What shape is a biosphere? – Stephanie Van Riet, MFA Sculpture ‘26

Biosphere 2 feels simultaneously futuristic and a relic of the past. Built in the 80s, the facility was created with the intention to recreate earth ecosystems for potential intergalactic survival. The experiment revealed many things, foremost how complex and difficult it is to recreate Earth. What piqued my curiosity about Biosphere 2 was the drive to create this facility in the first place, rooted in the curiosity to understand ourselves and what is beyond us. Even more so, the experiments revealed all that we do not know. Perhaps it is within human nature to pursue the unknown, coupled with a hubris that we might possibly be able to control and contain such things.

The original planning of Biosphere 2 included decisions of what species to enclose within this manufactured, multibiome world. The Noah’s Ark-like task of choosing which trees to plant, or which animals to include within the initial enclosed experiment came down to what would be the most efficient for survival — mangrove leaves for a salty taste, goats for milk, cheese and occasionally meat, and bananas as crucial sugar source. To isolate many of the incredible organisms that make up our diverse biological world seems complicated and unnatural, but perhaps it is necessary to create a “transportable” (by intergalactic standards) earth.

During my time at Biosphere 2, I absorbed information on many research initiatives, while also contemplating what they might mean about the state of humanity and our climate. Over the years of Biosphere 2’s operation as a science facility, plants and marine life have been introduced and prioritized for relevance in climate research, such as the cacao tree, coffee plants, and coral. Due to its scale and layout, the facility is uniquely qualified to study how resilient and fragile earth ecosystems are.

Then of course, there are many ants, mosquitos and cockroaches that exist within Biosphere 2; unintended residents who may have traveled in with new soil, or the opening of doors. I often wondered what that must be like to that ant, who may have lived half of their life in the Sonoran desert only to now live in a tropical rainforest. The ant did not ask to be part of Biosphere 2, nor did it choose to exist on Biosphere 1 (earth). Nevertheless, its ongoing existence shapes out planet, through building shelter, converting living matter into waste, and its movement. It seems inevitable that with life, there will be impact — Biosphere 2 is quick to illuminate that. To quote author Robert Moor, “the question we must ask ourselves is not whether we should shape the earth, but how.”

My projection work will be presented along with a night tour at Biosphere 2 later this year. I will update this post with more information soon, along with a video the final performance.

All photos by Stephanie Van Riet

August at Homeboy Art Academy – Elsa Fishman BFA Sculpture 2026

The last month of my fellowship has gone by in a blur! Truthfully, I am a little behind on my blog posts, but August was filled with so many exciting events, projects, and classes with the students at Homeboy Art Academy. Over the past month, I really felt like I found my place as a teaching artist at the Academy. I feel like I have started to solidify my teaching style while also building stronger relationships with my students. As I watch them come and go, and see them navigate struggles that I myself have never, and likely will never, experience, I am left with so much awe and admiration for their willingness to immerse themselves in a program like Homeboy Art Academy.

Throughout the month, I helped with many different projects and classes, especially the 3D printing class, which the students have been incredibly excited about. We even had the opportunity to introduce them to Blender as a new software. We experimented with different colors and types of filament, which the students loved. I think there is something especially exciting about watching a material slowly grow into something tangible and seeing an idea become a physical object right in front of you.

Alongside the daily classes, a smaller group of students and I have been working on a collage project for a barbershop in Colorado. The shop employs formerly incarcerated barbers and is collaborating with Homeboy on several collage pieces made by the students, which will be sold at the barbershop. I was able to work alongside the students as they developed ideas for their collages, all of which center around the theme of transformation, and support them in bringing their individual visions to life. Most of the students were new to collage, so I was able to introduce them to different examples and demonstrate how to build an image, starting with the background and gradually working toward the foreground. I really enjoyed watching them experiment with a new process and discover their own ways of working with the material.

We also spent time wood carving in my sculpture class, which was especially engaging. The students seem to gravitate toward activities that are hands-on and have a tangible, rewarding result, and I felt that wood carving gave them a chance to slowly become more comfortable with sculptural materials. It was exciting to see them take their time with the process and begin to understand how much they could transform a material with their own hands.

As August came to a close, I found myself feeling more comfortable and confident in my role at the Academy than I had at the beginning of the summer. It has been really rewarding to see the students become more comfortable trying new materials and processes, and to see how each class can take on a life of its own depending on the group.

Open Call for Artists to Join the Movement for Immigrant Justice Update – Karen Hu, MFA Printmaking ’27

This past week with AMOR, we finalized and posted the art open call, marking a significant milestone in our collective organizing efforts. I focused on developing the practical skills needed to create an open call and plan for a curated collection of artworks, learning how to translate movement intentions into accessible artist opportunities. The prompt slides I designed are bright and bold to make the political stakes clear while offering artists a tangible sense of what a meaningful response could look like. They reflect our commitment to reaching artists whose work is rooted in solidarity with communities targeted by state violence.

