Program Application
The Collaborative Arts Research Initiative (CARI) is an interdisciplinary arts-focused research engine driven by the interests of faculty from across the University. By facilitating collaborations between disciplines, CARI maximizes the impact of faculty arts research, while enriching the University, local, and regional communities.
Sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs and housed in the J. Frank Barefield Jr. College of Arts & Sciences, CARI Fellowships are open to faculty from all Colleges and Departments interested in exploring how collaborative arts-infused research across disciplines can enrich the scope and impact of their work.
CARI is accepting applications for Faculty Fellowships from November 1-30, 2025.
Who is Eligible to Apply?
Any full-time faculty member at the University of Alabama, tenure-track or renewable contract as long as their contract extends through the CARI Fellowship period of August 1, 2026-July 31, 2028.
Faculty may apply with a project already underway, a project in mind, or with an open-ended interest in working collaboratively across disciplines. Along the same lines, an applicant may apply with an already-formed collaborative group, with collaborators in mind, or as an individual researcher.
What Kind of Research is Supported?
Arts research is a broad category with infinite possibilities. The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) offers one possible definition: “Arts research includes humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences-driven research about and through the arts.” (a2ru Insights). As examples, recently funded CARI projects were*:
- Instruments of Culture and Agents of Change: Performing Arts Training as a Vehicle for Empowerment and Wellbeing among Alabama Youth; Courtney Helfrecht, Assistant Professor, Anthropology; Stephanie McClure, Assistant Professor, Anthropology; Alexis Davis-Hazell, Assistant Professor, Music; Alvon Reed, Assistant Professor, Theatre and Dance
Engaged with youth in under-resourced communities through an after-school performing arts training program to improve perceptions of wellbeing, reduce allostatic load, and encourage youth to view themselves as agents of their own growth and community change.
- Flow Tuscaloosa: Illuminating the Black Warrior River Basin; Julia Brock, Assistant Professor, History; Jamey Grimes, Instructor, Art & Art History
Drawing from expressive and visual art as a stimulus for dialogue, engagement, and play, the project nurtured local commitment to environmental stewardship through arts-based workshops that culminated in a community lantern and light sculpture parade and a curated exhibition.
*While community outreach is a central aspect of both of these examples, it is not a prerequisite for funding.
A requirement for all CARI-supported research is that at least one member of each research team have a primary area of expertise/practice in design, film, fine art, performing arts, or creative writing. Fellowship cohorts are selected to facilitate the integration of arts and non-arts faculty, and CARI staff will also assist Fellows in connecting with artists outside the Faculty cohort and University when needed. Faculty already working on arts-integrated research are also encouraged to continue and enhance those projects through a CARI Faculty Fellowship.
What is a CARI Faculty Fellowship?
A CARI Faculty Fellowship is a 2-year commitment to being an active member of a collaborative research community. In addition to the opportunity to strengthen your research design and impact, the benefits of a CARI Faculty Fellowship include:
- Up to $4000/year in general research support
- Priority access to Maxwell Hall’s facilities and equipment
- The opportunity to guide CARI’s acquisition of additional equipment and software
- Opportunities to bring guest artists and collaborators in your areas of interest
- Assistance in identifying and applying for external funding
CARI Fellowship funds can be used for a wide-range of research-specific items, including space rental, conference registration, materials and supplies, and student support. The length of these Fellowships is designed to allow faculty to iteratively explore multiple approaches to an idea as well as multiple outcomes; for example, a performance, a paper, and a presentation.
This application is for CARI’s seventh Fellowship cohort. The sixth cohort began in August, 2025 and will overlap with this new group through at least August 2027. Information about the current CARI Fellows can be found here: https://cari.ua.edu/fellow-directory.
CARI Fellows gather at least twice per month in Maxwell Hall on Mondays from 3-4pm (or via Zoom, when necessary) to work together, share in-progress research, host guest speakers, and attend workshops. The structure of these gatherings will depend on the cohort’s needs.
CARI Fellows are required to have submitted at least one proposal for external funding by the end of the second year of the Fellowship.
Can CARI Fellowship research funds be used outside of the CARI cohort?
Yes! While CARI Fellows are encouraged to connect and work together to generate research, they may also use their funds to collaborate with University of Alabama faculty outside the CARI cohort and with artists and academics outside the University of Alabama, as long as the work meets the criteria of being 1) collaborative, 2) interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary, and 3) involving one arts practitioner or researcher as a member of the collaborative team.
How Do I Apply?
Applications for the seventh cohort of CARI Faculty Fellowships are due on November 30, 2025 by 11:59pm and consist of 3 parts:
Please fill in all required fields, and obtain approval signatures from your Department Head, Associate Dean for Research, and Dean (if indicated).
- Letter of Interest
Broadly, the letter should describe your research and how you would benefit from joining the CARI Faculty cohort. Please also specifically respond to the following questions:
- Would you bring existing research (collaborative, arts, and other) to CARI, and, if so, how?
- In what ways would you be open to contributing to/collaborating on new projects?
- Are you an artist collaborator?
- A requirement for all CARI-supported research is that at least one member of each research team have a primary area of research/practice in design, film, fine art, the performing arts, or creative writing. In some cases, recognizing which collaborator meets this requirement is fairly straightforward; for example, if that collaborator is a practicing artist appointed within an arts department. However, CARI recognizes that some faculty for whom artistic practice is primary have appointments outside of arts departments, and some faculty with appointments in arts departments may be working in ways that do not include the methods and practices of art making. To assist us in curating our CARI fellowship cohort, please provide a brief statement about whether you consider yourself an artist collaborator and why. This may be as simple as clarifying that you are not an artist. CARI exists to facilitate collaborations between arts and non-arts faculty, and designating yourself as a non-arts faculty member does not reduce your chances of becoming a CARI Fellow!
- Please also describe how a CARI Fellowship, including attending our twice-monthly meetings on Mondays at 3PM, will work with your other time commitments.
- Current CV
Send completed application materials to: smccue2@ua.edu.