DCAD Launching Dual-Enrollment Program at Cab Calloway

DCAD instructor Aki Torii Sare will teach
the first dual-credit courses DCAD is offering
at Cab Calloway School of the Arts this fall.

Entering college with a few credits already earned is a big advantage for today’s students, saving them money on higher education expenses and helping them graduate with their associate’s or bachelor’s degrees on time or even early. Opportunities for students to bank credits often come through dual-enrollment agreements between their high schools and local colleges and focus on basic courses that serve as the foundation of their degree programs.

Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) and Cab Calloway School of the Arts are teaming up with instructor Aki Torii Sare to provide Cab’s visual arts students with an early start on their art and design degrees. Beginning this fall, DCAD will send instructors and curricula to Cab to offer “Figure Drawing” and “Animation I” that will count toward both a high school diploma and a college degree. Students also will produce relevant drawings and animations for their college application portfolios and have the opportunity to be mentored by a college instructor.

Cab Calloway is a public middle and high school for students in the performing and visual arts that boasts a graduation rate of 100%. Also located in Wilmington, the Red Clay Consolidated School District magnet school combines traditional academics with concentrations in dance, digital media and communication arts, instrumental music, piano, strings, technical theatre, theatre arts, visual arts and vocal music to lead to a State of Delaware High School Diploma.

DCAD, the Mid-Atlantic’s only two-year professional art and design college, is accredited by both the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. It offers associate of fine arts degree programs in animation, fine arts, graphic design, illustration and photography on its downtown Wilmington campus.

DCAD Dean Katy Ro noted that the development of this collaboration exemplifies DCAD’s mission and commitment to cultivating partnerships with local art and design entities. She also said the program will help make students more college-minded while helping them prepare for the academic rigors of college via previously unavailable instruction and experience. Cab Calloway Dean Julie Rumschlag agreed.

“This program gives our students an opportunity for coursework that our school typically does not offer,” Rumschlag said. “Dual-enrollment will provide both breadth and depth to our arts curriculum at Cab Calloway.”

Many students who have graduated from Cab Calloway over the last 20 years have gone on to earn associate of fine arts degrees from DCAD. These include Katlyn Cofrancisco, who earned a diploma from Cab, an associate’s degree from DCAD and a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to continuing to make pottery, she also has worked as one of DCAD’s admissions counselors.

“Giving high school students access to college-level studio classes truly benefits and enriches their learning experience,” Cofrancisco said. “DCAD sees a need to encourage and provide access for students who are talented and dedicated so they may get on an accelerated path to becoming artists and designers, and I believe this program with Cab Calloway will be the beginning of what DCAD hopes to achieve with other schools in the Tri-State area.”

Cofrancisco said moving from the close-knit creative community she experienced at Cab Calloway to the atmosphere at DCAD was a comfortable progression. Both offer a similar environment of support and inspiration.

“As I look back on my transition from high school to college,” she said, “the impact of being encouraged to take risks, learn to be a creative problem-solver and encourage my peers made me a more well-rounded artist.”

See www.dcad.edu. 

DCAD & Terrance Vann Present ‘Local + Famous’ Artists

Wilmington artist Terrance Vann.

This post content courtesy of a press release from Delaware College of Art & Design...

Painter, illustrator and muralist Terrance Vann is guest-curating an exhibition of more than 50 pieces of contemporary and accessible street art by more than two dozen artists of note, both locally and beyond, for Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) in August. Local + Famous: A Celebration of Homegrown Talent will fill DCAD’s Toni & Stuart B. Young Gallery from August 3 to 19.

Vann (also known by his Instagram handle @Terranceism) will co-host the show with fellow Wilmington artist Alim Smith (known as @yesterdaynite on Instagram). Smith is best known for his iconic “Memes” exhibition, which went viral online and attracted national press attention. Together Vann and Smith are known as The Color Brothers, and the works they’re bringing to DCAD promise to be vibrant.

“This show will challenge the traditional formation of how an exhibition looks, nodding to the popular fairs produced in Miami and New York,” says DCAD gallery and events manager Kelicia Pitts. “It will showcase some of the many homegrown and hidden talents in Wilmington.”

