In November 2018, French president Emmanuel Macron pledged to return 26 artifacts housed in French museums that had been taken from the African state of Benin during the early days of colonialism. More recently, Germany adopted a new policy to return items collected under circumstances that would be considered illegal by today’s standards and pledged 1.9 million euros of research funding to ascertain the origins of holdings in its cultural institutions. The British Museum, which has committed to lending out more of its holdings instead of returning them to the nations from which they were taken, faces criticism for failing to confront its role in the continuing damage of colonization.
WSU Tri-Cities multimedia arts course a natural fit for hands-on, virtual learning
mikayla.makleFor an Art, Science and Technology course at Washington State University Tri-Cities, the transition to virtual learning proved not only to be a natural transition. It played to the course’s sweet spot.
As the title of the course suggests, students bring together what some may consider two sides of a coin – art, and science and technology. But for Peter Christenson, an associate professor of fine arts, the blending of the two fields is natural.
“The transition to virtual has been beneficial in some ways, especially in more digitally-focused classes,” he said. “It is essentially a natural extension to everyone’s practice. Our students are brilliant and very adaptable. They are the creative class of the campus. I have been impressed with their work ethic and diligence … With the social context we are going through, I have been impressed with the work that students are putting out.”
Kyle Kopta, a senior digital technology and culture major, came up with the idea for what he calls “The Photo Machine” for his project, where the machine automates the process of taking a photo of oneself. The user turns a handle, which activates a gear mechanism, drops a marble into a tube and triggers the shutter on a camera.