Boise State University announced that it will receive a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab award totaling $125,000. This grant will support the Place, Arts and Cultural Systems Lab, which focuses on the study of diversity, equity, and inclusion in arts and cultural districts around the United States.
The Surel Mitchell Live-Work-Create District will be one of the areas of focus, with Surel’s Place a key partner in the work to come.
According to the NEA website, only five research labs were recommended for funding this past year.
“We’re thrilled to receive this highly competitive award to accelerate our research in the School of Public Service and the School of the Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Director of the School of Arts and principal investigator, Dr. Amanda Ashley, who also serves on the advisory board for our Garden City Placemaking Fund.
Ashley is joined by co-principal investigator and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Leslie Durham, who notes the Lab “is an outgrowth of a multi-year, interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration catalyzed by Boise State’s Division of Research and Economic Development.”
Boise State University is partnering with Cleveland State University, University of Arizona and Wayne State University on this research collaboration.
Allison Corona photo of Boise State’s Center for the Visual Arts courtesy of Boise State University.