Beate Geissler

    Email Address: beate@uic.edu
    College: Architecture and the Arts Department: Art and Design
    Title: Professor

    Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes

    Research Interest:
    Art Garden: Living Materials Laboratory within the existing Plant
    Research Laboratory and the Anthropocene Lab at UIC. The garden is a space for collaborative research to support the exploration of alternative methods of art making by growing and utilizing sustainable materials. The aim of this project is to generate awareness of the benefits and accessibility of natural fibers and fungi, foster an understanding for sustainable materials and to cultivate cross-disciplinary connections within the university and beyond. By bridging art and science processes within sustainable methodologies, we can form the base of explorations into questions of, but not limited to, sustainable cities and the built environment, recycling and waste economies, and learning the language of nature. Connections will be made between art, biology, traditional craft histories and contemporary concerns about ethical use of resources.

    Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 10

    Qualifications of a Student:

    Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
    Students should be interested in art, the natural world and interdisciplinary approaches to making and thinking.

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