Champlain's Art and Design Notables

Champlain Joins the Art Hop

Champlain College's Communication and Creative Media (CCM) Division last fall expanded its sponsorship of Burlington's annual arts weekend celebration, known as the South End Art Hop. The event features more than 500 artists displaying their work in business and studio locations along Pine Street and draws thousands of visitors to the region.

The Champlain Valley Millworks and Wanamaker Restoration, owned by Amy Mentes '86 and Ron Wanamaker, was the first stop for many friends of Champlain College, who viewed a provocative mix of graphic design, paintings, sculpture, and photography-all created by Champlain College students, alumni, faculty, and staff. An interactive performance piece by Assistant Dean of CCM Eric Ronis and an Irish music performance by O'hAnleigh set the stage for hundreds of visitors to the workshop-turned-gallery.

Champlain College's Emergent Media Center was also involved, show casing an innovative type of fusion-art, programming, design, and learning. Student-crafted interactive media; games for health care, archeology, training, and social change; Google mapping technology customized for our community; and iPhone app development were all on display.

The CCM Division at Champlain has experienced more change in the past 10 years than in the previous 100. "Nowhere else in the country can you study this broad range of majors under one roof," said Jeff Rutenbeck, dean of the division. "We're committed to providing the most up-to-date and professionally relevant programs, and we constantly work at developing additional programs that are just as innovative."

To learn more, visit www.seaba.com

Game Life

In one of the first exhibits of its kind in the U.S., Champlain College and Burlington City Arts (BCA) turned the downtown Firehouse Gallery into a functioning arcade designed to blend the art world with video gaming in a nine-week show titled "Game (Life)." It featured 11 artists from Vermont and around the world and a designer lecture series on campus and at the gallery. "Video games have evolved from part-time entertainment experiences to fully developed art forms that not only express current aspects of the cultures that are developing them but also shape those that engage with them," noted Jeff Rutenbeck, dean of the Division of Communications,and Creative Media. "These ongoing collaborations are providing our students, faculty, staff, and the Burlington community with an amazing range of opportunities to explore the traditions and cutting edges of technology and art today."

Design Challenge

Ultra-hip advertising firm Jager Di Paola Kemp (JDK) Design, which creates advertising concepts for trend-sensitive companies like Burton Snowboards, hosted the first AIGA Vermont Student Design Challenge for Champlain students from the Division of Communication & Creative Media. The challenge: create marketing materials for a socially responsible Burlington "bike-share" community program. The student winners were Alex Dahl for Best of Show and Gerry Weber for Depth of Thinking, along with finalists John Brown, Sean Cater, Emily Fitzgerald, Amanda Jones, Howie Le, Eric Moulton, Anna Nadeau, and Joe Rousseau. "This competition inspires young designers to utilize their future profession in a way that benefits their community. We are thrilled to share their work with the public through this exhibition," noted Stephen Francisco, JDK CEO, at the opening of the exhibit in February.