The Campus Arts Initiative (“Campus Arts”) is funded by Penn State’s Strategic Planning Seed Grant program, which funds projects that further the university’s goals for impact and engagement. Campus Arts is closely linked to the strategic plan’s thematic priority of advancing the arts and humanities.

Campus Arts is in the process of commissioning eight site-specific visual artworks for high-impact locations across the Commonwealth Campuses between 2019-2020. University partners were selected from an open call for applications advertised to Penn State students, faculty, staff, departments, and units throughout the commonwealth. Following a nationally advertised call for artists, artists were selected by a jury of partner collaborators and ­­­arts professionals both external and internal to the university, and each partner was matched with an artist or artist team based on mutual interest and compatibility.

The selected partners are as follows: Center for Performing Arts at Penn State (University Park); Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, formerly LGBTQA Student Resource Center (University Park); Penn State Abington; Penn State Beaver; Penn State College of Engineering (University Park); Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; Penn State Lehigh Valley; and Penn State Materials Research Institute (University Park).

Artworks were installed beginning October 2019. The works will remain on view for up to one year. Check each project site for further information.