A Crowdfund Drive to Raise $10,000 for UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program
Crowdfunding Throughout October
The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, where UC Davis undergraduate students connect science with art, creating and installing ceramic-mosaic art for permanent display in public places--has been selected for a UC Davis Crowdfund campaign.
The goal: to raise $10,000 during the month of October.
The Art/Science Fusion Program is known as "a hotbed of innovation," bridging art and science through undergraduate courses, exhibitions, performances, and colloquia—fostering collaboration among design faculty, science faculty, museum educators, professors, artists, and students.
Founded in 1997, it is the brainchild of UC Davis entomologist/artist Diane Ullman, now a UC Davis distinguished professor emerita, and her close friend and colleague Donna Billick, a self-described "rock artist."
“Connecting art and science to create lifelong learning for students and community members has been a passion for me since Donna Billick and I first taught ENT 001, Art, Science, and the World of Insects in 1996," Ullman said. "The Art/Science Fusion Program has been very meaningful to me since its inception, and I am thrilled that Dr. Emily Meineke (Department of Entomology and Nematology) has taken the helm following my retirement last year."
"Emily is filled with new ideas and ambitious about our ever-evolving teaching paradigm," Ullman commented.
Currently, undergraduates in the course Art, Science, and the World of Insects are building four ceramic mosaic murals (15-feet wide, five-feet high) behind the UC Davis Arboretum Nursery, adjacent to the Climate Adaptation Living Laboratory (CALL) garden. The murals focus on various California ecosystems and response to climate change.
"We are excited about the crowdfunding campaign and the visibility it will bring to our work," Ullman said. "It has been an important part of my life and is something I believe in ardently."
"Our goal is to raise $10,000 to provide more opportunities for UC Davis students across campus," the coordinators wrote on the website. "Funding will support supplies to enhance student-fueled public art, such as our large-scale murals, educational signage for murals that will enhance the experience for students and community members, the opportunity to pilot ceramic and screen-printing workshops, development of a website, and a volunteer recruitment and training program."
The Art/Science Fusion Program's artwork on the UC Davis campus includes the "Nature's Gallery" mural in the Arboretum and Public Garden; "A Bird's Eye View" mural on the wall of the visitors' center at the California Raptor Center on Old Davis Road; and art in the Peter J. Shields Oak Grove in the Arboretum, and in the UC Davis Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road.
"Nature's Gallery" showcases drought-tolerant plants with assorted insects, all in mosaic-ceramic art. It was displayed for nine months in the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. It was also part of the UC Davis Centennial celebration at the California State Fair.
"These artworks are fueled by collaboration between students, teaching assistants, faculty and volunteers," the campaign website indicates. "We aim to positively impact students by teaching them creative visual narrative, increasing confidence in their artistic and communication skills, and empowering their ability to understand and communicate science. UC Davis students routinely report working with the Art/Science Fusion Program as their favorite university experience."
"Your support will enhance artwork already underway, as well as creating educational tools for future teaching efforts. The lives of thousands of people will be impacted— students will gain confidence in themselves, and community members will enjoy life-long learning."
Brief Biosketches
Diane Ullman
Ullman, a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2014) and the Entomological Society of America (2011), was named the 2014 recipient of the ESA National Excellence in Teaching Award and a 2022 recipient of an Academic Senate's Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.
She served on the UC Davis faculty for 29 years. A veteran UC Davis administrator, Ullman chaired the UC Davis Department of Entomology, from 2004-2005; and served as an associate dean for undergraduate academic programs for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 2005 to 2014.
Emily Meineke
Meineke, who joined the department in 2020, was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard University Herbaria. She studied how urbanization and climate changes over the past 100-plus years have affected global plant–insect relationships. She helped spearhead Harvard Museum of Natural History's Thoreau project. Meineke was named a UC Davis Hellman Fellow in 2022. In 2023, the Ecological Society of America selected her for the coveted Early Career Fellow.
Donors can access the campaign website at https://tinyurl.com/3f467uxv or the QR code above.