How Arts Alive is Redefining Creativity

In 2015, the Arts Alive initiative was established to help connect the rest of campus with the arts, promoting arts events and classes. As the initiative has grown, the goal has evolved into making the creative arts more accessible, inclusive, and an integral part of a comprehensive education at San Diego State.

Because the creative arts may sometimes be misunderstood as only the beautification of things, Arts Alive aims to highlight the capacity of the arts as a means of education, communication, and understanding. 

Much of this work is done by connecting with other academic disciplines and promoting collaborative projects and interdisciplinary study. Arts Alive SDSU’s programming prioritizes work that uses the visual and performing arts to address important sociopolitical and cultural issues. By inviting the SDSU campus community into these conversations, Arts Alive provides a network of academic connection and a space for creative research to flourish. 

There are three areas of programming that help accomplish this goal: The ICT Program, The Artist in Residence Program, and the Discovery Series. 

Interdisciplinary Collaboration Teaching Program - Combining Arts Courses With Other Subjects 

The Interdisciplinary Collaboration Teaching (ICT) program recruits two faculty members from different academic areas to collaborate on a new course. 

“It’s a chance for faculty to reimagine a course syllabus in a way that provides new and unexpected ways of understanding,” said Elizabeth Allison, the Public Affairs and Communication Specialist for Arts Alive SDSU. “It offers faculty a safe space to experiment adn challenge themselves to rethink how they might present the information in their courses.” 

The collaboration between two academic fields gives students the chance to see that material through an interdisciplinary lens.  

Arzu Ozkal, who currently serves as the Chair of Arts Alive SDSU, co-taught a graphic design/biology course as her first introduction to the Arts Alive initiative. In that course, graphic design students collaborated with biology graduate students to visualize scientific research. 

The collaboration challenges both students and faculty to think about their discipline in new and creative ways, often getting outside of their comfort zone.

“When they put me at the same desk as a science professor, I was intimidated at first because I don’t know the sciences,” said Ozkal. It wasn’t long until Ozkal discovered her science partner was also intimidated, not knowing much about graphic design, and co-teaching a class like this was new territory for them both. That’s where their collaborative conversations initiated something new.  

The students faced new challenges, which they overcame by working together as a team, learning how to ask essential questions and explain their research to an audience that was unfamiliar with their field. 

Since the ICT Program launched in 2015, there have been 15 unique courses taught by 30 faculty members from 5 colleges, with an enrollment of over 1100 students. Starting in Fall 2023, three brand new collaborations will launch. 

The ICT Program has produced such diverse and exciting presentations of research as dance performances informed by the dynamics of polymer science, presentations of branding systems for entrepreneurial business models, art exhibits featuring imaginative and informative visualizations of microorganisms, campus mural based on historical images and healing practices of Pre-Columbian culture in Mexico, installations of restorative gardens with indigenous plants, and a concert of electronic music derived from principles of big data management.

By the end of each ICT collaboration,  students from each discipline walked away with new skills and knowledge in their own major, as well as familiarity with a different subject, and a greatly strengthened communication vocabulary. 

Arts Alive accepts applications for new ICT courses every other academic year. For specific deadlines, visit their website. 

Artist in Residence - Professional Artists Collaborate on Projects With Students 

After SDSU students expressed a need for more mentors of color on campus in 2020, Arts Alive SDSU established the Artist in Residence  program.  Every academic year, a professional artist is selected for a 9 month long residency, where they mentor and engage with students to produce an artwork that celebrates underrepresented communities. 

Designed to invite everyone to participate in the creative process, the Arts Alive SDSU Artist in Residence program aims not merely to decorate physical sites, but to provide impactful experiences that transform our shared space and strengthen our community.

2020–2021

Visual Artist Zeal Harris created a mural called “Recipe for Acorn Grits,” which was installed on the mesa campus of SDSU. The painting was unveiled in a documentary featuring reflections by program participants and original poetry, music, and dance by student artists.

2021–2022

Musician and dancer Dr. Vince Whipple produced a conference and performance featuring regional artists, scholars, and tribal leaders that took place in Spring 2022, in conjunction with the SDSU Pow Wow.

2022–2023

Actor, comedian, director, visual artist, and founding member of "Culture Clash," Herbert Siguenza established a group of students to write, perform, and produce a saterical sketch television show. Herbert also invited other local professionals in the theatre and film industry to work directly with the students.

Each year, every Artist in Residence hosts workshops, visits classrooms, hosts public Artist Talks, and mentors students. The goal of the program is to engage the university and the community in critical dialogue about arts activism and identity, especially as they relate to a specific underrepresented population. 

Discovery Series - A Selection of Arts Events Produced on Campus

Arts Alive selects six-to-eight art events each academic year to be part of the The Discovery Series. Since its inception, 20 arts events and 20 panel conversations have been funded. 

The faculty lead for each of the selected events will receive funding to promote their  work through inclusive research practice, often bringing in guest artists or scholars to discuss important social topics. 

As with all Arts Alive programs, each Discovery Series event must have interdisciplinary connections, meaning that multiple academic departments will come together to talk about a shared interest from each of their own academic perspectives.  

One such Discovery Series event took place in 2021, a two-part project that addressed environmental issues with classical music concert performed in the SDSU Healing Garden, as well as a discussion panel on climate change, featuring the composer of one of the works from the concert.

The Discovery Series demonstrates the power of connection, providing a rich context for a network that links the arts, sciences, and humanities. Students, faculty and working artists find space to engage in unexpected, innovative, and nuanced conversations. 

Many of the Discovery Series panel conversations are available on the Arts Alive Youtube channel.  

The application period for the Discovery Series  typically runs from January - March each year. More information about upcoming events and the application process is available on the Arts Alive SDSU website. 

What’s Next for Arts Alive 

Arts Alive ultimately creates a space for faculty, students, and guest artists to collaborate, experiment, and re-envision the role of the arts within academic studies at a University. 

Students can get involved by accruing points toward the Arts Alive Certificate, which is open to all majors,  and recognizes students who adopt an interdisciplinary approach to their studies by attending and participating in Arts Alive programming. 

The team at Arts Alive is always on the lookout for new ideas, events, and participants, and encourage faculty, staff, and students to reach out with their ideas by emailing the Chair of Arts Alive SDSU, Arzu Ozkal, at [email protected]. 

The Arts Alive event calendar is available on their website, and you can also keep up with the latest Arts Alive content on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Youtube.