An example of this will be Vann’s own vividly colorful work, which Pitts has long admired and says “aims to portray the surreal world of our imaginations.” Vann received a 2017 Delaware Division of the Arts Emerging Artists Fellowship and has exhibited pieces nationwide. He is thrilled to have been asked to curate such a show at DCAD.

“Talent in this area is just as powerful,” says Vann, who considers Local + Famous to be a pop-up art fair. “It deserves to be showcased in this contemporary way.”

Among the artists exhibiting alongside Vann and Smith will be Shanina Dionna, who was a winner in Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean’s international “The Dean Collection 20 St(art)ups” or TDC20 competition. Joining their work will be pieces from the area’s veterans of the art world, including Rick Rockroth, Eunice LaFate, K.O. Simms and many more. Local galleries and tattoo shops also will be represented.

Local + Famous will open with a reception from 5:00 to 10:00pm on Friday, August 3, in conjunction with Art Loop Wilmington. Van Gogh Vodka, liquor sponsor for the event, will be 10:00am to 6:00pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 10:00am to 7:00pm Wednesdays; and 10:00am to 4:00pm Saturdays and Sundays.

For a full list of Local + Famous artists or for other information about the exhibition, contact DCAD communications director Susan Coulby at 302.622.8000 (office), 302.983.5710 (cell) or scoulby@dcad.edu.

New Partnership Enriches Curricula, Arts District

This post content courtesy of a press release from the Delaware College of Art & Design...

A recently launched collaboration between the Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) and NextFab makerspaces aims to enhance DCAD’s programs of study, increase NextFab’s footprint on Wilmington’s Creative District and further the redevelopment of the city's downtown.

DCAD, the Mid-Atlantic Region’s only two-year professional art and design college, offers the associate of fine arts degree in animation, fine arts, graphic design, illustration and photography and has served as an anchor institution in the revitalization of Wilmington since its founding in 1997. NextFab, which has three locations in the Mid-Atlantic, provides access to tools, technology, training, events, consulting and capital for creatives of any skill level.

The first phase of the partnership, already under way, provides NextFab memberships to all DCAD faculty to help them develop ways of integrating the latest in traditional and digital technology and artistic innovation into DCAD’s curricula while furthering their own development as artists. Subsequent phases will include field trips to NextFab for students to use the state‐of‐the‐art equipment, software and instruction for class assignments and provision of NextFab memberships to all degree-program students for use in completing coursework and for creating extracurricular art and design projects.

DCAD President John Hawkins noted that today’s creatives are highly multi-disciplinary – experts in one or two mediums yet familiar with and possessing a facility with many others. The NextFab collaboration increases DCAD’s ability to further student development in this direction while also giving students the chance to work in an environment characteristic of a contemporary art and design practice; gain exposure to new and evolving mediums and technologies; and connect with a wider network of professional artists and designers.

According to NextFab sales and marketing director Eric Kaplan, the makerspace is eager to play this role.

“Our Wilmington location has been open over six months now, and we’ve been steadily reaching more local creatives,” Kaplan said. “We are incredibly excited to have an official partnership with DCAD that will benefit both students and faculty, and we’re hopeful we can continue to explore ways of integrating technology and innovation into DCAD’s creative curriculum in the future.”

Mayor Michael Purzycki and managing director Carrie W. Gray of the Wilmington Renaissance Corp./Creative District Wilmington recently joined DCAD and NextFab representatives to officially celebrate the launch of the partnership. The event held at NextFab’s Wilmington headquarters including tours of the site and souvenir picture frames designed and crafted by NextFab and filled with artwork created by DCAD students.

“We have the richness of the arts with the richness of technology and the creativity of what is demonstrated right here,” Purzycki said. “I can’t imagine anything better for our city.”

Gray agreed. “WRC helped drive the founding of DCAD, and we led the recruitment of NextFab to Wilmington,” she said. “So now to have a partnership between these organizations is helping to realize the vision for a robust creative community and economy in Wilmington.”

See www.dcad.edu. 

DCAD Gets Animated with Its New Exhibition

Photo courtesy of Augenblick Studios

The Delaware College of Art and Design hosts the November opening of Animation Now! — a curated exhibition of contemporary animation — on display November 7, 2014 through January 9, 2015 in DCAD’s Toni & Stuart B. Young Gallery. 

