DIVST300 Oaxaca: Interdisc Studio
July 13–August 3, 2008

Surrounded by the sierra of southern Mexico, Oaxaca is a city of rich heritage that combines ancient indigenous cultures, colonial architecture and history, and sophisticated modern culture. Home to the painters Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, Oaxaca hosts a vibrant and unique contemporary arts scene. This experimental studio explores the opportunities and implications of collaborative work with local craftspeople and artisans in a cultural context rich in tradition and history. It also provides an opportunity for a carefully crafted cultural immersion. Personal work and formal experimentation are necessarily informed by an interaction with local history, arts, and culture. Students investigate and define new methodologies for the use of design, art, and creativity as tools for social change and cultural engagement, working with local artisans in a wide range of media (past participants worked with textiles, ceramic, wood, hammocks, and weaving). Collaboratively the class explores the materials and new possibilities for their local use while investigating and proposing the creation of new, nontraditional objects. This course fulfills a studio elective requirement or 3 credits of Diversity Studies studio; or for students who achieve junior or senior standing by the end of spring 2008, this course may count for an Upper Division Interdisciplinary studio requirement.