Overview of Projects
The STUDIO supports arts-research projects by the faculty, students, and staff of Carnegie Mellon University, as well as projects conducted by or with the STUDIO’s artists-in-residence, visitors, and external partners.
STUDIO Projects
Since 1989, in its role as the central research laboratory of CMU’s College of Fine Arts, the STUDIO has housed and administrated scores of laboratory-wide projects—often, conducted over multiple years, by interdisciplinary teams, with the participation of artists-in-residence, external sponsors, institutional partners, and/or student apprentices. (Examples include Workhorse Queen, the p5.js Contributors’ Conferences, Moon Ark, Conflict Kitchen, Deep Lab, the Warhol Digital Recovery Project, the Nine Mile Run Greenway Project, 3 Rivers 2nd Nature, and Journey Into the Living Cell.) Some STUDIO projects have also received support from the Frank-Ratchye Fund for Arts @ the Frontier (FRFAF).
FRFF-Funded Projects
Since 2013, the STUDIO has supported more than 400 CMU projects through our grant program, the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund (FRFF). Projects realized with FRFF funds are restricted to persons who are actively affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University, and are typically conducted by sole creators or by small teams in timeframes under one year.
The Maddy Varner Mastication Grant for Time (and/or) Teeth Based Works
STUDIO Alumna Maddy Varner’s generous gift supports a $500 award for “work that chews the cud,” such as art about chewing, or creative inquiry which takes a long time to realize. The first recipient of the award was School of Art senior, Lumi Barron, who spent more than 700 hours training squirrels to act in tiny domestic scenes. Awards are made at the Director’s discretion.
XRTC Funded Projects
Launched in 2023, the XRTC Creative Research Grant is a collaboration between the STUDIO, The Askwith Kenner Global Languages and Cultures Room, and Extended Reality Technology Center (XRTC). With awards ranging between $1,000-$6,000, this grant is meant to both support and make visible creative research in the XR field. Selected projects will be supported by the STUDIO and a grant advisory committee to spend down their funds, professionally document their work, and publish documentation on XRTC and STUDIO platforms. In addition, supported researchers will have the opportunity to connect with the XRTC cohort thus creating transdisciplinary possibilities at the outset of this new Center. The Kenner Room hosts the Sona Immersive Storytelling Festival in which final works may be presented (if logistically possible): https://www.sonafestival.com/
FUCKERY Award Projects
The Moore Family Fund for Underwriting Creativity, Knowledge, Experimentation, Research and Yumminess is an endowed award from the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, established to support anti-disciplinary undergraduate research. By providing funding across the arts, sciences, humanities, and emerging interdisciplinary fields, the award aims to foster innovative and diverse experimentation that transcends traditional academic boundaries. The prize will be awarded at the annual undergraduate research conference at CMU, Meeting of the Minds. In addition, a portion of the fund’s draw will support the annual STUDIO-hosted B*A presentations, offering this student-led event the stability of an annual operational budget.
Publications
The STUDIO has produced or collaborated on a number of publications, which are available in PDF format.