosted the organization's annual conference in 2018. 

Mission

The Arts Council brings together campus leaders to facilitate arts research and practice, to integrate the arts into the UGA student experience, to engage with community partners, and to communicate faculty, staff, and student achievements to regional, national, and international communities. The Arts Council advises the Office of the Provost and advocates for strategic support of the arts at the University of Georgia.

Goals 

Arts Research and Practice
Facilitate arts research and practice, with a focus on collaborative, interdisciplinary work across campus and the community that corresponds with success in external funding and global recognition. 

Mentorship and Instruction
Promote education in, and exposure to, the arts as integral to the experience of all UGA students.

Community and Engagement 
Create opportunities for alliances between the arts at UGA and community partners, with a view to cultivating and commissioning diverse forms of artistic practice and expression, and to increasing opportunities for engaging support for the arts through private giving, foundations, and federal agencies. 

Communication and Promotion
Amplify the excellence, profusion, and diversity of artistic activity and research at UGA within the communications structures of the University and externally through regional, national, and international partnerships, with a view to building the University’s reputation as a community of excellence in arts research and practice.