In AMOR’s ongoing work to build collective power to end ICE violence, through the Deportation Defense Network, every action is guided by an intention to bring people in, build shared unity, and sustain our movement over the long term. This open call is designed to reach artists who want their work to be used in future actions, protests, and organizing efforts. The art which would be collected is not merely displayed but embedded in and actively furthering the movement. By inviting artists to contribute their visions, we are strengthening the culture of our resistance and crafting an intentional space for creativity in our political practice

This experience has shaped me as an artist by deepening my understanding of how works of art can be collected, shown, and used with intention. I am now thinking critically about the relationship between artistic practice and movement-building, and how the life of an artwork extends beyond its creation into its circulation, reception, and political impact. Learning to design an open call has given me a new appreciation for the labor of organizing artists, and I am excited to carry these insights into my artistic practice.

You can find the open call at https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcttz6vlgQ4/?img_index=1 

Submissions are due Oct 1 if you would like to join the movement!

A Glimpse into the Fabrics — Alyssa Gorman, BFA Textiles ’28

For my final blog post of my Around the World in 80 Fabrics Fellowship, I wanted to share some of the incredible stories behind the fabrics I worked with this summer. Between working remotely on the Pop-Up Exhibition for Carroll’s new book and handling the pieces in person, there are some stories which have resonated the most with me during this internship. I hope you’ll take a look into some of these fabrics and the cultural heritage surrounding them! All the information and stories I’ve included can be found in more detail on the Around the World in 80 Fabrics website and are linked.

1. Thai Beetlewing Cloth

I have to start with the fabric made from beetle wings. It is one of my favorites and it’s so incredibly beautiful and unique. This fabric originates from the Jewel Beetle (Stenocera aequisignata). Beetle wing elytras are ethically sourced in Thailand as a food source byproduct and incorporated directly into the textile. Unfortunately, the use of Beetle wings in Thai craftsmanship is a traditional arts form which is disappearing. The beetle wing fabric in ATW80F’s collection was made by artist and designer Fa Wuthigrai Siriphon.

2. North Ronaldsay Wool

This fabric was one of my favorites to see in person because the piece is so large and colorful. The wool used to make this fabric was sheared from very special sheep. On North Ronaldsay island, there are a group of Scottish sheep that eat primarily seaweed. These sheep have an adapted gut microbiome to support their diet, and are confined to an area of the shore by a large dyke. Each year, the North Ronaldsay Sheep Festival takes place to rebuild the historic dyke and conserve this sheep breed.

3. Peruvian Wool

In the collection there are many pieces woven by the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco. Led by Nilda Callenaupa Alvarez, the cooperative achieves the most beautiful naturally dyed pieces. I had the opportunity to meet Nilda herself at the International Folk Art Market. Nilda’s organization empowers women weavers by preserving traditional weaving methods in the Cusco region.

4. Algix

I absolutely love learning about the different companies creating bio-based textiles and materials. Bloom creates products made of algae and seaweed with the intention of moving toward a circular economy. Algae is harvested and transformed into a rubber which can replace petroleum based fabrics in shoe soles and more.

5. Simplifyber

Another company using bio-based methods to create fabrics, Simplifyber starts as a cellulose liquid. Simplifyber materials can be created additively, and are recyclable. Super awesome!!

These are just five examples of fabrics in the ATW80F Collection. With 250+ pieces, the opportunity for exploration of petroleum free fabric alternatives is endless. I’ve loved my time at Around the World in 80 Fabrics, and I’m leaving with soooo much inspiration for my own plastic free design practice. I have so much gratitude to Carroll and Lesli for bringing me further into this world of sustainability. And of course, thank you to the Maharam fellowship for allowing me to engage in this internship opportunity.

Organizing the ATW80F Textile Collection — Alyssa Gorman, BFA Textiles ’28

Upon my return to Santa Fe for the second time, we got started right away on organizing the collection. Around the World in 80 Fabrics is in a transitional period. The fabrics need a more permanent place to call home, hopefully at an institution where they can be utilized as a learning resource for students.

Last week, Carroll, Leslie, and I worked to get the collection archived, documented, and organized so that it could be evaluated and potentially acquired. Luckily, Carroll had a friend who donated a space in a square called Sena Plaza, and it was right in the middle of town! The space itself was beautiful and allocated the perfect amount of room for unboxing each fabric of the 250+ piece collection for inspection.

I loved getting to handle each of the fabrics I was already remotely familiar with, pairing the stories I had read about with the physical forms of material. Once we ensured each of the fabrics was in the right location and systematically documented, the process of curating the room for visitors began. We decided to hang the biggest and most contemporary pieces from the ceiling. I then focused my attention on curating a materials table focused on dye practices, innovative biomaterials, and some of the most precious fabrics to be out on display. The entire week while working, I was able to listen to Carroll tell the stories of procuring each fabric, and listen to the stories of cultural heritage behind each piece. I’m leaving New Mexico with so much inspiration for my own practice.

