Highlights from 2020–21
“Who wakes up every day helping people move from fear to creativity, from intolerance to curiosity, from cognitive closure to a place where you’re imagining different futures? That’s what artists do.”
Steven J. Tepper, dean and director of ASU’s Herberger Institute, talked about the state of the arts on the first episode of Hear Arizona’s State of the Arts Arizona podcast.
The National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) released its rankings for total research expenditures, and Arizona State University ranked 11 in visual and performing arts research out of 323 universities. With a total of $3,532,000 in expenditures in fiscal year 2019 for visual and performing arts research at ASU, the university ranks ahead of Texas Tech, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of South Florida, UCLA and Cornell.
A decade ago, ASU launched Campaign ASU 2020, a university-wide fundraising campaign designed to unite ASU’s growing body of supporters around the idea that, together, we can improve lives and influence society for the better. In January, ASU celebrated the success and impact of the campaign. For the campaign, the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts started with an ambitious goal of raising $55 million. Together, with alumni and friends, we exceeded our goal by raising over $61 million to support our students and faculty across the arts and design disciplines. Your generosity will help redefine the role and relevance of design and the arts in public life today and for years to come.
The Herberger Institute collaborated with ASU Gammage and Lightswitch to transform a parking garage at ASU into designspace – a mile-long drive-thru sensory experience. Several students helped on the design and production and created installations for the drive-thru museum, which took riders on a journey from our world to outer space. #designspaceASU
Smithsonian Magazine gives an exclusive look at James Turrell’s masterpiece Roden Crater. A collaboration between the artist and ASU, led by the Herberger Institute, aims to help ensure the completion of this ambitious project in the desert. Read the article here.
Johanna Taylor, assistant professor and director of the Herberger Institute’s Creative Enterprise and Cultural Leadership program, spoke with The Washington Post on the National Gallery of Art’s efforts to rebrand and how visual identity can help break down barriers to entry and counter a legacy of exclusion. Read the article here.
2020-21 by the numbers
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Numbers reflect 2020-21 academic year and are accurate as of June 30, 2021. *Student demographics for first generation students based on all ASU enrolled undergraduate students with a valid FAFSA application on file for Fall 2020.
DesignSpace photos courtesy of ASU Gammage.
Roden Crater photo by Florian Holzherr.
