Confluencenter Grant will support Franke Honors Arts and Humanities Students
W.A. Franke Honors Assistant Professor of Practice Dr. Nadia Alvarez Mexia, along with staff members Kat Reising and Tere Weiler, recently secured a $1,500 Grant from Confluencenter Director's Fund, which contributes essential support for short-term projects across the University of Arizona that are interdisciplinary and collaborative. This interdisciplinary team, comprised of Alvarez Mexia, Reising, and Weiler, exemplifies the Franke Honors College's values, and promotes innovative initiatives based on their diverse talents, identities, professions, and cultural backgrounds.
"We define this funding as a seed grant, which will help us to explore potential opportunities for this project and its goals." said Dr. Alvarez Mexia.
"Nadia, Kat, and I attended the ContraTempo event in November," said Weiler, Executive Associate, Administrative and Academic Affairs. "This event was full of movement and rhythm, where staff members, faculty, and students came together to learn from each other and have a good time. The three of us were inspired by the possibilities of providing this opportunity to our Honors community."
Their project, which is titled Bridging Borders: Honoring Interdisciplinary Student Talent, proposes a series of three semester workshops developed and led by selected Arts and Humanities Disciplines students. These workshops will empower Franke Honors students in the Arts and Humanities by providing platforms such as workshops, exhibitions, performances, and diverse events for showcasing their work, skills, and ideas. As the Franke Honors College is interdisciplinary in nature, serving students from every department and discipline under the same roof through unifying courses, clubs, and programs, Bridging Borders will be an extension of this ethos.
"We are excited to work with a couple visual arts students for our March event, which will invite attendees to participate in relief printmaking," said Reising, one of the Franke Honors Advisors. Reising is also a practicing artist with specialties in painting and fiber arts. "Participants will be able to make and print their own images, while contributing to a collective art piece developed by art and art education students Ana Monobe, who is also an Honors student, and Linda Garcia Escobar."
The funding from this grant will cultivate space for students to get creative, make connections, and further hone their ideas and professional skills. Stay tuned for updates as Bridging Borders unfolds throughout the Spring Semester!
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The Confluencenter, a research center under the office of Research, Innovation & Impact, is a campus unit dedicated to providing the tools and resources necessary for advancing the UA's research goals. Established in 2010 as a means of cultivating cross-disciplinary collaboration, the Confluencenter is committed to sponsoring interdisciplinary projects that address complex issues in the arts, humanities and social sciences. They provide a physical and intellectual home for the arts, humanities, and social sciences, and programming demonstrates a commitment to the artistic and scholarly endeavors of faculty and students addressing some of the grand challenges in society today.