Five animation studios, art centers, individuals and collectives from across the globe who create content for the web, TV, social media and game development will participate. Featuring techniques including stop-motion animation (Center for Creative Works and Tromarama), cut-out animation (Kelly Gallagher), and digital 2-D animation (Augenblick Studios and Honeycomb Interactive), Animation Now! showcases the scope of contemporary animation, including works that transcend the boundaries between art and entertainment worldwide.

An opening reception, sponsored by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery will be held Friday, November 7, from 5:00-8:00pm in the Toni & Stuart B. Young Gallery at 600 N. Market St., coinciding with Wilmington’s monthly Art Loop event. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 9:00am-9:00pm Monday through Friday and 10:00am-4:00pm Saturday and Sunday.

See www.dcad.edu.

Renaissance: Support for Art and Knowledge

Drama, beauty, youth, wisdom, innovation and tradition: The Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) has all of this, and more. At the school’s fourth annual gala –the Renaissance – to benefit the scholarship program, DCAD created a lively evening of music, art, entertainment and delicious food. Donors, students, faculty, administrators and art aficionados of all kinds had the chance to mingle and listen to music provided by a lovely quartet.

DCAD is Delaware’s only professional art and design school. As an integral part of the newly revitalized community on lower Market Street, the college is committed to providing scholarships to its students. In order to award more than $800,000 in financial aid next year, the school relies heavily on its patrons and donors. Mr. and Mrs. Iréneé duP. May honorary chairs for the gala evening, have been integral in promoting and supporting the school and all the Arts in the Brandywine Valley.

I enjoyed chatting with the college president, Stuart Baron, about the school and its programs. A painter himself, Baron has overseen the DCAD since July, most recently having been in Baton Rouge, where he spearheaded an effort to get art supplies to students, children and displaced artists who were affected by Katrina’s devastation. His passion – for art itself and for making it available to everyone who wishes to enjoy and create – mirrors and furthers the school’s mission.

DCAD used the Italian Renaissance as a theme for its gala, since it was an era when artists were heavily supported and encouraged by their patrons. Some students wandered about the first floor in togas, preparing to bring to the life the “Last Supper” tableau staged on the back wall of the gallery. Overflowing were banquet-style tables of beautifully arranged loaves of bread, cheese and fruit. Both student and teacher works were for sale during the silent auction. Guests were greeted at the doorway by costumes from OperaDelaware’s Tosca, reminding us of the close relationship design, music and historical studies have with each other, as well as the vital Arts community that has been forged along Market Street in Wilmington.

DCAD Makes History with Wilmington's Skyline

On a beautiful bright Saturday morning, 262 people-young and old-gathered on the seventh floor of the Renaissance Centre on King Street to help break the Guinness World Record for “The Most People Contributing to the Same Painting Simultaneously.” Sponsored by the Delaware College of Art and Design, the group effort was coordinated to surpass a record set in 2008 by 152 people in Germany. Jessica Sturgis, the college’s Director of Communications invited me to the event, which was coordinated by Valerie Jermusyk, the school’s Director of Development.

Long strips of paper had been rolled out on the floor and tables in this L-shaped room that boasted a glorious view of entire downtown area. The riverfront, the newly revived LOMA district, the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Courthouse were visible from this swanky loft-like space. Each person was asked to sign in, take a paintbrush, and wait for directions.

As part of the College’s first ever alumni and family weekend, the event was so well-attended they ran out of standard paintbrushes, and some people had to use the tiny doll-sized ones that came with the miniature watercolor sets given as party favors. Treviss Givens (’09 Animation) was there with his daughter, who was having a wonderful time, along with the other children. A freelance web designer, he was happy to be part of the effort.

As the start time approached, some people became very territorial about their plot of paper. When I tried to squeeze in, a couple told me, “Oh no, you can’t paint here. We’re putting the Chase Center right here on the corner.” Once the start time was announced, everyone was required to paint for three minutes without stopping. When the painting was finished, the experimental band, CoCoSyn performed and everyone enjoyed lunch. Wilmington looks forward to making history!

See http://www.dcad.edu/.