F.A.R. @ ASU

Arizona State University (ASU) has established F.A.R. @ ASU, a groundbreaking program for engaging artists with the university and greater community. Based in downtown Phoenix, F.A.R. (Future Arts Research) will host 20–24 leading national and international artists, critics and scholars each year who will conduct research in collaboration with departments within the university and work closely with the surrounding community. F.A.R. is an initiative of the university presidentʼs office, independent of the ASUʼs Herberger College of the Arts. F.A.R. artists will follow an applied research method focusing in its first phase on three areas important to Phoenix: new technologies in the arts; desert aesthetics; and issues of justice and human rights.Artistic production creates bridges betweentdifferent cultural, expressive and ethical traditions; these will be at the heart of F.A.R.ʼs work in linking Phoenix and the region to the greater world,” said F.A.R. Director Bruce W. Ferguson. “F.A.R. has initiated a new model for arts institutions by supporting artists whose ʻaction researchʼ generates new forms of knowledge, using one of our specific areas which resonate with the Phoenix community. F.A.R. will introduce artistic exploration models to the university to complement the empirical, ʻpure researchʼ ones typical of research universities.

F.A.R. will also present a variety of public programs, including symposia, lectures, performances and exhibitions. These programs will be planned to engage the broadest possible audience and demonstrate the importance of culture in creating a healthy community. F.A.R.ʼs initiatives have included guest lectures by visual artists and cultural figures such as William Wells, Joanna Berzowska and Sandra Antelo-Suarez. It will present lectures by Peter Sellers, David Elliot, Sylvie Fortin, Maria Nordman and Subhankar Banerjee in fall 2008. F.A.R. will also mount biannual interdisciplinary discussions and events on topics of relevance to ASU and the Phoenix community. The inaugural series of discussions, “F.A.R. Xchange 1: The Desert Between Us” will focus on the desert and will be held in Phoenix November 20-22, 2008.