Initially funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Arts Transcending Borders (ATB) is an initiative designed to enhance the role of the arts in every aspect of the 51СƳ experience by infusing the arts into students’ academic lives and creating new opportunities throughout the curriculum and the community to cross cultural, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries.
In line with the goals of a liberal arts education, ATB uses the arts as a catalyst for challenging perspectives, creating dialogue, and encouraging innovation and creative thinking and practice across our campus. ATB achieves its broad and sustained infusion of the arts in a variety of ways, all of which aim to transcend discipline and convention. Foremost and at the heart of the initiative lies the visiting artist-in-residence program, which brings distinguished artists to campus to engage with students, faculty, staff, and the greater Worcester community through various workshops, master classes, public lectures, and performances. In tandem, ATB sponsors dynamic programs throughout the year, ranging from lectures by renowned scholars and artists, to unique performances, exhibitions, and installations.
Through interdisciplinary and collaborative opportunities that promote risk-taking and imaginative problem solving, ATB enriches the 51СƳ experience by showing the value of creativity and the arts — both in and out of the classroom.
Arts Transcending Borders (ATB) News
![Grammy Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble musicians share how they developed their own unique voices in music as visiting artists in CreateLab, Originality and Its Origins.](/sites/default/files/styles/500x360_fp/public/news_item_images/syllabus_6.jpg?h=b143230a&itok=FcYOAyRb)
![Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble preforms pop-up performances around campus.](/sites/default/files/styles/500x360_fp/public/news_item_images/photo-1-cropped.jpg?h=b143230a&itok=nyFUAy6r)
![Osvaldo Golijov and the members of the Silkroad Ensemble are shown here during a conversation about the song cycle "Falling Out of Time" at WBUR's CitySpace, and moderated by NPR's Robin Young. Photo by Meghan Schatz](/sites/default/files/styles/500x360_fp/public/news_item_images/img_1554-cropped.jpg?h=b143230a&itok=2Fq33Cvq)