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# Project Description Throwing Shade Alex Melton Summary Final work Alex is a multidisciplinary designer with a background in graphic design who specializes in creating spatial experiences. Her work bridges visual communication and environmental design to create meaningful spaces that build community and address social needs. Alex is a multidisciplinary designer with a background in graphic design who specializes in... College Central Saint Martins Course MA Narrative Environments Graduation year 2025 Throwing Shade reimagines festival art as essential community infrastructure, addressing the stark contrast between Coachella’s elaborate temporary installations and nearby farmworker communities lacking basic heat protection. At the festival, the project appears as a cube-shaped structure of four solar-powered LED screens that display thermal imaging and provide shade that tracks the sun. Festival-goers experience an immersive artwork that subtly highlights regional heat disparities. After the event, the structure separates into four individual sun-tracking screens, each permanently installed in underserved communities like Oasis, where summer temperatures often exceed 110°F (43°C) and median household income is less than half that of Palm Desert. Each unit continues to provide vital shade and displays community programming and climate education. By distributing these resources across multiple sites, Throwing Shade offers a replicable model for how cultural events can support climate adaptation and public health in vulnerable areas Collaborators: Ted Hamilton-Rolle AICP, Project Planner, City of Santa Barbara, Local Consultant Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, Director of Education & Community Engagement, University of California, Santa Barbara – Arts & Lectures, Local Consultant Patrick O’Mahony, Founder & Creative Director, Newsubstance, Consultant Adrian Isais, Coachella Content Photographer & Videographer Xavier Llarch Font, Lead Tutor Creative Cohort - Daphne Chantzi, Vanessa Pessato, Laura Gonzalez Urueta, Stella Wang, Weiyi Liu, Yutong Zhou Final work Throwing Shade Throwing Shade : A shade structure that transforms from festival art into vital shade infrastructure for underserved communities Modular Transformation: The Anatomy of Shade Modular shade structure diagram transforms from a single festival installation into four independent sun-tracking modules for use in community parks View Gallery View Gallery View Gallery View Gallery Share this project Throwing Shade reimagines festival art as essential community infrastructure, addressing the stark contrast between Coachella’s elaborate temporary installations and nearby farmworker communities lacking basic heat protection. At the festival, the project appears as a... A link to this page has been added to your clipboard Browse related work Access, Ability & Inclusivity Climate Emergency Community Being Human Social Justice Places & Spaces Nature & Environment Health & Wellbeing Body Futures Play CorporateSocialResponsibility Environment Climate PublicArt PublicSpace SocialDesign SocialJustice SocialChange SociallyEngaged Sustainability Architecture Community Public Adaptation Light Interaction Design HumanCentredDesign Health
# Links ## Official page - https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/615469/cover ## External - https://www.linkedin.com/in/am-creative/ - https://www.alexmeltondesign.com - tel:+44 07424 627 362 - mailto:alex@alexmeltondesign.com - https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F615469%2Fcover&text=Throwing+Shade - https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fualshowcase.arts.ac.uk%2Fproject%2F615469%2Fcover&media=https%3A%2F%2Fportfolio-tools.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F05%2F08171056%2FHeader_comp_upload-2.jpg&description=Throwing+Shade