ART185KY: IV OpenLab is Still OPEN
OPEN LAB MONITORS/FACILITATORS:
KIM YASUDA
Professor, Spatial Studies, Department of Art UCSB
Harmony Karimi, Senior English, UCSB
Raphaella Faria, Senior Art Major, UCSB
COMMUNITY CONSULTANTS:
Rodney Gould, IV Recreation and Parks District
Jay Freeman, tech developer, Saurik, LLC
Melissa Cohen, IV Food Coop
OPEN LAB STRUCTURE
Up to 4.0 upper division credit units:Ā Art 185KY will be 4.0 and variable units may be taken through IHC under course # INT185KY, based upon the standard 40 hours per quarter equaling 1 unit.
IVOpenLab will be held Fridays 1230-3:50pm as a project-based lecture/lab/seminar/studio/research/learning/teaching environment designed to situate participants into the Isla Vista community. Weekly Friday gatherings will take place in IV, hosting different campus and community members who will present, discuss and provide feedback on the range of Isla Vista issues and opportunities. In addition, students taking the course for credit will be required to design an outside research projects (individually or collaboratively) to present to the community groups at the end of the quarter.
COURSE CONTENT
Through the exploration of both public and private spaces in the community of Isla Vista, students and community participants will research and propose concepts surrounding local development and stewardship, exploring a range of topics and models in urban planning as well as economic, environmental and social sustainability. Students who take the course for credit will develop and execute an IV-centered, ācapstoneā project, exploring their individual and collaborative research and/or production skills through meaningful and effective community dialogue and engagement.
Participants will research a broad range of local history and sites in IV, including but not limited to: residential neighborhoods, housing, parks, parking lots, streets, county-owned buildings, community and education centers, co-ops and food/retail storefronts. Those living in Isla Vista will explore their own residential environments and neighborhood streets/parks as potential settings for their research/work. Students may also look at models for social programming, including event resource development, planning-execution, county/city ordinance process and other critical infrastructures that support off-site, public arts development.
Outcomes may take many forms, from pop-up and public art installations, books, buildings, lighting, shows, furniture, films and festivals, to name a few. Students will present their final projects at various times throughout the quarter in conjunction with other events hosted in Isla Vista. This past Fall, the students of IV OpenLab worked together to launch the successful,
Isla Vista First* Fridays (IVF*F) pilot series, activating IV’s public park spaces to host late night art and culture programs and BluNite IV, a community lighting project for the 1-year commemoration of the Isla Vista Tragedy this past May. These projects will continue to evolve through the remainder of the academic year.
CAPSTONE PROJECT-BASED RESEARCH
āCapstone projects are generally designed to encourage students to think critically/creatively, solve challenging problems, and develop skills such as oral communication, public speaking, research skills, media literacy, teamwork, planning, self-sufficiency, or goal settingā¦In most cases, the projects are also interdisciplinary, in the sense that they require students to apply skills or investigate issues across many different subject areas or domains of knowledge. Capstone projects also tend to encourage students to connect their projects to community issues or problems, and to integrate outside-of-school learning experiences, including activities such interviews, scientific observations, or internshipsā.Ā -The Glossary of Education Reform
SUGGESTED TEXTS + LINKS:
– LocalWiki Isla Vista
https://localwiki.org/islavista/
– People of Isla Vista FB
https://www.facebook.com/peopleofislavista
-Carmine Lodise, Isla Vista: A Peopleās History, found @ IV Food Co-op
– https://www.islavista.orgĀ 3. Mahader Tesfai, Living History Project: A – Collective History of Student Engagement at UC Santa Barbara:
-living history project:
https://scalar.usc.edu/works/livinghistoryproject/worksc
MATERIALS: If your project requires materials, you will be encouraged to find sources in the world for free and/or affordable post-consumer materials. Always have drawing and note-taking supplies on hand.
Kim T Yasuda, Professor
Public Arts Research Lab
Department of Art UCSB