Mon, 24 Jan 2005 05:00:00 -0500
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Art as Collaboration

For over 20 years, composer Anna Rubin has collaborated with dancers, musicians and video artists. As director of UMBC’s Linehan Artist Scholar and InterArts Studies Programs, she brings the spirit of collaboration to the University’s undergraduates. “Some of the most exciting work occurs in collaboration,” said Rubin, who is also an associate professor of music. “All of my roles at UMBC allow me to work with a variety of students and faculty members to help enhance the arts environment at UMBC. There’s a great interest in collaborative work here, which I find very stimulating.”

In addition to exploring individualized study in more than one discipline, students in the VPA/InterArts Studies Program have the opportunity take classes with established artists who visit campus each year. This spring, Rubin and Carolyn Tice, associate professor and chair of social work, will teach Art in Community—open to all students—in conjunction with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (LLDE) and Charlestown Retirement Community. LLDE has pioneered dance education with senior citizens as well as the inclusion of older dancers within their company.

Art in Community will give arts, social work, public policy and sociology students a hands-on experience in the use of the arts to promote self-expression, a sense of community and health in senior citizens. Participants will create a collaborative work to be shown on April 29. (Liz Lerman Dance Exchange will also present a public concert at UMBC on February 4.)

“There is an enormous opportunity for our arts students to learn about entrepreneurship in community arts projects such as our collaboration with Lerman Dance Exchange and Charlestown Retirement Community,” said Rubin. “Professional artists often have to be their own fundraisers, teachers, marketers and promoters. In addition, they work with diverse audiences. It is important for our students to see the model of an established company like LLDE, which has created many successful collaborations. The course is also a research opportunity for students from other majors as they examine the efficacy of the program and how it affects a social organization like Charlestown.”

Rubin is excited about the potential for courses like Art in Community, just one example of her lifelong passion for collaboration. After falling in love with composition as a master’s student at CalArts, Rubin began seeking out opportunities to work with other artists. “Once I discovered composition, I couldn’t get enough and pursued every opportunity I could get to work with virtuoso performers, collaborate with other composers and artists and explore computer-generated sound,” said Rubin, who has created over 35 compositions and won numerous awards for her work, most recently from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Aether Festival of Radio Art#1 (Radio Station KUNM, Albuquerque). In May, the acclaimed Da Capo Chamber Players will perform one of her works at New York’s Knitting Factory in a concert showcasing works which integrate electronics with acoustic instruments.

(1/10/04)