I would love to dive into some of the stories of the collection in my next (and final) blog post for the fellowship. It feels only right to share some of what I’ve learned about each piece. Here’s a collection of photos that I took during the process of organizing the collection.

A glimpse of some of the colorful fabrics I encountered while unboxing the collection, each with rich histories of making and incredible textile processes.

Images taken while curating the space using a table and hanging rack. We had to choose the most relevant and intriguing pieces for display.

A blurry celebration of the collection being organized! Lovely views after a day of work.

Reflecting on Educational Resources and Community Engagement Initiatives- June Ahleman, BFA Painting ’27

Working with EASPA this summer has taught me so much about community centered work, collaboration across non profit organizations, and cultural programming generally! For this last blog post I thought I would go over different projects I supported and some of the main things I learned from each!

TEAACH ACT Resources

The TEAACH Act (Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History) is an Illinois act passed in 2021 that mandates that all public elementary and high schools in the state teach a unit of curriculum on the history and contributions of Asian Americans.

In my last few weeks with EASPA I continued to create an arts resource to support the TEAACH Act, as well as an AAPI Calendar for future educational toolkits. This seventeen page resource has been super exciting to put together and very interesting from a curatorial perspective. My Theory and History of Art and Design concentration has definitely prepared me for the task of making connections among artists, historical events, and TEAACH requirements. Including professors and peers I admire was another really exciting part of creating this resource! RISD affiliated artists mentioned in the resource include professors Susanna Koetter, Tsai Ling Tseng, and Timothy Lai as well as students and alumni such as Paree Rohera, Katherine Tae Hee Lee, Talha Shams and many others!!

Other TEAACH work I contributed to this summer included creating a template for a future EASPA educational toolkit, cataloging existing resources, synthesizing those resources with materials in EASPA’s historical archive, and creating an AAPI booklist for future projects. 

These projects taught me a lot about how I can use my perspective as an artist to contribute to initiatives that do not directly involve art but would benefit from examples of lived experiences and different points of view. I want to thank Melissa Molitor the Founding Director of EASPA for encouraging me to initiate my own project within the organization and offering insight with things like citations and how dense the included information should be!! 

Through organizing resources and familiarizing myself with EASPA’s historical archive I also learned a lot about the history of different AAPI communities in Evanston and Chicago!

Community Events and Cultural Programming

In addition to work supporting the TEAACH act, I was able to contribute to multiple great community events! These included facilitating arts workshops, supporting the annual Umbrella Festival, installing and staffing an exhibition called In The Absence of Space, and supporting community events in the exhibition space! I have always loved meeting people, hearing their stories and asking questions so programs like these were very fulfilling to participate in! 

I would say the main thing that was re- affirmed through these projects would be that curiosity is really important and people are usually interested in telling you about their experiences if you ask the right questions and listen! Especially as an rising senior, I enjoyed taking these community events as an opportunity to ask about different paths people have taken in their lives and careers; it’s been awesome to hear so many assorted and multigenerational perspectives!

Finally, I learned that people are often more comfortable talking when making something with their hands. Facilitating arts workshops created many opportunities for interesting conversation!

Regardless of where my career takes me after graduation this year, I know that three things I did this summer will be part of my life and creative practice in the future: asking questions, connecting people, and of course, creating. I encourage you all to be more curious, invest time in communities you care about, and definitely make something!!

Thank you to Melissa Molitor, Abby Mendoza, Amy Kung, and everyone at EASPA for being so welcoming! Thanks to Kevin Jankowski at RISD for being a great advisor throughout this experience! Thanks to Scott Malloy at the RISD career center for telling me about this fellowship! And of course, thanks to Maharam for this opportunity to invest so much time in an initiative I care about!!

Art Build for the Movement for Immigrant Justice and an End to ICE Violence – Karen Hu, MFA Printmaking ’27

For the past weeks, I have been working with Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR), an organization located in Providence, Rhode Island. AMOR’s mission is to root out state violence, empowering people impacted by detention, deportation, police violence, and state sponsored abuse. AMOR is a community organization that advocates for the targeted members of our communities and creates safe, healing, accessible, and empowering community spaces. Working closely with Cata, the Executive Director at AMOR, I had been working on developing an art build and making print materials that could support AMOR’s future art builds and movement. 

The intention of the art build was to create a space for making our shared vision together through an evening making art with neighbors, volunteers, and friends in the movement for immigrant justice and freedom from state violence. We created a banner and prints that would be shared to strengthen the voice of our movement in protests, actions, and events. The banner was a large banner, and many hands made it possible to paint within a couple hours!

