ASU-Roden Crater Project
The goal of the ASU-Roden Crater Project is to bring university planners and scholars together to work with the artist to design a blueprint for the long-term stewardship and sustainability of Roden Crater and elevate ASU’s academic enterprise through a unique suite of transdisciplinary programming: from art and design to astronomy, sustainability, health, archaeology, geology and beyond. Building an academic and intellectual enterprise around this global art destination and activating it as a learning lab for diverse students and scholars for generations to come.
Our work
We are piloting field labs, design studios and internships for undergraduate and graduate students that are inspired by the transdisciplinary nature of Roden Crater and examine the concept of place. Course subjects to date have included indigenous design and sky science, sustainable architecture, art and sensory acuity, the medium of light, volcanic arts and sciences, range management, and radio astronomy.
In partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, ASU invited world-renowned artist, Leo Villareal, to be the first artist in the artist residency program. Villareal is creating a light installation using double-sided LED screens. The art work will be installed at the entrance of the ASU Art Museum in late 2020 and exhibited through December 2021.
Featured story
Letting in the light: ASU, artist James Turrell to partner on masterwork in the desert
One of the most important large-scale artworks in the world sits in the desert of northern Arizona, where artist James Turrell has spent decades shaping the landscape into an immersive observatory….
Who’s involved
Affiliated faculty
Assistant Professor, School of Art
Professor, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Associate Professor, CISA - Science and Mathematics
Director, Center for Science and the Imagination
Lecturer, College of Integrative Sciences and Arts
Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration
Clinical Assistant Professor, Architecture in The Design School
Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration
Associate Professor, School of Arts, Media and Engineering
Professor, Faculty Head of Architecture, The Design School
Professor, Industrial Design in The Design School
Assistant Clinical Professor, Visual Communication Design, The Design School
Institute Professor, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
Lecturer, School of Music, Dance and Theatre
Associate Professor, School of Music, Dance and Theatre
Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration
Field scholars
Richard Begay, Architect, SPS+ Architects
Michael Govan, President, Skystone Foundation
Edwin Krupp, Director, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
Henry Fowler, Dean of Graduate Studies, Navajo Technical University
Justin Owen, Executive Director, McDowell Sonoran Conservancy
ASU Roden Crater academic planning team
Principal Investigator
Dean + Director, Herberger Institute
Project Leads
Senior Advisor on Global Partnerships in the Arts, Herberger Institute
Project Manager, Herberger Institute Strategic Initiatives
Roden Crater team
Turrell Art Foundation
James Turrell, Lead Artist
Kyung-Lim Turrell, Director of Board
Valerie Miller, Associate Director
Skystone Foundation
Michael Govan, President
