The Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) is an artistic program in Second Life with a very noble mission :

The Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) was established to help create a center of arts activity in Second Life. It is a collaborative venture between Linden Lab and the arts community. Guided by a dedicated board of renowned Second Life artists, the LEA is committed to providing access to engaging experiences in the arts for the Second Life community. Through its exhibitions, programs, and events, the LEA fosters awareness of artists’ contributions to our virtual world and encourages others to get involved and be inspired.

The LEA is run and organized by users of Second Life, with resources generously donated by Linden Lab.

Applicants put forth proposals for an exhibit and those who are selected by a committee get six months use of a sim for their project. In the latest round (round 9) one of the successful applicants was Carla Ives, who is creating a University of The Arts project.

The project will have exhibition space, with a young artist having a permanent exhibition there. There are also plans to incorporate a learning space within this project which will be designed to teach people how to make a dance show in Second Life. This will go through the process of building a set, choreography, use of particles and animations.

On top of that, there are also plans for an open air auditorium to be used by different dance troupes to perform their routines. The aim is that such troupes will also discuss techniques with students and share knowledge.

That knowledge sharing won’t just be about performances either. Another aspect for performers in Second Life is getting the word out that you exist, so there are plans for discussions on marketing too.

Whereas I’m talking about this project now in July, it should be noted that classes aren’t planned to start until September, you can read more about that here here.

Currently the University Of The Arts are looking for teachers and students, if you think this sounds interesting then pop along to the region and take a look around. There’s an information centre there where you can get more information, you may even spot some performers whilst you are visiting.

This is an interesting looking and somewhat ambitious project. The build itself looks to be mostly complete and there are some interesting artistic pieces already on display. There’s also a stage you can teleport to. The build itself is impressive and well worth a look.

SLURL To The University Of The Arts : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA13/136/145/22/