To view major works of art, one usually must visit a museum. But Ball State students are about to bring the experience closer to home.
Four students are working on making an art gallery accessible through the Internet thanks to an iCommunication grant. The students make up one of four groups that received an $80,000 grant to work on similar projects. The Center for Media Design determines how the $80,000 will be spent.
The four students received $20,000 and used the grant money to buy an extra computer for another work station, blank DVDs, a wireless link and to pay for the services of an art historian.
Mark Miller, Chad Yoder, Tony Kubek and Kyle Ferguson came together to create an online gallery based on the Mitchell Place Gallery, 301 S. Walnut St.
Jay Zimmerman from the Psychology Counseling Center sponsored the group as they came up with their plan to digitize the art gallery so students could create a fictional person to experience art in a hands-on way.
"Our project is designed for students to find new ways to interact with people and learn about art," Miller said.
Miller said he enjoys working on the project because it gives him real-world experience.
"I get to do management as well as be creative," he said.
The group's proposal was selected on Jan. 1, and they will continue working on their Internet project until November, when a working model of their digital work will be exhibited.
Twenty teams submitted proposals, and a committee of faculty and students selected four groups as finalists.
Part of that committee included Roger Smith, theater professor and associate director of the Center for Media Design.
"The Center for Media Design is the engine that drives the iComm grant," Smith said.
Other projects that the committee selected to fund with the $80,000 were an interactive tour for literary scholars who want to trace Ernest Hemingway's steps, a digital learning experiment crafted for the Muncie Children's Museum and a self-guided Ball State Campus tour for a Palm Pilot.
The iCommunication grant is funded by the $20 million Lilly Endowment given to Ball State University. This grant is not just for Ball State students and faculty. It is open to businesses and the local community.
Applicants for a grant must submit a two-page proposal to the iCommunication Web site, www.bsu.edu/icommunication. Proposal ideas include movies, new technology for Ball State and Internet programs.
In the past, Ball State students got all of their information from lectures. But now, students' education can be enhanced through interactive programs.
"This program makes our students smarter," said Smith, "and will put Ball State up with MIT and other technological schools."
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