A Letter from 2024 EM Students Jury:

EM Students invite you to apply for this year’s So Fresh + So Clean design challenge. We want to know how you are sourcing materials. Perhaps they are recycled, found, or maybe even trash? Responses to material sourcing are truly endless!

Our decisions are closely related to our planet’s well-being, as well as the individuals who mine, create, refine, package, and ship the material. More than any time before, our global circumstances require more materials to support human infrastructure. Over 130,000 metric tons of cobalt are mined in the Congo annually. Plastic production is supported by fracking approximately 9 billion barrels a day. On average, mining companies move 250 tons of earth for a single carat of diamond! Worldwide demand for these natural resources often harms our world socially, politically, and environmentally. And so, with this in mind, artists must consider the backstories of their chosen materials. Your materials and decisions matter.

This is an opportunity for creative empowerment. We are eager to showcase the ingenuity and innovation of the EM Students community and inspire future students. 

The examples above are definitely on an industrial scale but remember that EM Students is a community of artists working together. We want to see how you are responding to a changing world with hope, creativity, and innovation. This is an opportunity for creative empowerment to gaze beyond the workbench. We are eager to showcase the ingenuity and innovation of the EM Students community and inspire future students.

We look forward to hearing about the motivations behind your work, and seeing your thoughtful submissions!

Debra Dowden-Crockett, Yifei Kong, Shannon Kurzyniec, Chelsea Nanfelt Rowe

EM Student Committee