Robots (re)Imagined inaugurates the first formal collaboration between the Rhode Island School of Design, the Brown Arts Institute and Brown School of Engineering —a groundbreaking laboratory where artists, designers, computer scientists, and engineers work side by side to invent new vocabularies for robotics and art.

Robots have long mirrored our collective hopes and anxieties: they clean our homes, assemble our products, patrol our borders, and populate our dreams of the future. We are told they will replace us, liberate us, or destroy us. But what if robots could do something entirely different—something poetic, unpredictable, even transformative? What if they could teach us new ways of being together, of making and thinking across disciplines, of reimagining intelligence itself?

This course is both a studio and an experimental research lab where students will design and program robots that perform beyond utility—machines that move, sense, and communicate in ways that unsettle the boundaries between the technical and the aesthetic. Through readings, discussions, and collaborative projects, students will engage the cultural imaginaries of robotics—its histories, fictions, and futures—while building hands-on systems that test what a robot can be.

Combining the rigor of engineering with the speculative freedom of art and design, Robots (re)Imagined challenges students to make, code, and choreograph robots as expressive, responsive, and collective beings. The semester culminates in a public presentation of interdisciplinary projects that expand the social, ethical, and imaginative possibilities of robotics in the twenty-first century.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Lectures: Tues & Thurs 10:30am to 12pm / Lindemann Performing Arts Center, BAI Performance Lab

Labs: Tues (or) Thurs: 6:40 to 9:30pm / ERC 347, ACT Lab

Elective

Introduction to Computation focuses on computational techniques, methods, and ideas in the context of art and design. Studio projects first center on the design of algorithms then shift to involve computer programming and scripting. Critical attention is given to code as a body of crafted text with significant aesthetic, philosophical, and social dimensions, as well as the tension, conflict, and potential possible when computation generates, informs, or interacts with drawings, materials, forms, and spaces. Historical and contemporary works of computational art and design will be presented and assigned for analysis. This course is open to students of all majors and is designed for those with little or no experience in programming. In order to conduct work in this course, students will need a laptop computer. This course fulfills one of two core studio requirements for the CTC Concentration.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation

Introduction to Computation focuses on computational techniques, methods, and ideas in the context of art and design. Studio projects first center on the design of algorithms then shift to involve computer programming and scripting. Critical attention is given to code as a body of crafted text with significant aesthetic, philosophical, and social dimensions, as well as the tension, conflict, and potential possible when computation generates, informs, or interacts with drawings, materials, forms, and spaces. Historical and contemporary works of computational art and design will be presented and assigned for analysis. This course is open to students of all majors and is designed for those with little or no experience in programming. In order to conduct work in this course, students will need a laptop computer. This course fulfills one of two core studio requirements for the CTC Concentration.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation

Introduction to Computation focuses on computational techniques, methods, and ideas in the context of art and design. Studio projects first center on the design of algorithms then shift to involve computer programming and scripting. Critical attention is given to code as a body of crafted text with significant aesthetic, philosophical, and social dimensions, as well as the tension, conflict, and potential possible when computation generates, informs, or interacts with drawings, materials, forms, and spaces. Historical and contemporary works of computational art and design will be presented and assigned for analysis. This course is open to students of all majors and is designed for those with little or no experience in programming. In order to conduct work in this course, students will need a laptop computer. This course fulfills one of two core studio requirements for the CTC Concentration.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation

Introduction to Computation focuses on computational techniques, methods, and ideas in the context of art and design. Studio projects first center on the design of algorithms then shift to involve computer programming and scripting. Critical attention is given to code as a body of crafted text with significant aesthetic, philosophical, and social dimensions, as well as the tension, conflict, and potential possible when computation generates, informs, or interacts with drawings, materials, forms, and spaces. Historical and contemporary works of computational art and design will be presented and assigned for analysis. This course is open to students of all majors and is designed for those with little or no experience in programming. In order to conduct work in this course, students will need a laptop computer. This course fulfills one of two core studio requirements for the CTC Concentration.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation

