Radlab!, Recipient of AAI Arts & Humanities Grant, Opens for Public Viewing

Radlab!, one of two recipients of AAI’s inaugural Arts & Humanities Grant, held its opening reception on Friday, February 24th  at Lucia in downtown Lawrence. Facilitated by Ryan D. Clifford, Assistant Professor of Design and Visual Communication, and Annie Myers, Undergraduate Design Research Assistant and RISO Fellow, the program involved young students engaged in a variety of DIY artmaking processes and projects, such as risographs, paper robots, sketchbooks, and zines.

The aim of Radlab! was to “introduce youth participants to the design thinking process, rapid ideation and brainstorming, and publication design, through a DIY approach.”

For the workshops, Clifford partnered with The Arts Train, a non-profit arts-based job and life skills training program from art education organization Van Go, Inc. The Arts Train is "designed to engage disconnected youth" and "serves young people who have barriers to employment and educational attainment including, but not limited to: living in poverty, mental health diagnosis, aging out of foster care, pregnancy or parenting, court involvement," and more. 

Four workshops were split between Van Go’s studio space and the University of Kansas’ RISO lab.

See a collection of photos from the opening night below:

Framed risographic artwork displayed on a wall, in a gridded fashion.

Detail of wall featuring artwork and an exhibit description that reads: RadLab! is the culmination of a series of four intensive DIY workshops focused on creative collaboration, co-design, DIY zine and bookmaking. All work exhibited was created by participants in the Van Go, Inc Arts Train program, which is a unique, innovative non-profit arts-based job and life skills training program for transition-aged young adults who may face a barrier to success in employment. The Arts Train is led by Jeff Stolz, and is located at Van Go, Inc in Lawrence, KS, which is a nationally recognized, arts-based employment program for teens and young adults ages 14 – 24. These hands-on workshops introduced youth participants to the design thinking process, rapid ideation and brainstorming, publication design, through a DIY approach, which included sketchbook and journal making, papercraft, DIY zine making and the Risographic process. During the workshops, participants engaged in a wide range of analog making processes, including illustration, hand assemblage and photocollage. Workshop outcomes included a papercraft robot, bound sketchbook, RISO posters, and unique, individual DIY zines. Additionally, all participants were able to get a direct, hands-on experience printing their workshop outcomes on a Risograph at the University of Kansas. The RadLab Youth DIY Creative RISO Workshops and Exhibition are were developed in partnership with Van Go, Inc, and designed and facilitated by Ryan Clifford, Assistant Professor of Design at the University of Kansas and Annie Myers, Undergraduate Design Research Assistant and RISO Fellow. The workshops were funded by an AAI Research Grant for Faculty in the Arts and Humanities through the University of Kansas Achievement and Assessment Institute. All work was produced at ColorBar, a one-of-kind faculty-led/student run RISO lab at the University of Kansas.

Individual piece of risographic art, rendered in bright yellow and orange.

Framed risographic artwork displayed on a wall in a gridded fashion.

Detail of three risographic posters, featuring a collage of images and bright colors.

A stack of zines, the top reading "How to Make Your Own Zine"

Detail of a framed risographic poster, featuring a collage of images and bright colors.

 

Detail of three framed risographic posters, featuring a collage of images and bright colors.

 

 

L to R: Annie Myers, Undergraduate Design Research Assistant and RISO Fellow and Ryan D. Clifford, Assistant Professor of Design and Visual Communication

Ryan D. Clifford, Assistant Professor of Design and Visual Communication on stage with participants of the Radlab! workshop, all holding up their risographic art creations.

The work of Radlab!’s participants will be on display throughout the month of March at Lucia, 1016 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044.

**

The purpose of AAI’s Arts & Humanities grant program is to foster deeper ties between the arts and humanities and the education and social sciences within which most of AAI’s work is focused. We believe that looking at education and social science through lenses more common in the arts and humanities will benefit our mission, and dialogue with colleagues in different fields will enrich our work. We will announce the application process for this year’s grant in the coming month.