The Textiles and Materiality Cluster at Milieux announces the winners of its recent round of student research grants: Nicholas Shulman (M INDI student) and Donna Legault (M INDI student).
Donna Legault’s project, which received a Travel Grant, is entitled, SONIC DRAWING: A Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Residency and Exhibition Proposal for Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Co Leitrim (Ireland). Donna’s project will involve collaborative research with Irish artist, Kiera O’Toole. Donna Legault and Kiera O’Toole were introduced through the inclusion of their work in the New Living Artist exhibition in the Steambox Gallery in Co Dublin and curated by IMOCA (Irish Museum of Contemporary Art) in Co Dublin, in the Autumn of 2014. From that time, communication and conversations between the artists have resulted in the development of a collaborative project initiative. Their interest in developing an installation that hybridizes the artistic practices of sound art and drawing will unify their work in international collaboration between Ireland and Canada.
Nicholas Shulman’s project, which received an Individual Research Grant, is entitled, Designing with the Supply Chain: Research-Creation in the Electronics Manufacturing Capital of the World. As part of this project, also funded with a Travel Grant from the INDI program, Nicholas will design and make a small run of objects during a one-month stay in Shenzhen, China to learn how the city’s unique intellectual property practices and material resources affect design practice. During his stay, Nicholas plans to meet and interview local experts: NYU professor Clay Shirky, open source hardware hacker Bunnie Huang, and independent maker Naomi Wu. With the help of former colleague, Angela Liu, a manufacturing sourcing specialist with 20 years’ experience, Nicholas will also visit and make contact with factories and local markets. Some of Nicholas’ research questions will include, “How does Shenzhen’s unique ecosystem enable and imperil computer interface design research? Can a lone designer achieve otherwise impossible tasks in this unique locale?”
Congratulations to both of the winners!
Follow Nicholas’ project research vlog here.
Donna Legault presents on her research at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre (above).
textiles + materiality research cluster 