| The Design, Art & Technology Symposium began as the Digital Arts Symposium at the UNC School of the Arts in 2005, with funding from the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. The symposium grew during the next three years to include collaborators in higher education and industry throughout the Piedmont Triad.
As the seed grant wound down, the collaborators planned to sustain the event through an annual rotation among participating sites in the Triad. DATS continues to grow as a core event cultivating and promoting the region's creative economy. In 2009-2010 the event is the anchor for a design "coopetition" aiming to develop a culture of good eating through design. Interdisciplinary teams are creating implements, furnishings and environments to encourage development of a sustainable food culture and healthy lifestyles. The designs reflect consideration of nutritious food, sensible diets, appealing tables, creative kitchens, convivial dining spaces, local growing, conscientious farming, fair trade, efficient supply chains, equitable distribution, engaging education and vibrant regional growth. The legacy of Charles & Ray Eames informs our appreciation of the power of scaling and scoping in generating effective designs. Powers of 10 Day becomes a focus for the series of events.
Signs at DAS 2007 captured the optimistic spirit of our economic development mission: There once was a place, just east of the mountains, where people grew plants they fashioned into cloth and furniture. They wove and stitched, hammered and carved, bartered and sold, until the region flourished. They created places to worship and learn, to dance and sing, and to dramatize age-old lessons about human condition. As materials evolved they continued to hone their arts, crafts and design – until one day, everyone could see that they were the seedbed for a new era of creative vitality. The designers exhibiting here demonstrate the Piedmont Triad's potential for transformative growth. Through a range of materials, tools and techniques, they show resourcefulness in seeking inspirations, ingenuity in conceiving ideas, adeptness in developing renditions, and finesse in delivering solutions. Resourcefulness Ingenuity Adeptness Finesse |
| DATS 2010: Harvest brain power. Design solutions. Create change. 10/10/10!
Design, Art & Technology Symposium 2008 Digital Arts Symposium 2007 Digital Arts Symposium 2006 Digital Arts Symposium 2005 |
