Symposium Sets the Stage

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the 2008 AICAD symposium "Artists and Designers for Change." The event was jointly hosted by Otis and Art Center and drew faculty from AICAD member schools throughout the US and Canada.

One of the things I have always appreciated about working on a college campus is access to events such as these. They represent an opportunity to engage in really thoughtful discussions about important topics- in this case artists and designers as change agents- and to hear from some truly brilliant speakers.

For me the highlight was Mel Chin's talk. His presentation of the project " Operation Paydirt" completely captured the spirit of the event- get kids to make art as an educational experience- use the awareness created by their efforts to draw a attention to a serious health issue and raise significant funds (hopefully) to make a difference in people's quality of life. If that all sounds a bit cryptic you can read about the whole thing here. I'd urge you to check it out and get involved.

All of the presentations are scheduled to be posted on the symposium wiki site in the near future.

I learned a lot from the experience and it was a very good event for Otis.