This course is a practical and conceptual exploration into electronic sensors, processors and actuators in the context of interactive art and design. Students will turn everyday objects into ambient interfaces or "responsive systems" that respond to the conditions of the human body, data networks, and the environment. Contemporary works of art and design - from kinetic sculpture and sound art to installation, architecture and product design - will be examined through readings and presentations. Open source hardware (Arduino) and software (Processing) will be taught along with the fundamentals of electronic circuitry. Emphasis is given to the development of creative projects (individual or collaborative), followed by an iterative implementation process (planning, prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining). The course is structured around a series of tutorials and exercises, culminating in a final project. Students also present work-in-progress and prototypes during class reviews to receive qualitative feedback from the class and the instructor. Participants will engage with physical computing conceptually and technically in their studio work and are encouraged to leverage their individual backgrounds to excel in the respective context. Prior experience with electronics and programming is recommended but not required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation, BFA Sound

This course is a practical and conceptual exploration into electronic sensors, processors and actuators in the context of interactive art and design. Students will turn everyday objects into ambient interfaces or "responsive systems" that respond to the conditions of the human body, data networks, and the environment. Contemporary works of art and design - from kinetic sculpture and sound art to installation, architecture and product design - will be examined through readings and presentations. Open source hardware (Arduino) and software (Processing) will be taught along with the fundamentals of electronic circuitry. Emphasis is given to the development of creative projects (individual or collaborative), followed by an iterative implementation process (planning, prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining). The course is structured around a series of tutorials and exercises, culminating in a final project. Students also present work-in-progress and prototypes during class reviews to receive qualitative feedback from the class and the instructor. Participants will engage with physical computing conceptually and technically in their studio work and are encouraged to leverage their individual backgrounds to excel in the respective context. Prior experience with electronics and programming is recommended but not required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation, BFA Sound

This studio course reimagines game engine software as a critical tool for contemporary art and design practice. Moving beyond traditional gaming applications, we will use Epic Games Unreal Engine to invent unconventional approaches to digital art-making including: emergent design, speculative world building, as well as AI and physics-based processes (Note: traditional gameplay systems, player controller mechanics, and character animation will not be covered in the course). 

The course emphasizes conceptual development alongside technical experimentation. Students will focus on the fundamentals of Blueprints visual scripting, the Niagara particle system, and AI Behavior Trees. In addition, we will discuss historical, experimental film, animation, music, architecture and process-based art movements such as Situationism, Gutai, and Neoconcretismo. Students from every fine art and design department are encouraged to join. Students will learn to bring their current art and design work into Unreal as 2D, 3D and motion assets. The semester culminates in self-directed projects that align with individual creative practices.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Elective

What does it mean to create art and design in a moment when technological systems are rapidly reshaping culture and society? Transformative systems such as artificial intelligence are reconfiguring how information is produced, circulated, and consumed, sometimes creating destabilizing forces such as deepfakes that threaten our shared realities while also offering novel materials for experimentation. In parallel, approaches such as speculative design and critical making allow artists and designers to probe these systems, imagine alternative technological futures, and test possibilities that extend beyond existing paradigms. How artists respond to this cultural inflection point will be decisive in shaping our technological future.

This course will unfold in two parts each week: a seminar-style discussion followed by a conversation with a visiting artist, designer, or technologist. In the first session, students will engage with readings and case studies related to the upcoming guest, situating their work in broader cultural, technological, and historical contexts. In the second session, students will meet the guest lecturer, who will provide a unique perspective on how artists and designers are actively producing work that both critiques current conditions and proposes new directions for rethinking the relationship between culture and technology. Our cultural reality is increasingly constructed through the technological interfaces we inhabit, so how will the artists of today and the students of this course choose to shape it?

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective

What does it mean to create art and design in a moment when technological systems are rapidly reshaping culture and society? Transformative systems such as artificial intelligence are reconfiguring how information is produced, circulated, and consumed, sometimes creating destabilizing forces such as deepfakes that threaten our shared realities while also offering novel materials for experimentation. In parallel, approaches such as speculative design and critical making allow artists and designers to probe these systems, imagine alternative technological futures, and test possibilities that extend beyond existing paradigms. How artists respond to this cultural inflection point will be decisive in shaping our technological future.

This course will unfold in two parts each week: a seminar-style discussion followed by a conversation with a visiting artist, designer, or technologist. In the first session, students will engage with readings and case studies related to the upcoming guest, situating their work in broader cultural, technological, and historical contexts. In the second session, students will meet the guest lecturer, who will provide a unique perspective on how artists and designers are actively producing work that both critiques current conditions and proposes new directions for rethinking the relationship between culture and technology. Our cultural reality is increasingly constructed through the technological interfaces we inhabit, so how will the artists of today and the students of this course choose to shape it?

