About
Mission Ideas for Creative Exploration (ICE) is a catalyst for innovative, interdisciplinary creative projects, advanced research and critical discourse in the arts, and for creative applications of technologies, concepts, and practices found across disciplines. It is a collaborative network of faculty, students, and community members from all disciplines of the visual and performing arts in addition to other disciplines in the humanities and sciences. ICE enables all stages of creative activity, from concept and team formation through production, documentation, and dissemination of research.
Background ICE began in 1999 as a series of discussions among faculty and students throughout the university and local community to address the need for a program that would support collaborative projects and advanced research across disciplines in the arts. In the spring of 2001 a series of meetings and events called the ICE Summit was held at UGA, developed through the coordinated efforts of the departments of Art, Dance, Drama, English, and Music. The ICE Summit featured a keynote speech by Jaron Lanier, performances by Molissa Fenley and Troika Ranch and roundtable discussions that included UGA faculty, students, independent artists and scholars from Athens and invited guests from programs such as The Kitchen, Liverpool John Moores University, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Although the ICE Summit mainly addressed art and technology, the resulting conversations revolved around the potential of an interdisciplinary unit at UGA that could generate projects and partner with other institutions to bring these efforts to the attention of local, national and international audiences. During the past eight years ICE supported the development of original projects, hosted visiting artists and scholars, held workshops, developed a Web site, and established a project space in the historic Tanner Building. ICE continues to expand its role as a catalyst for advanced research in the arts through project grants, graduate research assistantships, and events.
Funding ICE is supported by Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Graduate School. Additional support for ICE projects has been provided by the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Dance, Theatre and Film Studies, English, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, The Honors Program/Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, New Media Institute, Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, and the generous support of many foundations, businesses, and individuals.
