Mason Arts Strategic Plan
Phase One: March – May 2024
• Project planning
• Survey development with Dean's Office
• 20+ Focus Groups
• Town Halls
• Competitive Analysis
• Steering Committee engagement
o 3 meetings sharing progress
o Retreat on May 13, 2024 to develop mission, vision, goals + priorities
Phase Two: May – August 2024
• Collaborated with unit/department Directors to collect feedback on Identity Statements + Strategic Priorities
• Final Statements + Priorities created by integrating feedback from Directors
• Goals worksheet to capture unit/department goals
Phase Three: September 2024 and Beyond
• Implementation
• Follow up on goals and adjust as necessary through Spring 2029
• Regular updates to Mason Arts community
Mason Arts Identity Statements + Strategic Priorities
School of Art
4400 University Drive, MSN 1C3, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Phone: 703-993-8898; Web: art.gmu.edu
Memo
Here's a summary of the recent faculty activities in the School of Art
- Professor Chawky Frenn has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award for the 2024-2025 academic year, marking his second Fulbright. He will be conducting research and teaching at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India. His project will explore the Life-Death-Rebirth cycle in Indian culture and arts, aiming to bridge cultures and enhance his work in peacebuilding and social justice through art.
- Professor Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz has received a prestigious award from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, celebrating the semi-quasquicentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Formal announcements are forthcoming.
- Associate Professor Christopher Kardambikis and Professor Sue Wrbican are featured in The Alloy Project at Tephra ICA’s Annual Benefit. This special edition honors Tephra ICA’s 50th anniversary by showcasing ten artists who have significantly contributed to its legacy.
- Professors Gail Scott-White (SOA) and Cynthia Fuchs (FAVS) are organizing an exciting collaboration with WMATA’s Art in Transit program. They are leading a project where four students are creating 20-second animations for display in six Metro stations.
- Professor Zoë Charlton has artwork featured in two major traveling exhibitions: Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage at The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.) and A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of The Great Migration at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley, CA). Both exhibitions are on view until September 22, 2022.
Mason Arts Identity Statements
Mason Arts describes the academic programs, community arts programs, ensembles, galleries, performing arts venues, public art, and research initiatives of George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Mason Arts Mission
Mason Arts facilitates a shared pursuit of creative and academic discovery, inspiring a broad population of learners and patrons toward lifelong engagement in the arts.
Mason Arts Vision
Mason Arts will be an exemplary contributor to artistic and academic excellence in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Washington Metropolitan Area, and beyond. We will spark innovation in creative research, production, exhibition, teaching and learning, and social engagement.
Mason Arts Values
Responsibility and Integrity: Nurture–and expect–civility and ethical behavior
Diversity and Inclusion: Cultivate spaces where a multiplicity of perspectives, experiences, abilities, and backgrounds engage for a better understanding of society and culture
Community: Manifest and celebrate the role of the arts in creating community by providing access to artistic work for all people
Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Work: Foster innovation by supporting the integration of varying perspectives and artistic, pedagogical, and operational practices
Inquiry and Research: Explore theory, history, criticism, practice, technology, and social impacts to advance understanding of the arts and shape artistic creation
The Creative Process: Transform inspiration, technique, and research into personal and powerful artistic expressions
Mason Arts Strategic Priorities
1) Expand and elevate the identity of the Mason Arts community
• Grow community partnerships and engagement
• Conduct internal and external brand awareness campaigns
2) Enhance Student Success and Alumni Engagement through mentorship and networking, well-being support, and improved facilities
• Create a student-alumni mentorship program
• Increase networking events that incorporate student and alumni populations
• Create enhanced curricular and extracurricular opportunities in all units for career preparation and professional development
• Develop and enhance structures that support student well-being and belonging
• Create spaces for Mason Arts students to gather and feel at home on campus
• Build and maintain state-of-the-art, accessible instruction, exhibition, and performance spaces
3) Enhance Faculty and Staff experiences through increased mentorship, well-being support, and improved facilities
• Clarify and communicate the established pathways to faculty Promotion and Tenure and provide ongoing mentorship and support in the process
• Evaluate faculty workload policy and implementation to improve transparency, equity, and accountability across CVPA
• Make professional development opportunities for faculty available through partnerships and leadership opportunities within CVPA, with other campus departments, and through additional funding
• Make professional development opportunities for staff available through partnership and leadership opportunities within CVPA, other campus departments, and local area arts organizations
• Develop and enhance structures that support faculty and staff well-being and belonging
• Build and maintain state-of-the-art, accessible instruction, exhibition, and performance spaces
4) Create a sustainable structure and culture for creative research across the College and University
• Articulate models for creative research and public presentation of work and develop appropriate evaluative vocabulary
• Create structures and incentives to support interdisciplinary collaboration across the College and University
• Increase faculty research funding and administrative support
• Encourage student and staff participation in research and collaboration
• Develop and employ technologies that support and enhance individual and collaborative work experiences
• Create spaces and events that lead to greater opportunity for organic collaborative work
5) Strengthen financial resources across Mason Arts
• Create a culture of philanthropy across Mason Arts programs
• Advocate for increased state funding to support Mason Arts
• Conduct internal and external brand awareness campaigns
• Cultivate a sustainable culture of engaged alumni