Determined creativity creates moments of normalcy during a historically disorienting time

STUDENT GROUP HIGHLIGHTS

AIAS FINDS NEW WAY TO CELEBRATE STUDENT CREATIVITY

The KU chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students (KU AIAS) normally holds a gala in the spring semester, called the Creator’s Ball, to recognize student accomplishments and showcase the creative culture of Arc/D students.

The event was not possible during the 2021 spring semester due to public health restrictions, but KU AIAS students were determined to create an alternative that would allow the spirit of the annual celebration to continue. KU AIAS developed a plan to solicit creative work and create an open-air exhibition, dubbed the Creator’s Gallery, in one of the many social distancing tents installed on campus.

Prominently located on Jayhawk Blvd. next to Marvin Hall, the students designed the exhibition to allow for socially distanced circulation. At a time when many galleries and museums had been closed for over a year, the Creator’s Gallery allowed passersby to enjoy creative work with a refreshingly familiar ease of movement.

PROTOTYPE CREATES ONLINE SERIES TO KEEP STUDENTS CONNECTED

In March of 2020, during a spring break extended due to the growing pandemic, it was announced that KU classes would abruptly move online for the remainder of the semester.

With the reality of a suddenly remote academic environment having yet to set in, students in Prototype – KU’s student chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) – came together to explore ways to help keep their community engaged and connected.

Prototype students, with guidance from the group’s faculty advisor, Andrea Herstowski, pinpointed that the sudden loss of proximity to fellow students and faculty mentors had the potential to leave students feeling unmoored from their school community and disconnected from their ongoing projects.

At KU, design students learn from day-one that design is, at its root, problem solving. So, with a key problem identified, the students set to work designing a solution that helped to mitigate some of the side effects of the disrupted semester. By the time classes resumed online, the students had developed a weekly online discussion series with multiple weeks of events set. The series, Food For Thought, brought students together into discussions with early-career designers from around the country to share work, technical knowhow, and advice on how to succeed as a young designer.

Continuing into the following hybrid academic year, the series provided students with valuable career-building experiences while also helping to keep them engaged with their community and focused on their projects during a historically challenging time.