UW New Arts Venture Challenge

press release: The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s New Arts Venture Challenge was created in 2009 by Professor Stephanie Jutt (Mead Witter School of Music) to encourage UW­­–Madison students to develop and present a thorough proposal for an arts event, exhibition, series, commercial venture or other artistic project.

Per Jutt, “Artists are at the heart of what Richard Florida has named "The Creative Class" and artists have been at the heart of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the ages. Artists could be considered the original entrepreneurs, who have found every way under the sun to continue their creative endeavors. The New Arts Venture Challenge is an important competition, the only one of its kind at UW­–Madison, which celebrates the creativity and innovation and leadership of our emerging artists.

"This competition is important to me because it demonstrates the commitment of UW–Madison to entrepreneurship in all areas of the university, and especially in appreciation to our artists, whose work enriches our lives and the breadth of the human experience.”

Students submit their proposals and a group of judges (2017 judges: Jeff Breisach, Daniel Grabois and Norma Sober) review the proposals for creativity, innovation, success potential and added value to the arts. Each proposal needs to have at least one currently enrolled full-time UW–Madison student to submit their idea and all majors are welcome to apply.

The four finalists/groups (listed below) present their ideas on Friday, April 28 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. The presentations are free and open to the public and take place on the UW-Madison campus in the Plenary Room, Grainger Hall in the Wisconsin School of Business (975 University Avenue).

The finalists compete for the first-place prize of $2,000. Second place includes three prizes of $500 each. Funding for the seed money comes from the UW–Madison Arts Institute. Finalists have until May 2018 to implement their ideas. This is the last NAVC competition Jutt will be moderating because she is retiring from UW–Madison at the end of the spring semester.

  Finalists and majors: (all are current students and undergraduates unless noted otherwise):

• Art En Route: Yusi Liu – Art History & Classical Humanities; Alexandra Polach – Art History: Art En Route will connect literary works with visual art on public transportation. Creative writers and visual artists will collaborate to create unique commissioned works of art which will be photographed and then printed on exterior wraps on Madison Metro Transit buses. Original works will also be shown in an exhibition.
• Cosmos: Kai Rasmussen – Biology: Cosmos is a clothing line that connects scientific research, flowers, space flight and art. The socially responsible fashion line will also come with a note that explains certain aspects of spaceflight and astrobotany.
• Makers and Their Tools: Tharu People: Julia Fillingame – MBA; Luisa Fernanda Garcia-Gomez ­– MFA, Design Studies; Erin E. Tenderholt – Real Estate and Management & Human Resources: Makers and Their Tools: Tharu People will feature an indigenous group in Nepal with their stories and cultural crafts presented through an artistic lens in a travelling exhibition. Artisan products will also be available for sale during the exhibition.
• NO EXIT: Brittany Graham – MFA, Theatre and Drama; John P. Drescher – MFA, Theatre and Drama; Sruthi Suresan – MFA, Theatre and Drama: NO EXIT will be an avant-garde audience-centered theatrical experience based on the play “No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre. Audience members will find themselves going through an immersive ‘hell’ via various mental and physical experiences.