The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, in partnership with the Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Initiative, is proud to announce the projects selected for the Arts Launchpad, a new initiative designed to nurture, develop, and launch high-impact creative projects led by ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ community members.
Operating under a venture studio model, the Arts Launchpad provides seed funding, dedicated mentorship, industry connections, and on-campus support designed to take ambitious creative concepts from early development to public presentation and release.
Following a competitive application process, three projects have been selected for the inaugural program:
Glitch It
Led by Patrick Taylor, artistic and technical support manager for Bernstein Hall and owner of , alongside Ryan John Lee, lecturer in film and media studies and independent cinematographer, Glitch It is a documentary series and accompanying exhibition exploring the subculture, history, and contemporary practice of glitch art and circuit-bending. Drawing on Taylor’s extensive background modifying digital camera hardware and engaging with global toolmakers, the project introduces audiences to the unsung heroes defining contemporary creativity at the intersection of art and technology. The team will also involve ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ students in production and post-production roles as they build a pilot episode and curate a regional gallery exhibition.
Algorhythms Artist Development Project
This collaborative project pairs Aaron Dial, assistant professor of film and media studies and Africana and Latin American studies, with student manager Sophia Simpkins ’27 to lead a complete, professional artist-development cycle for Dr. Jonathan Givan, a scholar and classically trained jazz drummer and producer. The initiative uses the production, management, and release of Givan’s original music, which blends jazz-influenced hip-hop, nu-jazz, future beats, and experimental electronic sound, as a live model for testing how Black musical traditions can serve as methodologies for managing and sustaining creative work. The project builds upon Dial’s work developing the Algorhythms DJ Lab, a hands-on initiative connected to one of his film and media studies courses that approaches DJing and Black music traditions as technological, cultural, and intellectual practices.
Shadow Walker
Created by an interdisciplinary team featuring ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ junior Victor Peng ’28 as technical lead, alongside collaborators Jason You (Macalester College) and Nikki Liu (Shanghai International Studies University), Shadow Walker is an experimental 2D Metroidvania video game set in a fantasy world inspired by early 20th-century art deco and art nouveau aesthetics. The project explores video games as an interactive contemporary art form by integrating visual arts, dynamic music composition, historical research, and emerging AI technologies.
Over the coming months, these inaugural teams will work through an intensive development cycle, leveraging alumni mentorship through the Thought Into Action program and ongoing guidance from an on-campus steering committee to refine their vision and bring their work to market. Their efforts will culminate during Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend, April 2–3, 2027, where each team will showcase its creative output and reflect on the impact of its Arts Launchpad experience.