A 2018‑19 Winter Intersesssion collaboration of SUNY New Paltz and Instituto Superior de Diseño (ISDi) students in Havana, Cuba
During January 2019, after six months of planning travel and curriculum, I traveled to Cuba with 10 design students to undertake the first collaborative project between SUNY New Paltz design students (10) and design students (12) and faculty (4) at ISDi. Our course took place 1/5/2019-1/21/19 and was a radically life-changing experience for us all. It’s very easy to get caught up in thinking that our way of life is the only one, and provocative to think about what design can accomplish outside a capitalist structure.
After we all became acquainted, the graphic and industrial design students divided into five groups to brainstorm their self-generated projects. The brief: identify something that’s a problem in both Havana and New Paltz, and set about to research and propose some solution to it.
Within two weeks all five groups had gotten to the prototype phase. One group made a game to enhance communication within families, another to help people communicate across language barriers. Three projects oriented more around industrial design: a solar-powered signage system, a small DIY composter, and a shaded ambient water-collector for street animals. These projects were exhibited at the Sojourner Truth Library during Design Week, April 2019, and images of our experiences were part of a Spring-Summer 2019 exhibit in the McKenna Theatre gallery area showcasing Study Abroad programs at the college.
We are all still in touch with each other and hoping to reconnect in person in the future.
