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The University of North Texas Institute for the Advancement of the Arts (IAA) was launched, along with UNT on the Square, on October 21, 2009. On the occasion of its opening, it was noted that the Institute's goal is to “further the university’s reputation for nurturing artistic and creative expression” by recognizing artistic contributions and sharing them with the public and enhancing the learning environment for UNT students.

These aspirations are encompassed in the Institute’s mission which is to showcase, support, and advance excellence in the visual, performing and creative literary arts at the University of North Texas, among its faculty members and in conjunction with their renowned colleagues and collaborators.

The IAA is an initiative of the offices of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. Participating Colleges include the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Visual Arts and Design, and the College of Music. The Institute is housed at UNT on the Square.

The three central components of the Institute are UNT on the Square, the IAA Faculty Fellows program and the IAA Artist-in-Residence program.

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2012-2013 IAA Fellows

Two faculty members have been named fellows of the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts for the 2012-13 academic year. Fellows are: Vincent Falsetta, professor of studio art, and Miroslav Penkov, assistant professor of English.

Vincent Falsetta

Falsetta, a faculty member at UNT since 1977, plans to develop paintings incorporating the concepts and formal elements of his color studies. The works he creates during the faculty fellowship are expected to be on display in group and solo exhibitions in various galleries and museums and could include his paintings, color studies and index card drawings, which document his painting process.

"It is an honor to receive the fellowship. The field of applicants was very competitive," Falsetta says. "The most important benefit of being a fellow is having the time to work. The commitment necessary to research, create and evaluate requires consistency of time and the ability to work day after day on a project."

Miroslav Penkov

Penkov, a native of Bulgaria, will use the fellowship to conduct research for his second book, Nominalia of the Imaginary Khans. He plans to spend time in a village in Bulgaria's Standja Mountains that is similar to one of the locales in his novel.

"Writing a novel is often compared to running a marathon, and for good reason. Like a runner who must first train for months before taking on the 42-kilometer stretch, a writer must first do research and consider his characters, setting and story carefully before putting pen to paper," Penkov says. "I hope that this fellowship will provide me with the necessary time to research, write and rewrite my novel. On some level, this fellowship also serves as a validation -- a sign that perhaps there is promise in the pages I've already written."

Penkov's first book, a collection of short stories called East of the West: A County in Stories, received national attention, including a feature on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" when it was published in 2011. He also is a fiction editor for American Literary Review, which is published at UNT.