Twenty years ago, local public education champions and artists Joe and Lucianne Carmichael made a transformative gift, donating their land, home, studio space and the visionary artist residency program they created — known collectively as A Studio in the Woods — to Tulane. The Carmichaels’ act of generosity has helped fuel two decades of creative exploration, scholarly innovation and environmental stewardship within the Tulane community.

The Carmichaels purchased the site upon which the Studio now resides — eight acres of endangered bottomland hardwood forest in Orleans Parish on the West Bank of the Mississippi River — in 1969. They soon began hosting artists and scholars in the studio spaces they had constructed, hoping that the wooded surroundings would inspire their temporary residents to create groundbreaking new works of art and scholarship.

In 2001, the Carmichaels formalized their efforts, establishing A Studio in the Woods. With the intention that their treasured forest land be preserved and protected for use by the community during their lifetimes and beyond, the Carmichaels donated the Studio to Tulane in 2004. This unique gift, comprised of both property and programming, made Tulane one of the only universities in the nation to house an initiative of this kind. Their gift opened new avenues for Tulane, providing the university with an asset that could support both the liberal arts and environmental studies work.

Recognized nationally as a leader in environmental artistic and scholarly residencies, the Studio’s offerings are wide-ranging yet interrelated: thematic artistic residencies and scholarly retreats; forest restoration and research initiatives spearheaded by the Studio’s on-site ecologist; and community outreach programs, including an annual festival in the woods.

The art, writing and research produced at the Studio help the broader public understand and interpret large-scale societal challenges — climate adaptation chief among them — and inspire action that leads to a better future for all.

The power of the Studio lies in its ability to bridge disciplines and embody a culture of convergence, aligning closely with President Michael A. Fitts’ vision for Tulane as a trailblazing, world-class institution that leverages its location in a coastal city to produce cross-cutting scholarship and research.

“The Studio’s ability to merge art, science, scholarship and environmental stewardship is wholly distinctive,” said John Sabo, director of the ByWater Institute, the Studio’s institutional home at Tulane. “As the ByWater Institute works to advance applied research and community engagement initiatives around coastal resilience, climate adaptation and the urban environment, the Studio plays a key role in helping expand those efforts, not only in creatively communicating science, but the urgency for action.”

More than 350 scholars and artists have sought refuge and inspiration as residents at the Studio over the last two decades, finding the space and time to tackle boundary-breaking projects and pursuits, challenge conventions and address society’s most pressing questions.

With support from Tulane and Friends of A Studio in the Woods, the organization’s nonprofit partner, the Studio has continued to evolve over the last two decades, growing its impacts and expanding its programming. But one thing has never changed: the Studio remains true to the Carmichaels’ vision as a protected forest retreat where authentic creations and innovative discoveries emerge from the interplay between the arts, the academy and the natural world.

The impact of the Carmichaels’ extraordinary gift to Tulane continues to live on, 20 years later.