January 14 PSU Lecture Amy Franceschini

Art, design and social change form a continuum today. Some artists are comfortable navigating the whole space and Amy Franceschini is one. Futurefarmers is one of her projects in which she and collaborators explore issues in the environment, energy, urban architecture and play through residencies, sculpture, installation and intervention. Some projects have had a mad scientist aesthetic with a message, such as Gameboys powered by lemon trees or homebrew hydrogen energy generators powered by photosynthesis. Others package information in beautiful design like their local farm project F.R.U.I.T.. Fingerprint Maze personalizes gaming, adds a social element, while making a comment on identity and security. Design oriented companies hire them from time to time to do projects too. So artists can be paid to change the world through play and beauty. Yes! Franceschini speaks at the PSU art lecture series, 5th Ave Cinemas 510 SW Hall Room 92 7:30PM Free