More than a dozen animations produced by University of Texas at Dallas students are brightening the night skyline to celebrate Dallas Arts Month in April.
The Omni Dallas Hotel is displaying 16 featured projects, which were created by students in Andrew Scott’s projection mapping lab class in the School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, on its facade. The program — titled “Cosmic Trailblazing: Comet Artistry Takes Over Dallas Skyline” — runs from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. on selected nights throughout the month.
“I like big stages for our students because I think what they do is important. I think what they do is very creative, and people need to see it. Being able to facilitate getting their work on that stage makes me feel really good for them.”
Andrew Scott, associate professor of arts and technology at UTD
“It’s a wonderful feeling when you can get the work out of the classroom and into the community,” said Scott, associate professor of arts and technology. “I like big stages for our students because I think what they do is important. I think what they do is very creative, and people need to see it. Being able to facilitate getting their work on that stage makes me feel really good for them.”
For this year’s Dallas Arts Month observance, the hotel sought to help local artists share their work with the entire city, said Ruth Andrews BS’20, content and public relations marketing manager at the hotel.
“When Professor Scott reached out to us earlier this year, we knew this would be the perfect collaboration to celebrate Dallas Arts Month. These student shows are definitely one-of-a-kind, and nothing like it has been displayed on our lights,” said Andrews, who graduated with a marketing degree from the Naveen Jindal School of Management.
Arts, technology, and emerging communication senior Ocarina “Rina” Harrison is preparing for an audio-visual technician career by working at various events and concerts. Her animation in the display involves two primary symbols that have become part of her identity as a design student: an original design of a wing and a roller skate.
“Before this class, I wasn’t aware of all the stuff that could be done, but projectors are a really interesting medium to play with and can really enhance an event and give it a much grander, larger-than-life kind of feel,” Harrison said. “I’m really excited about having my work at the Omni.”