Collab Lab 52: Infusing the Arts

Calling it STEAM is selling it short.

Going from STEM to STEAM just adds another silo to the acronym. Agree?

What if we recognized the arts not as simply another discipline students deserve to be exposed to?

What if we recognized the arts as opportunities to explore and share ideas across domains?

Imagine, what more could students take on and contribute to science, engineering, etc. projects, if they had a solid set of tools to do so?

What does it take to get there?

Come explore your ideas, hopes, and dreams for how the arts can support and enrich the work of students on interdisciplinary projects with colleagues from K-12 and partners from industry, higher-ed, and area nonprofits. We’ll have Featured Guests who work in this context in their respective organizations to share their perspective. And you’ll have a chance to meet current Learn Deep Fellows who will share their experience with implementing teacher designed student inquiry projects  (we call them ‘Community Engaged Learning Experiences’).

Agenda

5:30 – 6:00 Grab something to eat and drink, say hello

6:00 – 6:20 Introductions

6:20- 8:30 Let’s talk through some ideas

Note:  food and beverage will be provided. There is no charge for participation but space is limited!

Featured Participants

Among others, you’ll have a chance to talk with:

Mike Cook – Designer/Fabricator

Mike is an interactive designer and former VP and Creative Director of the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. He currently splits his time between producing museum exhibits and running a small carpentry business out of his shop in Bayview.

Añamarie Edwards – Lead Artist, ArtWorks for Milwaukee

Anamarie is a Multidisciplinary Contemporary artist and artist educator currently based in Milwaukee originally from the deep south . She often intersects social justice, her identity, and interactive education to influence her paintings, installations, sculptures, and performances. With the experiences she has with community and through life itself, she builds her practice to relay that information visually to those interested in learning a variety of topics.

Jeff Fleetwood – Partner/Artist, Foresight Studios

For the past eight years, Jeff has been working in interactive development alongside his business partner Hector Borges, first as the co-founders of Outer Rim, where they produced and released their first game in their first year of school. They operated under the name Outer Rim for four years before rebranding as Foresight Studios. In his role at Foresight Studios, Jeff is focused on creating innovative experiences that leverage new and emerging technologies, including VR, AR, and XR. The company has worked with the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. to create a VR demo and developed “Code the Hoan,” a VR experience for Milwaukee Public School students. They are currently creating an AR application for the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. As a firm believer in the importance of teaching kids about emerging technology and encouraging exploration and play, Jeff and Hector have made it their mission to use their skills to help others.

Dionna L. Hayden – Lead Teaching Artist, ArtWorks for Milwaukee

Dionna is a creative professional with extensive experience planning and executing commercial projects centered on graphic design, including brand identity and logo design initiatives. Developed at an early age, some of her artistic and creative abilities include illustration, painting, photography, and graphic arts. Her extensive background in visual and graphic arts has enabled her to serve in the creative arts industry for over 20 years. Her experience also includes the founding of a children’s book imprint, serving as author, publisher, illustrator, and designer. In addition, Dionna serves at ArtWorks for Milwaukee as Lead Artist to high school interns in the graphic design + mental health advocacy program. (website: dionnalhayden.com)

Cindy Raimer – Director of Education, The Riveredge School

Cindy is passionate about instilling a love of nature, demonstrating the value of community, and embracing the curiosity and wonder in students. A strong advocate for project based learning, Cindy loves teaching children to communicate with their peers, collaborate on designs and solutions, and look to nature for inspiration. This year, The Riveredge School educators are partnering with the talented art educators at Lynden Sculpture Garden to create an integrated, interdisciplinary curriculum that is nature based and aligns with our science and social studies curriculum for every grade level. The arts integrated framework will enable students to explore the intersection of arts, culture and nature across the curriculum.