This course introduces artistic practice and critical visual thinking through studio-based projects that explore diverse media, scales, and contexts.

Through hands-on experimentation, perceptual games, and creative exercises, students activate their artistic curiosity—reimagining materials, objects, and everyday environments. Projects may incorporate sculptural construction, drawing and painting, weaving, performance, theater-based methods, sound and video, and/or site-specific interventions.

Studio practice is complemented by lectures, screenings, field trips, readings, guest presentations, and discussions that examine the historical, cultural, and environmental forces shaping both the development of artistic vision and the reception of a work of art.

Project themes such as Body Extensions / Embodied Knowledge, Public Making / Collaborative Practices, and Networked Cultres / Interdisciplinary Exchanges invite students to develop an expansive, interdisciplinary approach to art-making. Each project culminates in a final presentation and group critique.
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4.s37 UG | 4.s33 G

This is an incredible opportunity to dive into the basics of biomimicry and natural algorithms in computational design and artificial life. Prior programming or modeling software experience is not needed. Advanced folks will be accommodated on an individual project-based track. Students learn about the cultural and visual implications of automation and biotechnological advancements driven by computational technology, exploring their aesthetic significance through the analysis of data and algorithms.  

This course is designed as a beginner's guide to ethical solutions to design problems in computational design and data concerning nature through visualization and art. It is structured to be accessible and considerate of the broader impact of design decisions on communities, society, and culture. Students will receive a low-level, beginner-friendly introduction to the basics of data visualization in processing and Python, biomimicry, agent-based systems in Grasshopper visual coding, and C# and animation in Maya.

• Learning Objectives/Pedagogy:
• Understand the historical context and evolution of data visualization, biomimicry, and Artificial life as an art form.
• Explore the ethical considerations and social implications of data visualization, biomimicry, and Artificial life.
• Acquire practical skills and techniques for creating bio-inspired artworks.
• Engage in critical discussions on the intersection of art and biology.
• Collaborate with peers to develop innovative data-based projects.
• Analyze and interpret databases from various perspectives.
• Develop a strong foundation for future research in data visualization, biomimicry, and Artificial life.

This course investigates the interdisciplinary and generative possibilities of publication, emphasizing its role as a practice of expanding public engagement and imagination. Throughout the semester, students will explore worldmaking strategies, speculative fiction and an array of publication methods ranging from traditional techniques—leveraging ACT and MIT’s extensive resources such as riso printing, book binding and maker labs—to experimental approaches in digital media, performance, political systems, architecture, contemporary art, design and AI.Specific expectations and/or deliverable product resulting from course.

UG: 4.354; G: 4.355

Examines the technical and conceptual variables and strategies inherent in contemporary video art practice. Analyzes structural concepts of time, space, perspective, and sound within the art form. Building upon the historical legacy of the moving the image, students render self-exploration, performance, social critique, and manipulation of raw experience into an aesthetic form. Emphasizes practical knowledge of lighting, video capturing and editing, and montage. Presentation and critique of student work, technical workshops, screenings, and reading discussions assist students with final project.

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version. 

4.341 U / 4.342 G

Introduces history and contemporary practices in artistic photography through projects, lectures, artist visits, group discussions, readings, and field trips. Fosters visual literacy and aesthetic appreciation of photography/digital imaging, as well as critical awareness of how images in our culture are produced and constructed. Provides instruction in the fundamentals of different camera formats, film exposure and development, lighting, black and white darkroom printing, and digital imaging. Assignments allow for incorporation of a range of traditional and experimental techniques, development of technical skills, and personal exploration. Throughout the term, present and discuss projects in a critical forum. 

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version. 

Examines artistic practice as a form of critical inquiry and knowledge production. Offers opportunity to develop art as a means for addressing the social, cultural, and ecological consequences of technology, to build bridges between industry and culture, and to challenge the boundaries between public and private, and human and non-human. Provides instruction in evaluating models of experimentation, individual research, and collaboration with other disciplines in the arts, culture, science, and technology. Supports the development of individual and collective artistic research projects. 

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version. 

Combines the critical lens of art with the innovation framework of DesignX, promoting introspection and deliberation before diving into thoughtful design interventions. Initiates a transdisciplinary collaboration between ACT and the Morningside Academy for Design through DesignX. Students design and present visual representations on the social impact area on which they choose to innovate and explore. 

Undergraduates welcome. 

UG: 4.378 | G: 4.379

Probes the ethics and aesthetics of historic preservation through an artistic lens. Introduces a range of themes related to politics of heritage, memory and commemoration, trauma, iconoclasm, and more. Explores the agency of monuments in relation to colonialism, nationalism, social justice, and democracy. Research is conducted in groups, through which students analyze contested heritage sites through critical artistic and spatial practices addressing traumatic, troubling, or toxic memory. Lectures, screenings, readings, and discussions inform the development of individual projects. At the end of the semester, students create projects that may involve artistic tools, collective learning experiences, creative processes, and transdisciplinary knowledge exchanges that demonstrate a new way of capturing, sustaining, and developing future heritage. 

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version.

Explores the theory and criticism of intersections between art, culture, and technology in relation to contemporary artistic practice, critical design, and media. Students consider methods of investigation, documentation, and display and explore modes of communication across disciplines. Students develop projects in which they organize research methods and goals, engage in production, cultivate a context for their practice, and explore how to compellingly communicate, display, and document their work. Regular presentation and peer-critique sessions, as well as reviews involving ACT faculty and fellows, and external guest reviewers provide students with ample feedback as their projects develop.