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IDeATe  ›  IDeATe News  ›  2026  ›  May 2026  ›  “Quiet Edges Dissolve” Photo Gallery

A man holds a glowing light in the right side of the image. yellow and orange projections light a dark screen in the background

May 21, 2026

“Quiet Edges Dissolve” Photo Gallery

By Sarah Elizabeth Bender

On Friday, April 24, the Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology (IDeATe) network’s Spring 2026 showcase “Quiet Edges Dissolve” brought together artists, musicians, and storytellers from across IDeATe, and the Schools of Art and Music. The end-of-semester intermedia event, which was held in Studio A of WQED, was organized by students and faculty in Exploded Ensemble, Experimental Sound Synthesis, Inflatables, and Real-time Animation courses.

Exploded Ensemble, taught by Assistant Professor of Electronic Music Composition Freida Abtan, explored experimental, multimedia, and approaches to live performance. Experimental Sound Synthesis, taught by Associate Professor of Music Theory Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, examined a variety of ways in which sound works are made and perceived, culminating in the creation of interdisciplinary sound installation.

“Students explored the concept of The Memory Palace and inserted pieces of the building's own memories back into the ground floor of Pittsburgh’s WQED Station,” Hsieh explained. “Each audio component of the five sound installations occupied a unique space on site, interweaving objects and sounds inspired by TV shows to form a collection of memories of the building as it continues to stand, hosting and witnessing new and creative works presented to the people of Pittsburgh and beyond.”

Teaching Professor Olivia Robinson’s Inflatables class focused on the design, fabrication, and creative applications of sculptural and inflatable forms created from soft materials. Students learned techniques for turning flexible, flat materials into three-dimensional forms, which were on display at the event. Real-time Animation, which is taught by Associate Professor of Art Johannes DeYoung, considers improvisational strategies for making animation within real-time computer graphics frameworks.

IDeATe classes are open to undergraduates from any discipline at CMU, offering opportunities to explore interdisciplinary collaboration in 10 different areas which can also be taken as minors: Game Design, Animation & Special Effects, Media Design, Sonic Arts, Design for Learning, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Intelligent Environments, Physical Computing, Soft Technologies, and Immersive Technologies in Arts & Culture. Interested students can reach out to Assistant Dean Kelly Delaney to learn more about enrolling.

Three students in a dark room, their faces lit by a bright light. They hold their hands out towards the light, which stands up on a wire
Visitors were able to interact with a number of intermedia projects at the showcase.
Five students, all with long dark hair, crouch in front of a glowing white inflatable shell.
College of Engineering junior Maya Beach, College of Fine Arts juniors Tippi Li and Stella Yang, and College of Fine Arts senior Katherine Wang created this massive double-walled shell, which is open at the bottom for people to walk in with a spiral on top.
A crowd stands in a semi circle, with projection screens featuring art behind them. In the foreground is an out of focus laptop.
Abtan, Associate Dean Rich Nisa, and others listen to new work from (not seen) Exploded Ensemble's Emma Diprima, Noah Martin, and Rowan Sullivan.
Against a red background, three students look at a laptop in concentration
Diprima, Martin, and Sullivan perform their work for the crowd.
A student sits at a table working on a laptop. Electronic keyboards are also on the table. Behind the table, a student in an embroidered vest plays guitar. Onlookers watch in the background.
College of Fine Arts senior Martin Baker, who is majoring in Electronic Music and minoring in Game Design, plays guitar as part of the Exploded Ensemble performance. They are performing with College of Fine Arts fifth-year senior Allen Zhu and first-year Quin Kondis.
A student with short dark hair places his hands on a blue mat while looking at a screen. Two other students stand on either side of him.
Students interact with Humanities and Arts sophomore Zahra El Ansary’s felted controller for Real-time Animation.
An old-fashioned bright red telephone is lit with a bare bulb from the right
College of Fine Arts seniors Larsen Vincent, Dominic Dimambro, and Justin Jo created the “Carmen San Diego” project for Experimental Sound Synthesis.
A student with long dark hair and a white shirt drops a coin in an installation that looks like a tub with a faucet.
Art student Kiara Yang interacts with Real-Time Animation coursemate Ada Menger-Thau's installation.
A person in a red jacket and a hat leans over a table, reaching to press a button.
A guest interacts with another part of the “Carmen San Diego” project by Vincent, Dimambro, and Jo.
Three students stand among the pieces of an inflatable sea monster. The students on either end touch tall, curling tentacles, while the student in the middle stands between the jagged teeth of its mouth.
College of Engineering senior Ella Sanfilippo and College of Fine Arts students Leaf Zixin Ye, Hua Tong, Siyu Ou, and Mason Wang designed and built this playful sea monster. Pictured here are Zixin Ye, Sanfilippo, and Tong.
A student stands below a glowing inflatable whale, lit by blue light.
This inflatable whale, which hung suspended from the ceiling, was created by School of Art seniors Isabel Fleck, Brant Youran Li, and Silvia Shin, and Dietrich College fifth-year senior Mateo Ruiz-Leal. Here, Ruiz-Leal stands with the whale.
Students face a brightly lit screen in a dark room. On the screen, light blue shapes appear on a darker blue background.
The Exploded Ensemble performance also featured projections by Diprima, Martin, and Sullivan.