HEMI/MICA Extreme Arts Internship Program Celebrates First Students

Sep 2, 2015 | No Comments | By Sarah Preis

On the afternoon of September 1, 2015, faculty and students from the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI) and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) gathered together to celebrate the work of the 2015 HEMI/MICA Extreme Arts Program Summer Interns.

Samantha French (Information Visualization) and Amanda Metcalf (Interdisciplinary Sculpture) worked with HEMI faculty, staff, and students to complete the ten-week program with the end goal of showcasing visual representations of the HEMI organization, structure, current research, and relationships.

French, whose work primarily focused on HEMI’s collaborative activities, used data to illustrate both the HEMI structure as well as how the amount of collaboration between JHU and other institutions creates the scientific discoveries made by HEMI researchers within the past five years.

Metcalf worked with the research group of HEMI professor Sung Hoon Kang to streamline her creative process and leverage the group’s knowledge of polymers to fuel her passion for creating sustainable clothing. She studied the makeup of her current wardrobe, shredded select items, combined the shredded materials together, and studied the strength and make-up of the new textile.

Lori Graham-Brady, Associate Director of HEMI, had this to say about the student’s work, “From their presentations, it seems like both students had a wonderful experience here at Johns Hopkins. Their ideas were well-received and this program gave them the opportunity to push and explore their artistic limits while interacting with minds very different than their own.”

Gwynne Keathley, Vice Provost of Research and Graduate Studies at MICA, echoed Graham-Brady’s sentiments. “Both the work of these students and the ease of collaboration between institutions exceeded our expectations for the first year. We are looking forward to continuing the Extreme Arts Program’s activities when photography professor Jay Gould begins his Artist in Residence position with HEMI this spring.”

The Extreme Arts Program began last year in an effort to bring faculty and students from Johns Hopkins University and MICA together to explore unique perspectives on extreme events. The program aims to encourage collaboration among artists and researchers to examine data, interpret outcomes, and translate results from extreme events in new ways. The hope is that this dialog will create a stronger community through a shared sense of curiosity and exploration. Currently, the program offers two opportunities: the Extreme Arts Summer Program/Internship for students, and the Semester Artist/Designer in Residence for professors. To learn more, click here.

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