MSU launches open call for new residency

Michigan State University’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams regularly collaborates with artists of all types, hosting dance performances, concerts and visual art exhibitions, but it’s taking its patronage to new heights with the inaugural MSUFCU Arts Power Up Arts Residency program.

The program, a collaboration between the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, the MSU Museum and the MSU STEAMpower Project, aims to foster “collaboration, exploration, experimentation and innovation, culminating in the creation of groundbreaking artworks at the intersection of art, science and technology,” according to a press release. 

The selected artist will spend three to four months creating new pieces centering around this year’s theme of nuclear astrophysics, which “aims to understand how the properties of atomic nuclei shape the nature of stars, supernova explosions and the chemical elements that make up the universe and ultimately enable the formation of planets and life.”

“Creative innovation is the driver of a major research university,” said Judith Stoddart, vice provost for University Arts and Collections. “Thinking and experimenting together across fields opens up new discoveries. This combination of FRIB, the MSU Museum experimentation hub and the STEAMpower Project arts and science research initiative can only happen here.”  

The selected artist will work at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams and will showcase their finished pieces in an exhibition coordinated by the MSU Museum CoLab Studio. They’ll also take part in the STEAMpower Project Fellows program, a collaboration of artists, faculty and graduate-student researchers, where they’ll participate in group meetings and conversations and will be able to utilize the program’s dedicated space.

Visual artists ages 18 and older from any background or medium are welcome to apply by Oct. 20 at
msumuseum.submittable.com. Applicants must submit proposals for interactive visual art pieces that explore the broader societal and philosophical contexts of nuclear astrophysics research. The selected artist will be provided with studio space, office space at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, travel support to and from East Lansing and a stipend to cover living expenses.

“We are excited to share with our community how the research conducted at FRIB can positively impact all our lives,” said Thomas Glasmacher, a Facility for Rare Isotope Beams laboratory director. “The MSUFCU Arts Power Up Arts Residency offers a unique opportunity — by connecting science, technology and the arts — to draw people to FRIB to build community and inspire future scientists, technological innovators and creative communicators to collaborate.”