MCLA-IAH

MCLA Institute for the Arts and Humanities (MCLA-IAH)

Together, the arts and humanities form essential elements of a liberal arts education — they form part of the prism through which students can view and understand the world, drawing on the tremendous diversity of thought, insight and expression gathered in the course of their experiential learning process.

About MCLA-IAH

The MCLA Institute for the Arts and Humanities (MCLA-IAH) is a grant-funded initiative, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which works to strategically promote equity-centered change on campus and in the community by (1) expanding access to area arts and humanities resources, (2) catalyzing opportunities for interdisciplinary engagements, and (3) advancing experiential teaching and learning practices in higher education. 

We create experiential spaces for arts education, dialogue, and action.

Opportunities for Students 

Learn about student internship positions; attend community engagement workshops and events; apply to receive funding through our student mini-grant program; and more.  Visit us on Canvas to learn more!  

• IAH Student Internships
  Summer 2020 -- Applications CLOSED
  Fall 2020 -- Applications CLOSED
  
• IAH Student Mini-Grant Program
  Grant funding is available to support student-led projects and interdisciplinary collaborations that engage the community by activating the area’s unique, cultural resources. Students interested in this opportunity are encouraged to apply to receive funds for innovative projects, activities, or program initiatives that strategically address notions of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA). Those whose projects are selected will be expected to document and present the outcomes of their project. 
  
• IAH Student Advisory Board
  The MCLA-IAH Student Advisory Board is a committee of students with an interest in promoting Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) on campus through review and revision of MCLA-IAH programming. Already, the Institute aims to engage students in its mission by inspiring active participation in events and resources. However, MCLA-IAH also recognizes that appealing to students’ needs and wants from an institutional standpoint can fall out of focus without their voices in the mix. In an effort to engage students more thoroughly in the IAH mission and make steps towards further curating programming to their needs, we want to include student voices in MCLA-IAH planning.
• IAH Community Workshops & Events
  Created by students for students. Visit our page on the Art's Management Sm[ART] Commons Blog to learn more about our 2019-20 community engagements.
• Empowered Voices Collective (Submissions close November 8th)
  

  Created by MCLA-IAH intern, Destiny Rivera, The Empowered Voices Collective is an online platform, housed on the SM[ART]COMMONS website, where BIPOC students can submit and present their creative work and engage with others' creative forms. The platform will feature poetry, short stories, freewrites, photography, and artwork from BIPOC and aims to address cultural disparities by engaging the MCLA community in these diverse art forms and experiences. Altogether, the collective is an outlet for students of color to be vulnerable about their emotions and express their own experiences through their personal vehicle of expression.
  Contact Destiny Rivera (dr0102@mcla.edu or evoicescollective@gmail.com) with questions.

Opportunities for Faculty 

• IAH Faculty Fellowship Program -- Applications CLOSED, Returning in Fall 2020
  Grant funding is available to support faculty's development of interdisciplinary curricula, high-impact practices, student research, community involvement, etc. We invite faculty to apply for this fellowship and submit proposals for interdisciplinary projects that address and investigate issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion by promoting students' access to area arts and humanities resources. 

Opportunities for Community

• IAH Season Preview  (Fall 2020) (Fall 2019)
  Each year, MCLA-IAH publishes a Season Preview highlighting select arts and humanities programming from featured community partners throughout the Berkshires. Contact us to have your organizational resources featured!
• IAH Summer Symposium
  To learn more about the 2019 Summer Symposium, please explore featured press from Hill Country Observer; Watch: Berkshire News Now; iBerkshires.
• IAH Virtual Speaker Series
  

  Given the current landscape responding to COVID-19, we revisioned our annual IAH Summer Symposium as the IAH Virtual Speaker Series: Aligning and Activating Change Through Storytelling.

  In summer 2020, we invited writer Aruna D'Souza to moderate a conversation between artists Genevieve Gaignard and Ben Ripley. In this two-art series, we discussed the intersections of their artistic practice as it related to our process of learning and unlearning socially conditioned ways of being.
  We also worked with Penn Creative Strategies and invited facilitators Molly Penn and Sofiya Cheyenne to engage in a 2-hour webinar for cultural organizations to learn more about managing bias within their institution. Following the workshop, we provided participants with resources on how to continue managing bias.
  You can access all these event-related materials on the MCLA-IAH Canvas Site.

• IAH E-Newsletter
  

  This Fall, MCLA-IAH will be launching a bi-weekly e-newsletter. In the newsletter, the MCLA-IAH team will provide resources, promote Berkshire arts and culture opportunities and events, highlight students, faculty, and artists, and more!
  If you would like to be added to the mailing list for MCLA-IAH E-newsletter, please fill out the quick form here.

• IAH Multi-Media Resource Library
  A carefully curated selection of media, entertainment, and literature, the library provides a wide range of resources that embrace the I.D.E.A. principles the Institute is founded on. From tv series with diverse casts and strong messages to plays, podcasts, and music that relay a variety of experiences, this guide is a medley of entertaining material that has significance and necessity. We hope the next time you are looking for something to watch, listen to, read, or unwind with, you will turn to this guide. View the finished library here.

Our Team 

Contact us to discuss community collaborations, opportunities, resources, and more.

Follow us for more!