Over 100 Ohio State faculty, students, staff, administrators, community artists and K-12 teachers attended the April 10, 2025, Global Arts + Humanities Showcase: "Celebrating Cross-Disciplinary Connections." 

Professor Lisa Florman, Vice Provost for the Arts and Professor Wendy S. Hesford, Director of the Global Arts + Humanities, launched the celebration with short remarks about the vital role of the integrated arts and humanities in cross-disciplinary collaborations that address critical societal challenges. Two signature programs were celebrated: The Society of Fellows, and K-12 Interdisciplinary Teaching Institute. 

Each year, the Society of Fellows brings together an interdisciplinary cohort of faculty and student fellows to share perspectives and to work on research projects around a common theme. This year’s theme of Care, Culture, Justice emphasized care as a relational practice. The fellows addressed the theme from a range of disciplinary contexts from15 different departments and three colleges. In her remarks, GAH Director Wendy S. Hesford highlighted fellows’ projects that focused on themes including the history of disability activism and access at Ohio State; Indigenous dance as a paradigm of care; the power of poetry for communities caught up in the legal system for “nonviolent” drug charges.

Four powerful dance performances, under the production direction of Associate Professor Nyama McCarthy-Brown, also graced the stage throughout the evening. One of the performances, “Four Corners,” was an outcome of a Global Arts + Humanities Field School, and another commissioned piece, “Threads of Connection,” was a structured improvisation piece in response to the SOF thematic. Attendees also interacted with the art installation “Unfolding Care” by Elizabth Sugawara. Associate Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Director of the K-12 Interdisciplinary Institute, concluded the evening with an inspiring presentation, “The Courage to Teach,” in which he highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary approaches understanding and teaching difficult subjects in America’s past and present.