From MSU News Service
Students from Montana State University’s School of Art will shine a spotlight, literally, on the overlooked histories of local buildings during a public event Friday, June 6th.
From 8:30 to 10pm, students will project visual designs onto the facades of partially occupied or vacant structures in downtown Bozeman as part of their summer Grafik Intervention course. The temporary public installation is meant to reveal the layered histories within the buildings and spark conversations about the town’s evolving landscape.
“This project invites the public to experience history in a new way, through the lens of contemporary design and community storytelling,” said William Culpepper, assistant professor of graphic design in the School of Art. “It’s a powerful reminder that design and art doesn’t just reflect culture, it can help reshape how we see the places we live in.”
photo by Donna Hajash, Texas A&M University
Two teams will project their displays at 34 N. Rouse Ave. and 34 N. Bozeman Ave. They worked with MSU Library Archives and Special Collections, the Gallatin History Museum and Bozeman Public Library to research their buildings, and they created questionnaire cards for members of the public to reflect on the displays and converse with each other.
The Grafik Intervention concept began in 2011 as part of Culpepper’s master’s thesis project at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. Since then, universities across the country have held their own such “interventions,” totaling at least seven public displays in states including Michigan and Texas.
Following the June 6th event in Bozeman, students will give final presentations on their projects from 12:30 to 2:30pm June 11th in Cheever Hall, Room 241. The presentations are also free and open to the public.
For more information on Grafik Intervention, visit grafikintervention.com. •
