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Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke University
The Ruby is a catalyst for creativity and a home for making art at Duke.

Makerspace

Duke's first arts-focused lab

A crowd of students and alumni stand around tables and 3D printers listening to four panelists talk.
Students and alumni gather in the makerspace for a talk on Creativity and Tech during DEMAN Weekend 2018. Photo by Ivy Shi.

The Badger-Mars Visual Arts Wing at the Ruby is designed for hands-on art making, no matter how messy. It features a makerspace on the first floor operated by Duke’s Innovation Co-Lab with fifteen Ultimaker 3D printers, a Trotec Speedy 400 laser cutter, a panel saw, a large-format CNC machine, and hand tools. By rolling up a large garage door, this art-focused workshop can transform the Ruby’s courtyard into a workyard. Duke students, faculty, and staff can access the makerspace anytime the Ruby is open, and the lab will be staffed regularly for support and training. To learn how to access Duke’s 3D printers, visit the Co-Lab Studio website or visit the lab during staffed hours.

Current Staffing Schedule
Pick “CoLab Studio—Central” on the lower right.

Next to the makerspace is one of the building’s six multipurpose studios—a highly flexible space outfitted with a theater-style lighting grid that can host installations, performances, or student-group rehearsals.

Makerspace: 134

Multipurpose (General): 131

A line of people holding standing their handmade puppets on a table
Puppets Invade the Colab, with Jeghetto (Durham-based puppeteer supreme Tarish Pipkins), January 2020. Photo by Robert Zimmerman.

Gallery

Where Creativity Becomes Reality
“I get excited when I see something sitting out there and I don’t know what it is,” Bobbert said. “Maybe it’s nothing. But maybe that’s a potential solution to one of the problems that are out there.” Read more on Duke Today.

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