MLAB MISSION STATEMENT


The Mobile Literacy Arts Bus (MLAB) is an artist-run, renovated recreational vehicle that exists as a flexible space open to community members’ proposals for alternative educational and cultural programming.

MLAB is the collaborative effort of the 2007-2008 Social Sculpture class at Syracuse University, comprised of 10 art and architecture students and lead by artist and Director of Community Initiatives in the Visual Arts of Syracuse University, Marion Wilson. Our mission was to transform a used, 1984 Recreational Vehicle Bus into a Mobile Literacy and Arts Bus for use by the Syracuse City School District and the greater Syracuse Community. MLAB serves as a physical manifestation of Syracuse University’s Scholarship in Action initiative, by pairing University resources with community needs in an attempt to address the staggering drop out rates in the Syracuse City School District High Schools. Through the School of Education at Syracuse University, incredible curricula that bridge photography, poetry and literacy currently exist within the public schools-- however due to a crisis of space, the schools don't always have the space or resources to house it. MLAB is this space. The bus serves as a mobile classroom, digital photo lab, gallery space, and community center. As a team, we did it all: demolition, design, and construction.

MLAB is made possible from the generous support of the School of Education at Syracuse University and Entitiative.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Hey guys! With assistance from one of our volunteers yesterday I was able to wire together all of the light sockets! This is huge progress in terms of lighting because what I had figured to be a 5 hour job only required 3 hours with an extra set of hands! The only things left to do in the back of the bus are
1-use zip ties to secure wires that hang below the depth of the ceiling to the structure of the ceiling (anyone can do this and I know I had purchased some of these somewhere along the way for use in the bus)...
2- run a ground wire from the 2 end light bulbs on the loop back to the
front of the bus (the copper wires that are not attached to the light socket are the
ground wires, we just need to use wire nuts to connect those to two lengths of wire and then run it to the front of the bus)
3- maybe move the wire that runs to the heater in the back through the holes
in the ceiling structure so that gets out of the way of the panels being placed up
there...
4- and finish wiring to the box in the front of the RV (I'm not sure of the
status David left this in, so maybe someone could contact him about that in addition to
the email I sent today)... That should be it for now. It's all coming together bit by bit for our April 3rd unveiling!
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