Department of Design Professors Susan Melsop and Sébastien Proulx were awarded a Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme grant to support the creation of a Summer Institute. The Summer Institute represents the launch of a DESIS Lab initiative to connect the work of Franklinton nonprofits and build bridges to the work of STEAM Factory faculty members to advance community-engaged scholarship.

The Institute’s summer project “Voices of Franklinton: Amplifying socially & environmentally innovative change agents” will be a dynamic, immersive place-based studio course engaging students and nonprofits to amplify the novel approaches that community organizations are involved with to empower people in the heart of Franklinton. Through a series of design workshops, we will conduct participatory action research and create mini-documentaries showcasing the community impact of innovative approaches to social change and environmental justice. These will serve as the first step in building university-community partnerships and seeding cross disciplinary research in Franklinton, Ohio. The Summer Institute is interdisciplinary and open to graduate students and undergraduates. Our direct engagement with the nonprofits: Gladden House, FUEL (Franklinton Urban Empowerment Lab), Franklinton Board of Trade, and Franklinton Farms, during May 2020 will foster collective creativity, mobilize power with the underserved, and demonstrate the capacity of design as a catalyst for change.