The design industry is responsible for excessive amounts of waste... But what if there was an alternative?

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History invites you to join UConn undergraduate student and designer Cameron Slocum in considering this question at an upcoming reception for her exhibit Material World: Design for a Healthful and Equitable Future.

Cameron Slocum is a designer working at the intersection of spatial experiences and media. Her design ethos embodies two main goals: to design for sustainability and interactivity. Cameron is in her final semester as an Honors undergraduate student in UConn’s School of Fine Arts. She graduates in December 2023 with dual degrees – a BFA in Industrial Design and a BA in Digital Media and Design.

During the reception, Cameron will give brief remarks about the design process for Material World.

A true sum of its parts, Material World is an evolving proof-of-concept and educational resource for sustainable exhibition design. Cameron’s research, planning, and construction demonstrate real-life examples of attainable alternatives. The project personifies the designer's re-imagination of material culture in the design sphere.

Each component used in Material World was selected after careful research regarding total life cycle and holistic sustainable properties. The exhibit consists of compostable mycelium panels, formaldehyde-free plywood, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified cotton canvas, VOC-free milk paint, and locally-sourced wood from the UConn Forest. Material samples—intended to be touched—provide an opportunity for visitors to learn about the diverse qualities of sustainable materials.

Cameron hopes her work will engage, educate, and empower students to act as agents of change in their personal lives and professional careers. Her thoughtful, humanistic, and innovative approach to sustainability through design is a beacon of hope in the face of climate change and an active protest against the status quo of unsustainability that prevails in the design industry.

This exhibit is funded in part by an Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grant from the Institute of the Environment and the Office of Sustainability at the University of Connecticut, as well as by a Change Grant from the UConn Co-op Legacy Fellowship. It also receives support from the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History.

The reception will be held from 3-5pm on Wednesday, November 1 in the Gant Science Complex Light Court, on N. Eagleville Rd. in Storrs. The exhibit is on display until January 2023.

Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. Visit https://csmnh.uconn.edu for more information and to RSVP. 

If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact the CSMNH at 860-486-4460 or [email protected] by Monday, October 30, 2023.

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History is a Unit of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Connecticut