2019 Seed Grant Recipients
Investigators: Margarita Benitez, MFA (College of the Arts)
Collaborator: Markus Vogl, MFA (Myers School of Art)
In silico et in situ: Chimney Swift Towers is an artistic research project that involves parametric design, digital fabrication, outdoor public sculptures and mixes art with conservation as the sculptures act as animal habitats. This investigation at the intersection of art, design, animal architecture, conservation, nature and technology results in a novel and unique approach to public art. The objective of In silico et in situ: Chimney Swift Towers is to design and build large scale free standing outdoor sculptures that in their secondary nature act as avian habitats. They are built as an artwork with the explicit goal of chimney swift conservation for the birds to occupy the artwork as their breeding and roosting habitat. The long-term goal of the project is to build a significant number of tower sculptures to meaningfully mitigate the habitat crisis these birds are facing. This project will build a tower at Kent State University. The university has a history with Chimney Swift research and you can find this extraordinary bird prominently on our university seal.