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Emerson College

Boston, Massachusetts

Grants

2016 (1 year 6 months)
$250,000

The Engagement Lab at Emerson College is an applied research and design lab for reimagining civic engagement in today’s digital world. Based at Boston’s Emerson College, the Lab’s research and practice are influenced by the fields of media studies, communications, human centered design, and cultural studies. The Engagement Lab is using grant funds to engage more than 100 academics and practitioners from across the country to develop 50 new case studies on the technologies, designs and practices of civic media in five U.S. cities; to create a searchable database of these case studies that can be continually updated and expanded; to convene the authors and other civic media actors to share insights and identify common themes from the case studies and other research in the field; and to produce a final report that synthesizes findings.

2015 ( 11 months)
$75,000

Emerson College, which is located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the nation's only four-year college devoted exclusively to the study of communication and performing arts. As part of Emerson's Office of Arts, the College has initiated the HowlRound program, which has platforms for connecting individuals interested in performance art. Latinalo Theatre Commons is one ofthese peer-led groups that is made up of members from across the United States focused on increasing the representation of Latino voices on stage. In July 2015, Latinalo Theatre Commons is inviting its national audience to a performance festival in Chicago that promotes Chicago's Latino theatre artists and playwrights to a local and national audience; reflects the stories and experiences of the Latino community in Chicago; increases visibility for national Latino playwrights, and facilitates collaborations between local, regional, and national Latino artists. This grant funds activities related to the planning and execution of the 2015 Latinalo Theatre Commons festival in Chicago.

2012 (1 year)
$250,000

Emerson College will use this grant to support the New Urban Mechanics Initiative, which is designed to support civic technology innovations in Boston and to build the infrastructure for sharing tools and ideas across a growing network of partner cities across the country. Working with the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics Emerson will source and support original projects that use technology to address civic issues; evaluate the impact of innovations; and share projects, research and practices.