SCAD is proud to announce the world premiere of the documentary film Surviving Clotilda this week at the 24th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival. As the largest university-run film festival in the country, SCAD Savannah Film Festival celebrates cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers alike. The screening of this student-produced film takes place Thursday, October 28, 2021, 4 p.m. in Trustees Theater.

Surviving Clotilda is a 25-minute documentary telling the extraordinary story of America's last slave ship, the Clotilda, and of the 110 people whose resilience turned horror into hope. In 1860 the schooner smuggled African captives into the Bay of Mobile, Alabama — more than 50 years after the importation of enslaved humans was outlawed. The story of the Clotilda and the names of those enslaved Africans have been passed down for generations by their descendants, many of whom still live in a community called Africatown, only a few miles from where the ship was found.

Surviving Clotilda was produced and directed by SCAD alumna Oliva Grillo (B.F.A., film and television, 2021) and SCAD Atlanta senior Kathryn Jamieson (B.F.A., film and television). Grillo and Jamieson, along with a team of more than 30 SCAD students, worked closely with the descendants to thoroughly research the history of the Clotilda, and to tell the story from their point of view.

"The Clotilda seemed to exist in legend only, and was nearly lost to history until its re-discovery and verification in 2019," producer-director Jamieson said. "By bringing together a curated team of skilled SCAD students with fresh eyes, open hearts, and the drive to create, we were able to listen, record, and piece together the history that this community deserves. I believe as long as someone is remembered, they still exist. As student filmmakers committed to these important people and moments in history, we are passing forward what was nearly forgotten.  We do so with compassion and urgency, hoping that others will pick up this mantle."

The film is as special as the story itself. Surviving Clotilda was created through the prodigious skills of students in the award-winning SCAD film and television program, in collaboration with creative minds from the university's top-ranked degree programs in animation, visual effects, motion media, dramatic writing, and sound design. The film combines deft use of traditional filmmaking techniques with cutting-edge original imagery.

Darron Patterson, President, Clotilda Descendants Association said, "The animated film brought the story to life in a way I never could have imagined. I get emotional every time I watch it. The story and depictions are accurate and precise. The student filmmakers pulled things out of our souls, interpreted it in a way all could understand, and put it on a screen for people to see. Students at SCAD possess a quality that cannot be taught — sincerity."

The film was commissioned by the City of Mobile through the university's collaborative innovation studio SCADpro. "The students and faculty at SCAD went way beyond, as they took extraordinary measures to form relationships with the community and stakeholders," said Visit Mobile President and CEO David Clark. "This story will re-shape the Africatown Community, bring in visitors, and change humanity around the world for the better."

Visit Mobile is incorporating Surviving Clotilda into its tourism plan for the area. With the 2018 discovery of the Clotilda in the Bay of Mobile, just north of the city, Mobile has gained new international attention. Coming in the Spring of 2022, a new Africatown Heritage House museum will open to the world, sharing the experience of Clotilda survivors.

Attendees of Thursday's premiere are encouraged to stick around for the panel discussion with SCAD film and television professor Jennifer Hyde, narrator and SCAD film and television student Rachel Olivia Taylor, Visit Mobile vice president Emily Gonzalez, and Clotilda Descendants Association president Darron Patterson immediately following the screening.

To purchase tickets to the premiere, or a special 24-hour streaming pass, visit the official site.

"I'm not reduceable to only one thing that I'm passionate about," says the irrepressible Emily Castro (B.F.A., motion media design).

A Sun Conference All-Academic forward on the SCAD women's soccer team, Castro came to Savannah from New Port Richey, Florida in 2018 as "the first person from my immediate family to go directly to college after high school." Now, one quarter shy of graduating, Castro balances her athletic leadership role with her academic course load by integrating her disciplines.

Her soccer IQ — high spatial awareness, kinesthetic perception, and interactive savvy — is manifest in her work as a motion media designer minoring in art history.

"Emily demonstrates a tremendous commitment to research, and to establishing a broad framework for questioning assumptions and addressing the challenges that arise in her work," says motion media design professor John Colette. "She's tremendous asset to our program."

"She's a remarkable individual and a great motivator," says women's soccer head coach Rebecca Gunn. "Emily is an important part of our team."

Emily Castro:

I started playing soccer when I was eight years old. By the time I was a senior at River Ridge High School, I was playing in three different leagues, including ECNL, and I was in all AP classes. Coach Gunn saw me play, and I received an offer from SCAD. I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to study art and play soccer here.

SCAD soccer has allowed me to grow so much. I've never been part of something that was so close-knit. We're a big part of each other's lives. Though the season was canceled in 2020, my junior year helped me understand my academic priorities, and it made me yearn for soccer again. Now, as a senior, I try to take the younger teammates under my wing and let them know, if something happens to you, it probably happened to me. I'm notorious for giving people gift baskets.

