Creative Campus

 On March 10, 2009, Creative Campus and New College presented the Tech-Is-Art Expo on the campus of the University of Alabama. The Tech-Is-Art Expo provided talented students working on cutting-edge projects at the intersection of arts and technology an opportunity to meet students of similar interests, showcase their work, and provided ripe conditions for discovery and collaboration across seemingly unrelated disciplines.

The Tech-Is-Art Expo sought out students who envisioned dance-music when looking at an old game console, who wondered if televisions and basic programming skills can create modern art, who dreamt of circuit-bending, robots, light shows, hacking, and the beauty of a body in motion.

The Expo presented itself as a more interactive version of the University’s Get on Board day, with each individual or organization provided a table on which to present their project. Usage of multimedia was encouraged. Unlike similar events, projects did not have to be finalized and polished—this event was designed to focus more on the process of creating and to foster collaboration than to simply showcase finished products. The ultimate goal of the Expo was that all participants and attendants would gain from this open sharing of knowledge and innovation.

Students who participated in the Tech-Is-Art Expo were eligible to receive preferential selection for three $500 grants towards the completion of future boundary-pushing interdisciplinary work. The Creative Campus's Tech-is-Art Expo was not a one-time event. Rather, it is the beginning of Creative Campus's efforts to foster a creative community that can and will thrive within and without the traditional university system. These efforts include the aforementioned grants, as well as seminars on exciting new technologies, and friendly competitions to promote artistic and technological innovation and excellence. More importantly, the goal was to continue the transformation of the campus and Tuscaloosa culture from one mired in the status quo into one that accepts and embraces experimentation and the unknown.

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