Hands-on experiential learning and fieldwork in public art and sustainable textiles based in Fabric of Campus Fibre Garden

TitleHands-on experiential learning and fieldwork in public art and sustainable textiles based in Fabric of Campus Fibre Garden
Faculty/College/UnitArts
StatusActive
Duration3 Years
Initiation04/01/2026
Project Summary

The TLEF will create opportunities for hands-on experiential learning for visual art students in two subjects—public art and sustainable textiles—at the new Fabric of Campus Fibre Garden.

Students in four courses will benefit from the rare direct experiences of concretely making public artworks that contribute to the public realm, or transforming plants through an entire cycle of cultivation, harvesting and material processing, into functional clothing.

The experiences of modifying public space or working with fibre plants in the garden will be transformative, as students both develop reciprocal relationship with land, and as they see that the skills they gain also bolster their own agency and critical capacity.

In a creative intertwining of curricula, three undergraduate studio art courses and one graduate art history seminar will address sustainable textiles through hands-on fibre plant cultivation and textile and clothing production, while undergraduate sculpture students will design-build public furniture for the garden.

Funding Details
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year2026/2027
Year 1: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorGermaine Koh
Year 1: Funded Amount24,500
Year 1: Team Members

Germaine Koh, Assistant Professor, Art History, Visual Art and Theory (AHVA), Faculty of Arts
T’ai Smith, Associate Professor, AHVA, Faculty of Arts
Andrew Keech, Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture Technician, AHVA, Faculty of Arts
Alison Ariss, PhD Candidate / Slow Fashion Research Cluster Manager, AHVA, Faculty of Arts