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The Arts& Initiative is centered around the idea that when creative minds work together with analytical minds, great things can be accomplished. This initiative seeks to create a space and opportunity for students to realize the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration, brainstorm creative ways to solve community issues, and work together to bring about those solutions.
 

On the UAB campus during the fall of 2016, DAAH students Bailey Barrow and Cima Khademi led three themed "salons" for the Arts& Initiative. These "salons" were events loosely based on the historical Parisian salon gatherings which promoted artistic performance and intellectual discussion. The Arts& Initiative salons began with the display of student artwork or performance followed by a student presentation relating to the salon's theme.  Throughout the salon, attending students were encouraged to brainstorm ideas and think creatively about how they could collaborate with students of other disciplines in order to form solutions for local community issues.

The Arts& Initiative at the University of Alabama at Birmingham held a call for proposals containing a plan of action to pursue a creative project intended for social good. After submissions were reviewed, two projects were selected for pursual and the students with the winning ideas were awarded $1000 in seed funds to see their project into fruition during the Spring 2017 semester. For more information on this project, click here.