Nearly a decade ago, on the 250th anniversary of its founding, Brown developed a strategic plan in which “Cultivating Creative Expression” was identified as an institutional priority. Since that time, considerable progress has been made to establish the arts as both a key academic pillar at Brown and a national model of integrative, interdisciplinary teaching, scholarship, and practice. In Fall 2023, the Brown community will celebrate yet another remarkable milestone for the arts: the opening of The Lindemann Performing Arts Center.

In the spirit of collaboration, Brown celebrates the opening of The Lindemann not as a single event, but as a multi-year series of activations, interventions, and investigations produced by creative communities across Brown and beyond. The Brown Arts IGNITE Series - launching in October 2023 (aligned with the public opening of The Lindemann) and running through December 2024 - will demonstrate to national, and indeed global, audiences the high ambitions, creative curiosity, and dedication to meaningful social impact that Brown University is able to express through this extraordinary new arts venue.

To this end, the Brown Arts IGNITE Series proposes that art, artists, and artistic projects, along with arts-based research, can brilliantly lead the next phase of community-wide thinking around key integrative themes “important to society, now and in the future.”

• Affirm, celebrate, and promote the value of the arts and arts research in higher education, at Brown, and in our broader society
   
• Demonstrate the myriad ways in which the artistic projects, and arts-based research, can be impactful tools to highlight societal challenges, advance community priorities, and influence positive outcomes for participants and non-participants alike
   
• Showcase the artistic work of Brown faculty, students, staff, and alumni through innovative programs, events, and curricula that make full use of The Lindemann’s capabilities
   
• Support a collective of distinguished artistic innovators eager to use The Lindemann, in collaboration with BAI, as a unique canvas for commissioned and curated performances, installations, and activations that address some of society’s most pressing concerns
   
• Measure social impact through direct and meaningful engagement with Providence and Rhode Island arts communities, as well as national and international arts communities