The Windows Project to give Hinds Hall an artsy touch
On her first walk-through of the renovated Hinds Hall, the Dean of the School of Information Studies Elizabeth Liddy saw cutting-edge computer labs, a brand new wing and a few big eyesores – six of them, in fact. Most of the hall’s renovated interior glimmers with the natural light from large windows, but six windows face a concrete wall.
‘I looked out the windows and said, ‘this is awful,” Liddy said.
Rather than leave the bleak, empty windows, the iSchool and the College of Visual and Performing Arts teamed up to light up the space. The result is The Windows Project, which will commission artwork for the wells between the buildings, calling on teams of students, faculty and community members to submit proposals by 5 p.m. on April 23. Six proposals will be awarded $2,500 for creation and installation in the iSchool windows.
In addition to the $2,500 stipend, Liddy announced at a meeting last week that she will offer an additional $1,000 stipend to the six winners.
Though sponsored by the iSchool and VPA everyone is welcome to participate, said Jaime Snyder, a doctoral student and one of the coordinators of The Windows Project.
‘It’s an opportunity to make your mark on campus and add a mark to the building,’ Snyder said. ‘Teams can cross disciplines and cross roles throughout the university… There is enough space to put sculptures with metals, electronic feeds, or teams can work with the windows themselves. We are very curious to see what the teams will come up with.’
The renovations of Hinds concluded in June 2008 under Liddy’s supervision. She was not the first to consider using the wells as a place to expand communication and information through artistic interpretation.
‘Former Dean Raymond von Dran of the iSchool, who made lots of the decisions about what would happen to the building during renovations, had actually wanted to do just this,’ Liddy said. ‘We talked to students and faculty about what’s happening with technology and communication these days and then left it up to them.’
Liddy said she expects the projects to be very diverse, not just in their designs but in their executions. The windows vary in size, and some of them can be seen in more than one room.
Part of that diversity will also result from the contest’s multidisciplinary, multi-school nature. Ann Clarke, dean of VPA, said she is excited not only about the project, but about the future relationship between the iSchool and VPA. This partnership is one of the early bridges between iSchool and VPA’s curriculums. They are also planning classes that will be taught by instructors from both colleges, Liddy said.
‘We share resources and opportunities for students and faculty to work together between the schools,’ Clarke said. ‘It will be interesting for all kind of makers coming together and being responsive with technology.’
Clarke added that, if she had time, she might have submitted a proposal herself. That kind of attitude is indicative of the growing intersection between technology and art.
‘Information is not just text the way it used to be thought of,’ Liddy said. ‘It can be images, shapes and signs that communicate to us.’
