Menu Digital Arts Lab
The Digital Arts Lab will live in our main building behind the new “We are the ARTS” window that faces McGregor.
Logo Contest for Digital Art Lab
The Alliance for the Arts is seeking a Digital Arts Lab logo that captures the spirit and intention behind this new space. That’s where the public comes in! We are holding a competition for a new logo to be used across a variety of platforms, including, but not limited to, our website, social media sites, merchandise and promotional materials. A prize of $500.00 and an Alliance Traveler Membership, good for one year, will be awarded for the winning entry. We are seeking a creative, professional, stylized logo that embodies the use of this new space and reflects our mission to advance our community through the arts.
The logo should be adaptable to different iterations in size and application and reflective of the creative nature of the space. It should also include the official name of the lab, Bloom & Wallace Digital Arts Lab. Please note an ampersand (&) must be incorporated into the design. The contest is open to submissions from anyone. Contestants can work in groups or individually; only one (1) prize will be awarded, regardless of group size.
Digital Arts Lab
Help us move the Alliance into new art forms, responding to direct needs from the community for increased technology and creative outlets, and fostering digital arts education with a place and a space that will increase access, equity, and education in the digital arts – a rapidly growing part of our world.
The Covid-19 pandemic reinforced the essential importance of access to technology and creative outlets. In response, we began planning a Digital Arts Lab, providing opportunities to explore and hone skills in writing, filmmaking, podcasting, digital design, computer-generated paintings, photoshop, gaming, digitally created music, e-books, 3D design, editing and other creative applications.
The new Digital Arts Lab will increase digital literacy and continue to eliminate barriers to arts participation including financial resources needed to purchase and maintain the technology, language barriers and access to the internet.
We are so very grateful for your support this year – for creating with us, sharing your ideas and kindness and for being the backbone of the Alliance. We need your support now more than ever.
Overarching Goals:
- Democratizing the arts- Technology has tremendous power to address disparities in arts access. It will level the playing field, allowing classes to explore and create high-level art at a relatively low cost. This includes students with disabilities, who can use technology to make art with a degree of success they might not otherwise achieve.
- Building confidence- art tech tools provide the public a way to satisfy the need for creative outlets while harnessing the ease of the applications.
- Promotes collaboration and engagement- technology in our educational setting is key to helping the community show their work, share ideas and collaborate on creative projects.
- Workforce Development- the digital arts program opens career paths, whether they want to become web developers, graphic designers, game artists, or filmmakers. The Alliance will produce a space that focuses on the creative process while building real-world skills.
Specific Goals:
- Offer 20 new Digital Arts Classes in 2022
- Provide the community with enhanced access to build career goals, entrepreneurship, and job opportunities all garnered from skills developed by hands-on experience in a digital lab
- Serve 10,000 new community members a year
- Subsidize the cost of owning and operating this equipment and providing increased access to this technology to the community.
- Diversifying our programming in the arts
In planning the Digital Arts Lab, we looked at five key ways to assure long-term sustainability:
- Hard costs of the equipment needed: Computer Hardware (Rugged, Portable, Low Energy Usage, Good Performance & a Webcam) Software (Full Adobe Suite, Office Software, & Virus Protection) Internet Access (WiFi, Bandwidth)
- Training (Basic Operations of Adobe, Office Software)
- Support and Maintenance (Shares, Onsite, Software/Hardware Repair & Remote Troubleshooting)
- Community Impact (How many people we can serve in a year, ages and skill levels, ongoing educational offerings taught by instructors)
- Financial Viability (number of quality classes that can be taught throughout the year and individual booking times) Our conclusion is that between class registrations, booking fees and ongoing support, the Digital Arts Lab will be self-sustaining once the major investment of classroom improvements and hardware is purchased.
The creation of the Digital Arts Lab includes the following steps:
- Removal of existing furniture, patching of walls and floors, painting space, replacing blinds
- Installation of additional air conditioning ductwork to keep space cool and operating with additional heat-generating equipment
- Purchase of new computer desks and chairs
- Purchase and setup of 13 iMac Pro desktop computers (includes 1 teaching computer)
- Purchase of 13 iPods for digital photography and filmmaking
- Purchase of 13 stabilizing gimbals
- Purchase and set up of Adobe Suite including InDesign and Photoshop
- Curriculum development for Digital Arts Lab classes including contracting with teachers
- Maintenance and ongoing enhancements of Digital Arts Lab
