Sam Briggs, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, has been selected as the inaugural Arts & Health Faculty Fellow in the College of Fine Arts.
The CFA Fellowship in Arts & Health supports faculty research that will strengthen community partnerships and opportunities for public health and social innovation through interdisciplinary team science. Supported from the Office of Research in the College of Fine Arts, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Arts & Health Innovation Lab, the recipient will engage in dedicated arts and health assigned research time as part of their research load.The fellowship term is 3 years of research-focused activity with research coaching and mentorship in arts and social science, research design, project development and management, and extramural grant activity. Recipients will learn how to develop and design rigorous studies in quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods and arts-based approaches in the first year; Learn how to develop and work within interdisciplinary/cross-college and campus/community projects, implement a pilot project in the second year, and disseminate, and apply for extramural grant opportunities in the final year.
Recipients are awarded a research stipend of $2,000 to fund expenses to present at and attend the national a2ru conference and engage with its Arts & Health working group, plus a $1,500 stipend to support research project administrative needs.
special thanks to the support from the Vice President for Research Office.
PROPOSED PROJECT
Briggs' proposed project will explore how collaborative artistic creation fosters youth well-being while engaging communities in civic dialogue and collective problem-solving around youth mental health.
"With rising concerns about adolescent mental health, creative engagement offers a promising avenue for expression, resilience-building, and community connection. Utilizing Arts-Based Action Research (ABAR) and Participatory Action Research (PAR), this project will center youth voices in the creation of an interdisciplinary performance exploring mental health. The project will culminate in a live proof-of-concept performance, a public town hall on youth mental health, and a feedback session on the artistic product. Rather than positioning art as simply a tool for advocacy, the public showing and town hall will follow Rohd’s civic practice model (Rohd, 2012), in which artists and community members collaborate in designing interventions that respond to real-world issues. Throughout the process, we will document devising labs, facilitate ongoing reflections, and conduct interviews with youth participants. The final performance will be recorded, and feedback from the town hall and audience discussions will inform future iterations.
This pilot study is the first phase of a larger research agenda investigating how arts-based civic engagement can be adapted across communities. Long-term, I aim to secure extramural funding to develop this performance into a tourable production that can be used as a catalyst for civic dialogue and action. Rather than touring a static performance, we will collaborate with local youth, educators, and community stakeholders in each location to adapt the work to reflect their unique experiences, fostering community-driven conversations about youth mental health and well-being. Through this approach, the project aims to build sustainable, arts-based civic engagement practices that empower young people to participate in public discourse.