Shapers and Creators RLC

Image
shapers and creators student and faculty members look at a three dimensional printed object in the makers space. quote reads "People talk about how important it is to think like an  artist and ‘work outside the box’—or about how  creative thinkers are the future of the workforce.  However, innovators often lack the support needed to  show their true potential. With the most  interdisciplinary RLC on campus to date, focusing on  hands-on thinking, making, and culture, Shapers  creates a network of creative thinkers and lifelong  connections essential to excelling in the creative  economy. Together as Shapers and Creators, we will  envision the future and work together to build it.” Tom Friel, Newcomb Art Museum

The Shapers and Creators RLC provides a needed social group and outlet for creative thinkers at Tulane. Participating students come from all backgrounds and departments, but are united as visual thinkers and problem solvers, actively engaged with creative learning. Through this immersion, they become a peer group of hands-on learners and thinkers, exploring positive methods to produce creative concepts. 

Based in the Departments of Art, Architecture, Dance, Theater, Science and Engineering, the Shapers and Creators RLC aims to engage hands on thinking from many disciplines. The core group of students will work with faculty, staff, visiting artists, architects and engineers to expand their skill sets while creating unique works, both in and out of the residence hall. Members will take part in robust programming in the Newcomb Art Museum, the state of the art Maker Space, as well as exploring the art and culture of New Orleans and create an interdisciplinary creative network at Tulane University.

Image
students wearing all black look up at tall mound of fabric during a performance. Title reads "pursue your passion"

COLLABORATION

The Shapers and Creators RLC is a collaboration between Housing and Residence Life and the Newcomb Art Department, School of Architecture, Newcomb Art Museum, and the School of Science and Engineering. 

AFFILIATED TIDES

All first-year students at Tulane Universities are required to take a TIDES course. Members of Residential Learning Communities have the opportunity to enroll in a TIDES course that explores the concepts and values of their community in depth. For 2018-2019, the affiliated TIDES courses are:

  • TIDE 1013: The Architecture of Place - How can architecture define a place?  How do buildings support social constructs and cultural patterns?  How do spatial relationships, proportions, and forms shape how we move through and experience places?  How do the lines, curves, textures, and colors of walls, roofs, railings and other built elements impact our senses, emotions, and memories?  All of these questions will be explored as students learn about the particular built environment that makes New Orleans so unmistakably New Orleans.  Students will be encouraged to think critically about built environment and to communicate their ideas effectively through writing, visuals, and speech.
  • TIDE 1250: Visual Arts of New Orleans - This TIDES class was put together by a team of university art professionals with the intention of introducing students to the breadth of the visual arts scene in contemporary New Orleans. The course includes field trips to and visits from artists, curators, critics, collectors, private gallery owners, and public museum professionals, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the vibrant cultural life of the city. Ideally students will come away from the class with an appreciation of the richness of the visual arts in New Orleans, the ability to discuss and write about the visual arts, and some insights into the nuts-and-bolts activities of the individuals and institutions the define the visual arts in New Orleans.

LIVING OPTIONS

The Shapers and Creators Residential Learning Community is in the Warren Residence Hall.

HOW TO APPLY

You may apply for the Shapers & Creators RLC through the student housing application process. Your answers to some supplemental, RLC-specific questions will be evaluated by a committee. If you are accepted, you will be notified and be sent more information on the room selection and roommate process.

If you have questions about the programming and initiatives that take place in this RLC, please contact Tom Friel at tfriel@tulane.edu. If you have questions about RLC housing logistics, please contact Housing and Residence Life at learningcommunities@tulane.edu.