Faculty and staff at the School of Music secure Chancellor's Arts Initiative Funding
UCLA is set to host a groundbreaking exhibition, the first large-scale event at the university to present a comprehensive look at the city's Black music. This exhibition will feature both well-known figures and those often excluded from history, including Black women musicians and composers, music educators, and owners of important music venues. The project will span musical genres, covering everything from jazz and gospel to rap and film scores.
The Chancellor's Council on the Arts (CCoA) is spearheading this initiative, launching GO ARTS UCLA, an online portal that aims to highlight the role of the arts at UCLA and their place within L.A.'s cultural ecosystem. The site offers a full calendar of events, recent feature stories, and the latest news on arts-related research at the university.
The CCoA has expanded its membership to include Darnell Hunt, dean of social sciences; May Hong HaDuong, director of the UCLA Film & Television Archive; Cindy Fan, vice provost for international studies and global engagement; and David Yoo, professor of Asian American studies and history and vice provost of the Institute of American Cultures.
UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music had three faculty members receive arts research grants. One of these grants will go to Lily Chen-Hafteck, a Music Education Professor, who will investigate how students in Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools may benefit from classes designed to teach them the music and cultures of their classmates. Chen-Hafteck's project aims to provide 30 teachers with training and teaching materials designed to increase students' cultural understanding and appreciation, reducing racial prejudice.
Another grant recipient, Supeena Adler from the Department of Ethnomusicology, will receive funding for a project titled "Researching, Teaching, and Performing a Folk Tradition of Northeast Thailand." Adler's project will document a specific folk tradition from Northeast Thailand, acquire instruments and costumes representative of the tradition, and offer UCLA students the opportunity to explore it through her Music of Thailand Ensemble course.
The grants, totalling $150,000, are to advance arts research projects that demonstrate originality and contribute to the university's commitments to sustainability, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The grants recognize the arts as essential to our lives and believe they inspire innovation, creativity, empathy, and connection across fields of study, cultures, and attitudes.
Through efforts like the Chancellor's Arts Initiative and the GO ARTS UCLA website, the CCoA is committed to advancing the role of the arts as a vital part of the rich and diverse UCLA experience. The work will take place in 10 Los Angeles schools serving students of low socio-economic backgrounds, ensuring that the benefits of arts education are accessible to all.
- Embracing a multifaceted approach to education and self-development, UCLA Music Education Professor Lily Chen-Hafteck plans to implement classes teaching students about the music and cultures of their classmates, aiming to enhance cultural understanding, appreciation, and reduce racial prejudice.
- Beyond music, the CCoA's support for lifelong learning extends to entertainment, with Supeena Adler from the Department of Ethnomusicology receiving a grant for her project involving the exploration of a specific folk tradition from Northeast Thailand through her Music of Thailand Ensemble course.
- Recognizing the importance of the arts for entertainment, learning, and cultural understanding, the CCoA's online portal, GO ARTS UCLA, offers resources such as event calendars, feature stories, and news on cutting-edge arts research, promoting enticing entertainment, education, and learning experiences to the broader community.
