POP UP Creative Storefronts Initiative<\/a>. The program commissions artists to activate vacant retail spaces to foster cultural engagement and encourage commercial growth downtown.<\/p>\nDr. Adora English, an instructor in the themed experience program, said the project scope changed significantly after they saw the space.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally, when we thought it was just a window, we came up with a slightly different design,\u201d English said. \u201cWhen we realized it was going to be 30 feet wide and 10 feet tall, we had to go back to the drawing board.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final concept divides the installation into six sections, each representing a different discipline within the college. A QR code embedded in the center directs passersby to the UCF Celebrates the Arts webpage, where they can purchase festival tickets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndividually, each one of the disciplines is incredibly powerful,\u201d English said. \u201cAnd then together, when you bring them all to make up the College of Arts and Humanities, we\u2019re just beyond powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
For many students, the project was their first hands-on experience with fabrication. Lizzie Lillywhite, a graduate student on the design track, said the process was a major learning curve.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\")
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Lizzie Lillywhite, a graduate student in the themed experience program, checks the installation created to represent the English department for needed touch-ups in downtown Orlando on Monday.\u00a0Lillywhite, who had no prior fabrication experience, said the project taught her the importance of intentional design choices.<\/p>\n
Emmy Bailey<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never built a thing in my life,\u201d Lillywhite said. \u201cIt really helped me understand how important it is to be intentional about design choices because building them takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lillywhite co-designed the installation\u2019s music section alongside a fellow student. The two created what they call a \u201cmusic tornado,\u201d a sculptural piece meant to capture the feeling of being moved by music rather than simply depicting what a musical score looks like.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know what music looks like on a page,\u201d Lillywhite said. \u201cBut when it\u2019s played, the music really leaves the page. We wanted to embody that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kellianne Robinson, a graduate student on both the design and production tracks, served as a producer during the planning stages. She said the team underestimated how long fabrication would take, but that extra time ultimately helped them finish stronger.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt so abstract for so long,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cNow that it\u2019s in these windows, I\u2019m kind of in awe.\u00a0It was an amazing collaborative effort between all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
English said the project was intentionally structured to mirror the same end-to-end development process used in professional theme park design, from ideation and concept sketching all the way through fabrication and installation.<\/p>\n
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Two pieces representing the arts department (left) and English department (right) in the “United in Creativity” installation sit in a breezeway near the 55 West building in downtown Orlando before being installed on Monday.<\/p>\n
Emmy Bailey<\/p>\n
\u201cWe mimicked the same process that might be used at Universal or Disney, just on a much smaller scale,\u201d English said. \u201cThe goal is that by the time they graduate, our students are ready to hit the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
English said the program hopes to make the UCF Celebrates the Arts installation an annual tradition. The piece was built with that longevity in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the College of Arts and Humanities loves what we did and wants to keep it for the next three, four, five years, we\u2019ve made it sturdy enough,\u201d English said. \u201cThey can just dust it off and use it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robinson said she hopes the project raises the program\u2019s profile on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t actually know what we do,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this is a themed experience. It\u2019s getting our name out there.\u201d<\/p>\n