‘Colaboratory: Collaboration for the Greater Good’ M.F.A thesis show opens April 1

March 23, 2016

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern University’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art presents Colaboratory: Collaboration for the Greater Good an M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition by Stephanie Arends Neal and Lindsay Byrnside Tyson.  The work will be on display at Bluprint, 33 West Main St. in Statesboro, from April 1 to May 8 by appointment only. Opening reception will be April 1 from 5 – 6 p.m. at the gallery.

Colaboratory examines how graphic design and collaborative leadership experiences can impact society by igniting social change within a community while inspiring transformation in human behavior.

“The Colaboratory was inspired by the idea of using graphic design to impact the greater good of our community through collaboration,” Tyson said. “Graphic design is a powerful tool that has the power to shift perspective, change human behavior, and impact change. If we can take our skill sets and use them to better ourselves, others, and our communities then we have an obligation as designers to so.”

Tyson and Neal each have more than 10 years of professional experience in graphic design. They pulled from their collective experiences to consider graphic design as innovative problem solving which requires expertise from individuals across multiple disciplines.    

“Graphic design is a social science; it takes disciplines such as geography, demographics, psychology, history, communication, sociology and economics all into consideration when solving a problem,” said Neal. “The collaborative approach of this thesis enhances and develops transferable skills through experience-, creative-, research-, and leadership-based solutions that help solve, or call attention to, local, national and global issues while educating the community of the value of graphic design.”

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) is the largest of the eight colleges that make up Georgia Southern University, and it plays a central role in every student’s core of knowledge. CLASS, also described as the University’s College of the Creative Mind, prepares students to achieve academic excellence, develop their analytical skills, enhance their creativity and embrace their responsibilities as citizens of their communities, their nations and the world. CLASS offers more than 20 undergraduate degrees and several interdisciplinary minors from its 11 departments and five academic centers. CLASS offers eight master’s degrees, two graduate certificates and one doctoral degree.  

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 125 degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education. GeorgiaSouthern.edu.