Creative Practice Showcase
Researchers and innovators present projects or art programs and initiatives. All presentations should be grounded in presenters' research experience. Promotional conversations are permissible, however, products or services may not be sold at the conference venue.
The Cacophony of Choice: Viewing Collaborative, Inclusive and Participatory Installation Art through the Lens of Democracy
Creative Practice Showcase David Sanchez Burr
Deeply associated with the notion of democracy, the terms collaboration, inclusion, and participation permeate our current speech to help imagine our futures. Artist David Sanchez-Burr has been working on projects that help reveal the depth by which art can demonstrate the spectacle of our time, while simultaneously looking at democracy to find answers. Through site specific installations and performance, Sanchez-Burr creates a complex cacophony and set of harmonics that are stirred by the emergence of the audience: an itinerant community encouraged to navigate, modify, and help author the experience of the work. Through installations set in non-traditional art exhibition spaces as well as museums and community art centers, David Sanchez-Burr creates the conditions through which audience participation dictates the outcome of the experience. Artwork that is inclusive of and focused on important tenets of democracy can convey the characteristics of specific social dynamics such as choice, shared responsibility, and freedom of speech. In recent works “nowhereradio” and “new citadel” interactions have resulted in a wide array of audience expressions ranging from violently throwing elements of the installation across the room, to intense introspection and careful consideration of the materials. The ideas of individuals that form the general public are never in complete alignment with the ideas and concepts of the artist. The fundamental revelations that can occur through participatory art are as much an element of chance as they are representative of social behavior. Embracing this cacophony serves as a vehicle for art to express our moments of democratic crisis.
Rehumanizing Screentime through the Arts
Creative Practice Showcase Gil Oliveira Teixeira
My presentation tackles the underlying and rapidly growing social disconnect in the "real world" associated with the hyper-connectivity in the digital realm. We are losing timeless and basic human social skills like maintaining eye contact or engaging fully focused in a face to face conversation. Most of the solutions to this problem that I came across are based on a reactionary return to how things were in the pre-digital world, in total denial of our here and now. They impose some sort of a ban on digital devices in space or time. I believe that the problem is not in the tool itself but in its usage and that's why I've created CEEMI, a digital Trojan horse that challenges groups of people to play music together using the same tools that are separating them. The vision behind CEEMI is to harness the power of technology and music combined to connect people in real time, in a live setting. It’s not so much about humans interacting with technology, but about technology as a means to human interaction.
What Color is Water?: Connecting Communities to Their Water through Art Making and Dialogue
Creative Practice Showcase Robin Scully
Designed as a socially engaged art project which prompted awareness of water quality, the exhibit included a wide range of art styles, including the first paintings of two year-olds, to the artwork of well-known regional artists. A total of 588, 9 x 9 inch watercolor paintings were collected over a two year period through Virginia Tech's Perspective Gallery Art Reach program. Undergraduate student staff, known as "Art Reachers," worked within the mountain communities of central Appalachia by asking participants the question, "What Color is Water?" What evolved was a dialogue which dovetailed with the community members painted responses. As national attention has turned to the poor water quality of cities such as Detroit, Michigan and the problems associated with fracked gas extraction and transportation in America's rural regions, the project was designed to encourage people to viscerally connect with their water supply and ultimately become good stewards of our fragile resource. The culmination of the project was a site specific installation created by the art program director and ten student staff members. Over 2000 patrons attended the exhibit in 8 weeks. In addition to students receiving academic credit for participation, the exhibit was used as a focal point for The Mother's Water Justice Conference in June 2018,
Makerspace: How the Maker Movement Can Empower Women, Minorities and Under-represented Students
Creative Practice Showcase Anna Pinkas
How does a "Makerspace" become more than a buzz word? How can it foster collaboration and success - especially for students who are underrepresented in the Arts & Technology world? We'll explore how BMCC's (The Borough of Manhattan Community College) students used the school's new Makerspace to create a strong community, create projects that reflect their unique perspective on the world, and make big academic and career strides. BMCC is the largest Community College in New York City, serving over 24,00 students - many of them the first in their family to pursue a college degree. 70% of the student body identifies as Black/African American/Hispanic or Latino, and the school has students from over 155 countries. This uniquely diverse setting has the potential to be at the forefront of social, economical and moral reform as America (and much of the rest of the Western World) confronts inequality and racism. As a professor in BMCC's "Media Arts & Technology Department" and one of the person in charge of building and managing the new Makerspace, I am a direct witness to how Art, Technology and the DIY spirit at play there can change lives.
