People-First Tourism Lab Blog

Now entering the third year of collaboration between the faculty/student teams of NCSU and U Tadeo-Bogota, our discussions are mutually improving each other's participatory action practices.  P1t lab's proven methods of action research are being challenged by the complex goals and practices of Tadeo's rigourous Industrial Design curricula, whose experiences include  along history of community involved design. With the support of several seed grants from both universities in Colombia and in North Carolina, the teams have been able to meet in Bogota, and in the communities of the Department of San Andres. In addition to the on-site cross-fertilization of concepts, theories and methods, we have communicated through various long-distance, tele-presence techniques to sharpen our mutual interests and skills and sustain the projects we are developing. Through these posts, we invite our partners on both sides and the public to post comments, photos, articles, videos and insi...

I created this video to explain my biography and my creative process. I dragooned my wordsmith husband, Jim Hickey, to write a small, quick, and credible script. Wow! He did great. Having a perceptive wordsmith husband is very useful in these sorts of endeavors. By having someone who knows you and your history well, you really get to say some useful and honest things that you would not necessarily have thought to share.     This whole facet of my life and my history comes out in ways that I had not consciously processed or examined; all having to do with my peculiar family history's interrelation with larger historical forces, and the psychic consequences. Yet, as Jim noted, all of that baggage affected all of what I've done - as well as all that I have neglected to do in life. Thus, it does inform my experience as an Appalachian based 'outsider artist' (for lack of a better phrase) Making the video also, clearly, allowed me to utilize all my creativ...