Rafael Fajardo teaches at the University of Denver in Electronic Media Arts Design, and in Digital Media Studies. He is part of an emerging group of artists and designers who are exploring the potential of digital video games to express serious and complex subject matter. Through his collaborative, SWEAT, Fajardo has published two video games that comment on the game-like nature of (il)legal human traffic at the US/Mexico border. These games have been exhibited in Holland, Turkey, Canada, and the US.
Before coming to Colorado, Fajardo spent six years living, teaching, and working on the US/Mexico border. There, he challenged the canons of design education and attempted to locate a visual expression that was “of the region” and not imposed from outside. His students created ideosyncratic works that have been recognized for their excellence by Milia, the leading global forum for the interactive industries; Walt Disney Imagineering; and, MexicArte, a nationally reknown cultural space in Austin, Texas.
For over twelve years Fajardo has been investigating cultural identity and cultural representation through his visual and intellectual work. His early explorations, completed while receiving his MFA from RISD, garnered recognition from the American Center for Design. More recently, his critical practice has earned him recognition by I.D., The International Magazine of Design.
In 2005, the Colorado Council for the Arts awarded him a grant to support scholarships for under-represented populations to a game camp he is organizing with the department of computer science at the University of Denver.