Leadership insights and best practices that can help sustain other art/design schools. A conversation hosted by Amy Devers of Clever, with Rosanne Somerson, President of RISD; Samuel Hoi, President of MICA and Lorne Buchman, President of ArtCenter.

We discussed during the live conversation some of the complex challenges and considerations art and design institutions of higher learning are facing with the rapid shift to remote learning and the potential ongoing necessity of learning from a distance. As we all witnessed – this semester involved a harrowingly urgent shift to complete remote learning. And now, with uncertainty being the only constant, leadership is attempting to plan the unplannable. 

One of the primary concerns for education and learning includes the obvious problem of taking studio-based, hands-on learning into the realm of the remote.

Many people may write it off as impossible, but we know that artists and designers have learned to think nimbly and have come up with non-obvious innovative and inventive ways of navigating this new territory. We heard some great examples of how faculty and students at RISD, MICA and ArtCenter have risen to this challenge.

We also talked about the challenges for students and faculty that emerged or became apparent during the transition to remote learning.

How will this new awareness be factored into future educational strategies? Why is art and design education beneficial to greater society? And how can we sustain this mission in the face of fear and budget cutbacks? We talked about health, safety, new systems, communication, and the economics of all of it.

Watch the recording

See a recap for the WantedDesign Manhattan Online Conversation Series, presented with Design Milk + Clever, at wanteddesignnyc.com/online