Applications

The Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab at RISD in collaboration with the RI Network for Excellence in Science and Technology (RI-NEST) presents, The 2026 VIS-A-THON. VIS-A-THON is a collaborative program that pairs Rhode Island STEM researchers with RISD graduate student artists to explore art-based approaches to visualization that surface unexpected questions and connections in their research, through a focused, hackathon-style format. VIS-A-THON takes place Friday February 27 and the weekend of March 21-22, 2026. The link below will take you to an online form with detailed submission instructions. 

All teams who complete the Vis-a-thon are eligible to submit for a Collaborative Visualization Grant. The Collaborative Visualization Grant is designed to support the continued development of projects that emerge from Vis-a-thon by providing resources for refinement, iteration, and public presentation. Its purpose is to extend the impact of interdisciplinary collaboration beyond the initial weekend, encouraging teams to push their ideas further and produce outcomes that can engage broader audiences. The outcomes of funded projects will be exhibited at a public venue in January 2026 as part of the Vis-a-thon Showcase and Forum.