On Friday, November 20th, the Design Division and the La Roche Experience course presented a pop-up installation in response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis. As part of International Education Week, Dr. Charlotte Reed, Assistant Director of Global Engagement, Dr. Nicole Bieak Kreidler, Associate Professor & Chair of Interior Design, and Neha Agarwal, Assistant Professor & Chair of Graphic Design, collaborated to create an experience for over 200 first-year students. The installation’s goal was to bring awareness, inform, and most importantly invoke empathy and spark dialogue about the 12 million Syrians fleeing their country.
The concept was based on visualizing the number 12 million. Picturing 100 of something is easy, however wrapping our heads around a number as staggering as 12 million is very difficult. If we start to compare that 12 million to how many La Roche Colleges/school buses/cities/etc. that would equal…it’s a much more digestible number.
Prior to attending, students were assigned to calculate several equivalents to 12 million and write them on a card. At the event, students watched a series of informative videos, read a series of informative displays, posted their 12 million equivalents, and engaged in small discussions with one another. Throughout the day, Graphic and Interior Design students chose several equivalents to visualize by hand. Participants also strung 6,000 beads throughout the day, each one representing 2,000 refugees.
The installation will be on display in the Cantellops Art Gallery through December 4th.
Special thanks to design students Brooke Audino, Rachel Baacke, Brittany Craig, Megan O’Neil, Ana Pantalone, Brandi Reynolds, Lauren Spinneweber, Julie Zanella, and Taylor Zeideker for spending the day visualizing the number 12 million.