Before the event, I drew out the banner and mixed the inks. It was really important to honor the previous banner which had been lost due to all the times it switched hands between rallies, events, and more. Organizers at AMOR and I had many conversations about the colors, font sizes, and the details of the figures that made the most sense for the intention that the banner would be used for. It was both challenging and insightful to find the balance in approachable aesthetic and principled design choices to further the movement.

This experience so far has really imbued in me a respect for the long-term planning and vision of organizations fighting for immigrants justice. The planning of an event does not occur just for the single event, as folks are always considering how the event might also speak to the larger movement nationally/internationally or contribute to the movement in the coming months and years. The experience learning from AMOR has given me clarity on the fact that systematic social change does not happen without systematically building capacity for the ongoing movement.

ATW80F Pop-Up Exhibition — Alyssa Gorman, BFA Textiles ’28

In the last month, my work with Around the World in 80 Fabrics has consisted of remotely brainstorming for the Pop-Up Exhibition. ATW80F has a book on sustainable textiles and the future of fabrication coming out this year. As an intern, I’ve been working with Carroll to develop a traveling mobile exhibition with some of the collection’s most beautiful pieces, all with incredible stories to tell. The exhibition will be housed in a suitcase, and will consist of a series of textiles accompanied by storytelling cards. My role has been to create engaging cards with the “metadata” ATW80F has collected on each piece. I’ll share a little bit of my process from the last few weeks in this blog! Next week, I return to New Mexico to organize the collection in person, and I’ll be able to share more.

Because the traveling exhibition only includes a selection of the total number of fabrics in the collection, I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about each piece! For each textile, the goal is that a viewer will be able to understand the ecological and regional origin, the artist’s narrative, the environmental significance, and the cultural value. Below are two examples of informational cards I’ve designed to accompany the pieces. Around 20 fabrics will be included in the traveling showcase.

The cards are intended to serve as storytelling tools. The ATW80F collection is both a physical materials library of sustainable alternatives to petroleum based fabrics AND a rich archive of cultural heritage and disappearing textile techniques. I’m thrilled to be able to assist with the development of the Pop-Up as a tool for spreading these stories. I’ll include some drawings below of how the cards are intended to work within the exhibit.

Next week, I’m super excited to share more about my second trip to New Mexico! I’ll be back in Santa Fe with the collection, working with Carroll and Lesli to curate and organize every piece. We’ll also be putting together the Pop-Up and I’ll be able to share more progress.

The Lung – Stephanie Van Riet, MFA Sculpture ‘26

As an artist at Biosphere 2, I am grappling with many truths and complexities within the research and facility. Also within a larger scope, with the scientific and cultural of space exploration. Curious about the internal organs of this place, I consider how they function together, and how I can use my artistic training to visualize the invisible arteries. Since arriving at Biosphere 2, I have been mesmerized by a “floating” aluminum disc in a circular room – this room is referred to as “the lung.” To get to the lung from the biomes, you must walk through a long sloped tunnel that opens into the neoprene-scented room, bringing into view a forty-thousand pound aluminum disc which is suspended by hypalon over a seventy-foot diameter circular pool. The hovering disc moves up and down, regulating the atmospheric pressure of the whole facility. During the initial experiment in 1991, two “lungs” (south and west lung) were critical to control the atmospheric pressure of the biomes while the facility was sealed for two years. Today, only the south lung is in operation.

Left: close up of interior lung. Right: exterior lung, encased by a geodesic dome

In my first week at Biosphere 2, I was struck by the scale of the room and its acoustic resonance; it feels cavernous, yet claustrophobic. There is something haunting about this futuristic space – perhaps it is the emptiness, or the chorus of echoes when the slightest sound is created. After spending time exploring reflections, light and sound, I decided to create a projection to activate the wall and pool within the lung. Though there are no windows to the outside environment and no potential for animal or plant life, the lung it is vital to the functioning of all the living spaces and beings within the facility.

Tracking the sap flow within the cacao trees of the rainforest biome is an ongoing research initiative in Biosphere 2. Due to the cacao tree’s cultural significance and economic value, it is of interest to many to understand how it is affected by climate change. Using sensors throughout the tree, Biosphere 2 scientists are tracking the velocity at which the sap flows from the roots to the branches of these trees. To visualize and animate the unseen data, I have been collaborating with Devin Bayly, Data Visualization Analyst at the University of Arizona. We have been converting data sets into particle flow animations and tree renders, which I have overlayed and stitched together into a video that illuminates with the cadence of my own breath. I also sought the help of Aaron Bugaj, Media Producer for Biosphere 2, to film a performance within the rainforest at night. It was interesting to see this space in the dark, lit only by flashlight – a reminder that while the facility was closed, the biomes are still alive and active.

All photos by Stephanie Van Riet