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective

This studio elective focuses on creating digital image-based artworks on the themes of nature and technology. How can nature be represented in art and design work? To what ends? And can digital art and design about nature impact the ways we understand and interact with our natural world, or affect our understanding of climate change? Students will be introduced to several tools, softwares, and code-based tools related to image-capture or digital image-making, and create short projects, focusing on landscape, nature, or weather, that utilize each. Students will then develop a final project which allows them to focus more deeply on these tools — or a related tool of their choice — more deeply. This studio work will be complemented by image lectures, readings, and class discussions to provide context and inspiration.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective

This is a course about artists as collectors, collecting strange, wonderful stuff, and turning it into art. Each week you’ll experiment with gathering and organizing material from the world, recording sounds, photographing textures, scanning found objects, and then remix them into your own creative work. Along the way, you’ll get opportunities with hands-on with tools like audio recording, scanners, cameras, various printers, 3D and fabric printing, digital embroidery, and creative software such as Photoshop, Premiere, and 3D software. You’ll experiment with different ways to capture and organize your material. We’ll look at artists who treat archives as art, explore how collections shape culture, and invent new workflows that spark ideas. By the end, you’ll have your own evolving toolkit, an “asset library”, a cabinet of curiosity, to fuel any kind of work: video, sound, games, installation, design, painting, sculpture, collaborations, experiments, whatever you dream up.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective

This is a course about artists as collectors, collecting strange, wonderful stuff, and turning it into art. Each week you’ll experiment with gathering and organizing material from the world, recording sounds, photographing textures, scanning found objects, and then remix them into your own creative work. Along the way, you’ll get opportunities with hands-on with tools like audio recording, scanners, cameras, various printers, 3D and fabric printing, digital embroidery, and creative software such as Photoshop, Premiere, and 3D software. You’ll experiment with different ways to capture and organize your material. We’ll look at artists who treat archives as art, explore how collections shape culture, and invent new workflows that spark ideas. By the end, you’ll have your own evolving toolkit, an “asset library”, a cabinet of curiosity, to fuel any kind of work: video, sound, games, installation, design, painting, sculpture, collaborations, experiments, whatever you dream up.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective

In this 4 week workshop students will learn the basics of drafting computer generated drawings for use in fabrication. Students will learn the basics of traditional drafting, parametric CAD workflows, and design for manufacturing, in order to design and fabricate an object. 

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Elective

In this 4 week workshop students will learn the basics of drafting computer generated drawings for use in fabrication. Students will learn the basics of traditional drafting, parametric CAD workflows, and design for manufacturing, in order to design and fabricate an object. 

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Elective

In this 4 week workshop students will learn the basics of drafting computer generated drawings for use in fabrication. Students will learn the basics of traditional drafting, parametric CAD workflows, and design for manufacturing, in order to design and fabricate an object. 

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Elective

In this course students will explore the aesthetic possibilities afforded by programming languages; specifically programming for interfaces and computer graphics. Students will work from the bare metal of graphics coding to more abstracted approaches to create interactive and dynamic programs which use the screen as a canvas and playground. This course requires previous experience with coding.

Prerequisites: Prior coding experience is required. Students are required to complete CTC-2101 Introduction to Computation before enrolling. Other courses may be substituted with permission of the CTC department head or instructor.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Elective

This course introduces the core themes of computational art and design, including interaction, networks, and simulation. Students will engage with these topics through modern digital production techniques, examining them from formal, material, historical, and social perspectives.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation, BFA Sound

This course investigates the impact of computation and media technologies on artistic production and the way artists have utilized new technologies like computers, electronics, the internet, mobile devices, AI, robotics, and other tech media to create works of art. Students will analyze the works of pioneering new media artists, study the impact of technological advancements on artistic practices, and discuss the social, ethical, political, and cultural contexts that have shaped the aesthetics of computational art practices. Through a combination of readings, discussions, case studies, and project-based work, students will engage with key debates, texts, and methodologies that address the histories and potential futures of this dynamic and rapidly evolving field.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation

This course builds on the themes covered in the prerequisite Core Studio 1, introducing more advanced digital production methods and themes. Students are encouraged to explore and develop personal working methods and interests through studio projects, fostering a self-directed practice that culminates in a final end-of-year critique.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00

Major Requirement | BFA Art + Computation, BFA Sound