Background, Context and Acknowledgements
Ground Works is a compendium of exemplary interdisciplinary arts-inclusive collaborative research projects, and a hub for reflection on the processes that drive such work.
Institutional Partners and Leads
The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities ( a2ru ), a national network of 40+ research universities, is leading implementation of the GroundWorks platform. Because GroundWorks spotlights exemplary arts-centered research projects and provides a platform for reflection on the processes that drive interdisciplinary collaborative work, it speaks to issues that are central to a2ru’s mission. a2ru fosters and champions the role of the arts and design in research universities, and the GroundWorks peer-reviewed space for arts-integrative projects substantially advances that work.
Carnegie Mellon University ( CMU ) is leading the technical development and implementation of the GroundWorks platform. This project draws on two past community platforms developed at CMU. These are XSEAD - an NSF-funded project to curate collaborations across traditional disciplines - and MakeSchools a platform that cataloged the effects of the maker movement in US Higher education through dynamic contributions. Best practice and lessons learned from both will inform the mechanisms, practices and processes embedded in GroundWorks. With CMU's we seek to establish a socio-technical system to foster cross-cutting exchange and develop a community of practice around art-integrative research.
History and Context
Out of a2ru’s early Mellon-funded research (2012-2015) emerged several arts-integrative
“proto-fields” at research universities: Arts & Health, Arts & Entrepreneurship,
Creative Placemaking, and SEAD (projects at the intersection of science, engineering,
arts, and design). a2ru committed to supporting program development within each of
these areas, and understood that a key concern for SEAD projects is peer-reviewed
publication; many faculty working at the interstices among disciplines find that
their work doesn’t neatly fit the guidelines of traditional peer-reviewed journals,
either because it defies disciplinary categorization or because its outcome is not
a textual artifact. Working closely with staff from Leonardo, Carnegie Mellon University,
and the University of Illinois, we envisioned an online platform that provides rigorous
peer-review for boundary-breaking arts-integrative work. The platform would meet important
needs for arts-integrative faculty, institutions and research, and open a space for reflection
on the processes that drive arts-integrative projects. Although Ground Work's origins lie with SEAD,
we have expanded the notion of arts-integration to include all disciplines, not just science and
engineering. Through an iterative and intensely
collaborative process, we defined guiding principles, criteria, and operations for the
Ground Works platform that launched in 2019 with a special a2ru Conference Edition.
In 2020, Ground Works has begun accepting submissions on a rolling basis, with a standing
Editorial Board and a stable of reviewers. All submissions will move through a two-stage
review process; accepted submissions will be featured on the platform. Ground Works will
be a showcase for projects that spark meaningful dialogue among the disciplines even as
they keep the arts at their core. Furthermore, Ground Works editorial staff will select
exemplary projects to be case studies in collaboration, interrogating and exposing the
processes that underpin successful interdisciplinary collaboration.
Committee and Coordination
Key players, past and present, in the Ground Works enterprise.
Current Team
Platform Lead
Managing Editor
Founders
Ico Bukvic
Daragh Byrne
Edgar Cardenas
Bud Coleman
Gabriel Harp
Anthony Kolenic
Debra Mexicotte
J.D. Talasek
Ground Works 2022-2023 Editorial Board
University of Michigan
Rodrigo Cádiz
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Kyrie E.H Caldwell
University of Wisconsin-Madison
J.R. Campbell
Kent State University
Robin Cass
Rochester Institute of Technology
Zach Duer
Virginia Tech
Julienne A. Greer
University of Texas at Arlington
Eric Handman
University of Utah
Alexandra Harbold
University of Utah
Luvada A. Harrison
University of Alabama
Amy Hillis
York University
Mihyun Kang
Penn State University
Julian Kilker
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Jinku Kim
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lisa DuPree McNair
Virginia Tech
Lisa Mercer
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Maria C. Olivares
Boston University
Cristián Opazo
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Kirsi Peltomäki
Oregon State University
Nicole Hodges Persley
University of Kansas
Julia M. Ritter
University of Southern California
Norma Saldivar
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler
University of Florida
Garrett Schumann
Independent Scholar
Laura Shackelford
Rochester Institute of Technology
Stephen Taylor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jacqueline Wernimont
Dartmouth
Ground Works 2022-2023 Advisory Board
Cheryl Ball
Digital Publishing Consultant
Executive Director, Council of Editors of Learned Journals
Senior Editor & Publisher, Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy
Stephen David Beck
Associate Vice President for Research & Economic Development
Haymon Professor of Music
Louisiana State University
Julian Chambliss
Department of English
Core Faculty, Consortium for Critical Diversity in Digital Age Research (CEDAR)
Val Berryman Curator of History, MSU Museum
Michigan State University
Shannon Criss
Professor of Architecture
School of Architecture and Design
University of Kansas
Kevin Hamilton
Professor and Dean
College of Fine and Applied Arts
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Roger F. Malina
Endowed Chair of Art and Technology and Professor of Physics
Executive Editor of Leonardo Publications
Founder of Leonardo/ISAST and Leonardo/OLATS
University of Texas at Dallas