Overview
Beginning in 2015, Provost’s Faculty Arts Fellows have served as key collaborators with the BU Arts Initiative to curate and execute significant arts programming at BU.
Those selected for the honor must create programming that is deeply embedded in the academic mission of the University, is interdisciplinary in nature, and engages multiple schools and programs within the University. In addition, programming is expected to provide opportunities to engage community partners, and, as much as possible, be free and open to the public. If you are a BU faculty member in any discipline and interested in collaborating with the BU Arts Initative, please contact Arts Initiative Director Ty Furman at tyf@bu.edu.
Current and Past Faculty Arts Fellows
2019 Fellow – Felice Amato
Assistant Professor of Art Education, School of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts
Felice Amato worked with the BU Arts Initiative, the art education program in the School of Visual Arts, and Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline to present an artist residency in fall 2018 with puppeteer Tarish Pipkins. Also known as “Jeghetto,” Pipkins is a self-taught, interdisciplinary artist from North Carolina whose puppetry work has been featured in Missy Elliott’s Where They From music videos, in an Amazon.com “Alexa” Super Bowl ad featuring Alec Baldwin, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, and most recently in the exhibit Living Objects: African American Puppetry at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut. While at BU, Pipkins conducted workshops with the theatre, sculpture, art education, and early childhood education programs, presented a lecture and demonstration at Brookline High School, and spoke about arts entrepreneurship at the BUild Lab. He also conducted puppet building workshops, hosted a puppet slam, and participated in a panel discussion on Afrofuturism with BU alum Joel Gill and local artist Barington Edwards, all free and open to the public. In addition, Pipkins presented two performances of his piece Just Another Lynching: An American Horror Story at Puppet Showplace Theater, where he performed with local puppeteers.
2018 Fellow – Catherine Yeh
Professor of Chinese & Comparative Literature, College of Arts & Sciences; Director, BU Center for the Study of Asia
Catherine Yeh worked with the BU Arts Initiative and the BU Center for the Study of Asia (BUCSA) to present an artist residency in spring 2018, featuring the work of Chinese writer and documentary filmmaker Xu Xing. Often called “The Chinese Jack Kerouac,” Xu Xing and his work have consistently engaged with national and international issues of politics, power, and moral responsibility – all evoked through the lives of the common working people in China. As BUCSA’s first incumbent of the Artist and Writer in Residence program, Xu Xing co-taught a film course with Professor Yeh on the New Chinese documentary movement, whose origins date back to the 1990s. In addition to screenings and discussions of his films throughout his residency, Xu Xing presented several public lectures and forums in collaboration with BU, the Pao Arts Center and the Harvard Ed Portal, filmed a Favorite Poem Project video, and hosted two “Open Studio” sessions exploring aspects of documentary filmmaking with students. All sessions were free and open to the public.
2016 Fellow – Carrie Preston
Director, Kilachand Honors College; Professor of English, College of Arts & Sciences
Carrie Preston worked with the BU Arts initiative to present an artist residency with Theatre Nohgaku, March 25-31, 2016. Theatre Nohgaku is an international performance group devoted to sharing the beauty and power of the classical Japanese noh drama with English speaking audiences and performers. Residency programs included classroom visits, and sessions on noh music, playwriting, and performance style. The residency culminated with performances of two pieces Sumida River, an English translation of a traditional noh performance including traditional costumes, music, and masks; and Zahdi Dates and Poppies, a world-premiere written by Professor Preston, in noh style, exploring the trauma of war. All programs were free and open to the public. There was also a high school matinee performance and a panel discussion on the arts and trauma. Residency financial co-sponsors included the Center for the Study of Asia, the Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program, and the Department of English in the College of Arts & Sciences.
2015 Founding Fellow – Marié Abe
Assistant Professor, Department of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, College of Fine Arts
Marié Abe worked with the BU Arts Initiative to present an artist residency with the Nile Project in March of 2015. The Nile Project was conceived by Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis and Ethiopian American singer Meklit Hadero in 2011. Their mission is to educate, inspire, and empower the citizens of the Nile basin to foster the sustainability of the Nile River’s ecosystem. Through music, Nile Project musicians and staff are working to address issues of water politics and cultural conflict in the area. Residency programs included classroom visits, music demonstrations, teacher workshops, and panel discussions on water politics, and social engagement through the arts. Professor Abe also developed and taught a spring semester course entitled “Sound, Music, and Ecology.” The residency culminated in two sold out evening performances and a matinee performance for more than 300 local middle school children. Residency co-sponsors included the BU African Studies Program, the BU School of Music, New England Foundation for the Arts, and World Music/CRASHarts. The residency was covered in the Boston Globe – a preview and a review, Public Radio International, BU Today, and the Daily Free Press.