MISSION
The Digital Craft Research Lab (DCRL) at NMSU is an interdisciplinary studio that brings traditional craft frameworks together with emerging digital technologies to support creative research, education, workforce development, and community engagement. Operated by the Department of Art, DCRL provides access to technical instruction, conceptual inquiry, and hands-on studio practice for students, artists, designers, and creative professionals. Through coursework, public programming, open lab access, and cross-sector partnerships, DCRL builds artistic and technical fluency while strengthening the region’s creative community.

VISION
DCRL envisions a regional creative ecosystem in which artists and makers across generations and backgrounds have access to the tools, knowledge, and support needed to develop sustainable creative practices. As a public research laboratory within New Mexico’s land-grant university, DCRL brings academic research, creative production, and public service together – creating new opportunities for experimentation, collaboration, professional development, and cultural production throughout southern New Mexico and the U.S.-MEX borderlands.

PEOPLE

Carissa Samaniego DCRL Co-Director

Assistant Professor, Sculpture

Bree Lamb
DCRL Co-Director
Associate Professor, Photography

Korey Burns
DCRL Coord. & Instructor
College Assistant Professor, Foundations + 3D Media

Yashoda Latkar
DCRL Coord. & Instructor
College Assistant Professor, Foundations + 2D Media

Nicholas Gialanella DCRL Studio Manager

Manager of Chemical Safety

Danny Joe Rose III
DCRL Designer

Graduate Student, Studio Art

Andrew Williams
DCRL Photographer
Graduate Student, Studio Art

Allie Hale
DCRL Staff & Instructor
Graduate Student, Studio Art

Trevor Jackson
DCRL Staff & Instructor
Graduate Student, Studio Art

Carolina Cardenas
DCRL Staff Assistant

Undergraduate Student, Studio Art

Jacob Castro
DCRL Staff Assistant

Undergraduate Student, Studio Art

Marcellus Ferrell
DCRL Staff Assistant

Undergraduate Student, Studio Art

OPERATING GOALS

Workforce + Professional Development
Provide hands-on training in digital fabrication, imaging, and print technologies that builds technical fluency, professional skills, entrepreneurial capacity, and creative agency.

Equitable Access to Infrastructure
Reduce barriers to advanced creative technologies through staffed open lab hours, public workshops, accessible learning resources, and an inclusive studio environment.

Creative Research + Innovation
Support experimental, cross-disciplinary practices that move between traditional craft knowledge, contemporary art, and emerging technologies.

Community + Ecosystem Building
Strengthen regional creative networks through partnerships with artists, educators, schools, cultural organizations, public agencies, nonprofits, and small businesses.

Sustainability + Knowledge Sharing
Build durable systems for training, documentation, staffing, and knowledge transfer that support DCRL’s long-term growth and accessibility.