Center for Arts-Inspired Learning Jua-Hua “DuDu” Zhan, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

creative-fusion-jia-hua-DuDu-Zhan-Center-for-Aerts-Inspired-Laurel-School-Workshop

Melding art, design, and digital technology with local students

 

You might say that DuDu Zhan has taken Cleveland by storm.

Her influence has been electric. Literally.

 

Art, teaching and digital engineering name only a few of the talents this buoyant Taiwanese innovator has brought to town during her Creative Fusion residency, her first-ever visit to the United States.

 

“DuDu is a great person and an amazing artist,” says Sequoia Bostick, resident teaching artist with the Center for Arts Inspired Learning. “The work she does with digital media is unlike anything I have ever seen.”  Bostick ‘s  Art Works co-op is learning illustration techniques. “She presented her art form to the co-op of teens. It was very exciting to see that a lot of the apprentices recognized her work almost immediately.  It turns out that a game that DuDu has worked on–CYTUS– is very popular in America and most of the apprentices have it on their phones.”

 

Resident Teaching Artist Team Lead, Emma Parker’s dance class at Digital Arts High School enjoyed interaction with the artist as well.”DuDu was involved in the culminating event for two arts residencies, film and dance. The students showcased 10 film trailers, as well as a digital media dance project.  After viewing the students work, DuDu showcased a presentation of her work through digital media.  She took the students through a series of films as well as an interactive project where the students were scanned and turned into 3D models on her iPad,” explains Parker.

 

Over coffee at Shaker Square, DuDu and Joe Ionna from Center for Arts-Inspired Learning both radiated great enthusiasm for the artist’s connection to local students thus far. The center is one of six host organizations for the Cleveland Foundation’s Creative Fusion Project. In the remaining 6 weeks of the residency, she would work with students at Laurel School, Hawken Lower School, Oliver Hazard Perry and Gesu.

 

DuDu exudes an easy, infectious whimsy that can also be seen in her work.  Photos posted on her blog [duduzhan.blogspot.com] show her work at ThinkBox–Case Western Reserve University’s hands-on education, design and development laboratory. They reveal a bit of  her method, including laser cuts, and 3-D scans of students.

 

DuDu  also worked with the Resident Teaching Artists on a collaborative event for Inspired 2016, the Center’s benefit, which took place April 30. The work involved digital media in combination with the six arts genres represented by the Resident Teaching Artists, to present an interactive performance for the patrons.

 

Her influence is sure to be felt well beyond this first, impressive visit.

Schools in which Jia Hua “DuDu” Zhan was a Spring, 2016 resident artist

Digital Arts High School

Laurel School

Hawken Lower School

Oliver Hazard Perry

Gesu.