Digital Arts Expo

A few nights back and we headed over to the big city to meet mom at the Digital Arts Expo, or DAX, at Dartmouth. It's always interesting to see what college level kids are working on in terms of digital arts. We really like for the kids to see what's going on in the digital arts because it's the world that they are growing up in, and if they can develop interests and skills in new technology, all the better, especially if it's interesting, cool, and fun. That seems to be the case with a lot of tech development. I think the juxtaposition of art and technology is a winning combination, but who really cares what I think?

We went last year and it was fun seeing some of the stuff. They have a short film showcase of the works that the students made, and then it was off to see what sort of art and tech projects they are working on. Now I know I'm deluding myself but I personally thought A&N could have made movie projects en par with what I saw, but I won't go there... for now. In the main gallery there were both art and tech exhibits, and some were interesting, though I got a sense that the tech fields of study are not huge up here. Dartmouth is a small school and almost has a provincial feel when it comes to high tech endeavors. I know it's an Ivy League and people will sell their souls to go here, but the scale of the event struck me as somewhat small; maybe it's just their focus. I would imagine that you would see wider range of really killer tech projects at a school like MIT or Cal Tech, or even a big university like my alma mater. Plus, schools in big cities probably have more going on due to the proximity of a bigger market for art and tech.

Either way, it was a fun night and the students have some pretty cool stuff going on. Enough to entertain the kids and spark some interest, which is A-Okay with me. Plus we know one of the heads of the department and she's mega-cool, so it was nice seeing her and chatting with her about what's new and exciting on campus. Finally, they had free food and we all know how I react to free food.

All in all it was a fun evening and I think the kids got a lot out of it. In the end, that's what it's all about, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Ramesh Shahane for the pic.