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.


Monday, March 3, 2008

New Look?

Use this post for constructive criticism of our new look....

7 comments:

Zach said...

Maybe a little more contrast would be helpful? The greys make reading some things difficult - especially the links. Black text would be ok. maybe a stronger (thicker?) border around the white boxes w/ rounded corners. not sure about the blue either -it kind of fades into the background, even though it's the color of the headings.

Julia said...

more contrast is a must. is it possible to switch the white boxes to grey and grey background to white? I think it would make each post read as more of an object . . . i like the blue.

Vincent Appel said...

after everyone leaves a comment or two, we can make changes to accommodate as much as possible... so get posting!

Anonymous said...

What's wrong with the black background and the kind of busy colorful look it had before. Let's not make it "beautiful in the wrong way" to quote a very famous architectural historian. It is hard to read with the subtle shifts in grey and white as they fade into one another and the screen.....Jessica....? What do you think since you designed the first one.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Zach; The light blue looks washed out. Maybe we could do darker gray boxes to help the light blue pop? I also sort of liked the older black background too. I'm not sure why we needed to change it?

jess said...

If everyone likes the new one, then I'm fine with the change.

However, I do not like this change. The last one was fun... this one isn't quite so much. I think the photos look better against the black too-- like others have said. I would support changes the color scapes to match the window colors that vince picked out... more pastel, less neon against the black...

I don't mean to be harsh, and I'm not adverse to change... but I think the previous design was fun to read and look at... which I think should be one of our goals... especially since this thing is the living, breathing life pulse of this project.

Also, the mock up is fun. If we really want to change the blog up... I say leave the old format, make the background white, and change the colors to the colors on the webpage mock up. This, I think, would work.

Anonymous said...

Can we return the blog to what it was before asap - at least for now. I think that is the consensus.
Thanks, Marion