Facilities

Both the  Art Department and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts as a whole host a wide array of technical facilities and labs and for new media art and research. Each has a different function and core user base. Some are specialized research labs, while others are general-purpose production spaces. Some are open to all CTSA students while others are restricted by department and student status.

Mechatronics lab during an open house

Mechatronics lab during an open house

Several much-needed facilities came online in 2011-12 with the opening of the Center for Contemporary Arts (CAC), including an Experimental Media Performance Lab (xMPL), a Mechatronics Lab, a Telepresence Lab, a Teleseminar Room, a Legacy Media Lab, a new Performance Capture Studio, a couple of digital sound studios, and several other faculty, graduate, and undergraduate computer labs.

Our newest facility, as of 2017, is the N Lab, which is located at UC Irvine’s Applied Innovation Center. It is designed as an innovation incubator where researchers from all across UCI can meet up and explore the future of art, technology, and design together

The facilities listed below are those that most directly support EAD practices in the Art Department. Other departmental facilities include a metal and woodworking shop, a video production studio, the student-run Catalyst Gallery, the Room Gallery, the University Art Gallery and the new CAC Gallery; more about these can be found on the main Art Department website.

EXHIBITION AND PERFORMANCE SPACES
The xMPL set up for a performance.

The xMPL set up for a performance.

Experimental Media Performance Lab (xMPL)
CAC, Floor 1
A high-tech, 3100-square-foot, black-box-style performance space optimized for interdisciplinary, interactive, and experimental new media performance projects. It is extremely versatile, with a tension-grid lighting system, two control rooms, and configurable seating. It is wired for high-definition video and high-speed data transfer and internet access.

Telepresence Lab
CAC, Floor 1
Opening directly off the xMPL, the Telepresence lab is designed to support live media, streaming media, and other telepresence activities related to projects in the xMPL.

"ALT+CTRL" (2004) installed in the Beall Center

“ALT+CTRL” (2004) installed in the Beall Center

Beall Center for Art & Technology
The Beall Center showcases artists exhibiting all kinds of new media and techno-arts projects and hosts lectures and other public-outreach events. With several shows a year, the Beall Center is an important part of the school’s digital arts culture.

PRODUCTION SPACES

ArtsLab
Studio 4

The school’s general-purpose homework lab for students, running both Macs and PCs, with limited printing facilities.

Arts Media Center
Arts Instructional Technology Resource Center, 2nd floor
A music library and listening lab; also a general homework lab equipped with CD, phonograph, VHS, DVD, DAT, laserdisc, a six-station Mac lab, a Dance/AV Room, and quiet study and listening areas. The AMC houses an extensive collection of classical, jazz, and world music audio and video recordings

Digital Photo Lab
ART building, ground floor
A graduate/faculty lab in the Art department with Intel Macs, slide and flatbed scanners, and high-end printers for digital photoprinting. Other large-format digital printers are available elsewhere in the department.

General-Purpose Computer Lab 1
CAC 3006, Floor 3
A 24-seat general-purpose and instructional Mac lab. During some non-scheduled classroom hours the facilities are open to School of the Arts students.

General-Purpose Computer Lab 2
CAC G021, Floor 0
A 21-seat dual-boot instructional Mac/PC lab with Intel Macs that also run Windows. During some non-scheduled classroom hours the facilities are open to School of the Arts students.

In/Out and Legacy Media Lab
CAC, Floor 0
A casual lab for extraction and transfer of legacy digital media, with printers and a laser cutter.

Mechatronics Lab
CAC, Floor 0
A lab for fabrication of microelectronic circuits and related classes.

N Lab
Applied Innovation Center
An incubator for design thinking.

Performance Capture Studio
CAC, Floor 0
A schoolwide facility for optical motion capture using a high-end 27-camera system and with green-screen capabilities. Access requires training and/or class participation.

Teleseminar Room
CAC, Floor 0
A seminar room with teleconferencing capability and an informal lounge area.

Video Production Studio
ACT building, ground floor
A  state-of-the-art video production studio and suite of editing facilities for graduate students and faculty.

 

MUSIC DEPARTMENT FACILITIES

Gassmann Electronic Music Studio
20 Mesa Arts Building
A state-of-the-art Macintosh-based studio for digital recording and MIDI composition. Open to students enrolled in certain Music classes or by permission of the Music department.

REALab (Realtime Experimental Audio Laboratory)
216 Music and Media Building
A laboratory for research and creative activity in the use of computers in live musical performance, including realtime audio processing, sound spatialization, networked performance, interactivity, and alternative computer-mediated instruments. Open to students enrolled in certain Music classes or by permission of the Music department.

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