Incorporating elements of engineering, global health and visual design, the Dartmouth/Haiti Partnership Exhibition, which debuted in the Hopkins Center’s Strauss Gallery last Tuesday, truly embodies an interdisciplinary approach to art. Curated by studio art [and engineering] professor Jack Wilson, the exhibit offers enlightenment on the many projects concerning Haiti that the College has been involved in since the 2010 earthquake.

Wilson, who is teaching an “Integrated Design: Engineering, Architecture and Building Technology” class, was inspired by Dartmouth’s impressive response to the 2010 earthquake. Working with Partners in Health, a group co-founded by former College President Jim Yong Kim, Dartmouth sent health care providers, medical supplies and monetary donations to the relief effort.

After learning of impactful initiatives led by the Geisel School of Medicine, the Tucker Foundation, Student Assembly and the Dartmouth Coalition for Global Health, Wilson said he sought to become involved in the cause and has now introduced a studio arts perspective to Dartmouth’s initiatives.

Several of the posters examine Haitian rural and urban architecture. Others describe the $300 House project, which brings affordable housing to victims of the earthquake. Last February, Dartmouth hosted a workshop for designers, builders, physicians, politicians and other professionals to develop prototypes for the house’s infrastructure.

Jack Wilson (center) with Dartmouth students in Haiti to assess the region for a possible "$300 House" pilot project—working to bring affordable housing to the world’s poorest population centers.