There is a tradition of women's soccer players studying motion media at SCAD. Gabbie Garbe (B.F.A., motion media design, 2017) even went on to work for F.C. Barcelona. When I arrived, my predecessor Mikaela Heyboer (B.F.A., graphic design, 2020) introduced me to her classmate Lauren Kittle (B.F.A., motion media design, 2020) who took me to Monty Hall for my first ProjectionFest. I hadn't taken a motion media class yet and I remember thinking, this is what I want to do.

This quarter I'm in Motion Media Projection (MOME 305) with professor John Collette. Projection mapping is experiential. You walk into it, rather than viewing it on your phone. The goal is to bring fans in and create an experience for them. Imagine being in a concert hall or stadium, and seeing moving visuals leading you where you need to go. It's also for the athletes. When you're getting ready for a game and you see your field or track come to life, you can't help but get pumped to do your best possible performance. It amplifies the grandeur.

For my senior project, I'm rebranding the graphics for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. I'll be animating the entire design package, including logo rebrands, lower thirds, and wayfinding projections. My goal is to work for a sports network like ESPN or CBS when I graduate.

Art history is also one of my passions. Studying with professor Gabriela Jasin has helped me understand why artists make choices, and why the choices I make as an artist matter. Art is a driver of the potential for social change. Soccer has the power to do so too.

Come cheer on SCAD women's soccer for Senior Day as they take on rivals Thomas University, Saturday, October 23, 2 p.m. at the SCAD Athletics Complex in Hardeeville, SC!

"That's a really weird duck, Bebe," says a little girl named Heba to her doting grandmother, who is reading a poem about a forgetful waterfowl raised by chickens in a henhouse. "Not so, sweetheart," her grandmother responds. "After all, we are all ducks, living like chickens."

This moment takes place in "The Ocean Duck," a new animated short produced and directed by Huda Razzak (M.F.A., animation, 2021). Inspired by a passage from Rumi's 13th century epic poem the "Masnavi," the film will be explored this week at SCAD AnimationFest 2021, during a panel featuring its creative team.

Still from "The Ocean Duck" (2021)

"I was born and raised in the U.S., aware of my Iraqi cultural heritage, and I have Persian ancestry as well," says Razzak. "I grew up in a household where the poetry of Rumi was part of life." As a young pre-med student in Texas, Razzak found herself inexorably drawn toward the arts, enrolling in SCAD eLearning before moving to Atlanta to attend SCAD in person full time, and "soaking up everything I could learn from the incredible professors and my fellow students."

"The Ocean Duck" mirrors Razzak's own relationship with her grandmother, who was a treasury of family memories before being stricken with dementia. The film slips through time, showing an older Heba at the bedside of the hospitalized matriarch.

"My daughter is actually the voice actor for Heba as a little girl," says Razzak. "I love that I was able to make this film with my daughter about my grandmother, my mom's mom, so that multiple generations of women give it its meaning."

SCAD associate chair of animation Matthew Maloney provides perspective on how the technical facilitates the artistic in Razzak's work: "I watched Huda cross from being a student and a fan of animation to being a transcendent filmmaker with ‘The Ocean Duck'. The film is transcendent because the production team had no allegiances to any one tool. It's something we talk about in class: Whichever tool creates the least obstruction between the idea in their heads and the film itself, use it. As students, they study cutting edge master controller techniques, but first and foremost, they are storytellers."

Razzak's sources of inspiration includes 16th century illuminated manuscripts, particularly regarding planar perspective and "how elements can enter from outside the border, which is a beautiful metaphor for transcending realms, levels of existence, and space and time," she says.

Still from "The Ocean Duck" (2021)

"We ended up exploring a lot of different ways to achieve the vision of the film," Razzak says, shouting out her creative team, including co-director and animation supervisor My Anh Ngô (M.F.A., animation, 2021), who Razzak met in professor Jenna Zona's digital cel animation class. "It's not a traditionally drawn 2D film. The main character Heba as well as the chickens are all rigged, while everyone else is hand-drawn. It made our process more efficient, and enabled us to finish on time."

The very fact that ‘The Ocean Duck' is deeply personal fosters its universal resonance. As Razzak says: "I wanted the film to capture the bittersweetness of losing someone, but I also wanted it to be triumphant."

Huda Razzak

SCAD AnimationFest 2021 Student Showcase Spotlight: 'The Ocean Duck'

Saturday, Sept. 25, Noon ET

Join SCAD associate chair of animation Matthew Maloney as he moderates a conversation with director and producer Huda Razzak (M.F.A., animation, 2021), lead rigging artist Denise Anger (B.F.A., animation, 2020), visual effects lead Ryen Goebel (B.F.A., animation, 2020), co-director and animation supervisor My Anh Ngo (M.F.A., animation, 2021), and composer and sound coordinator Stephanie Hamelin Tomala about the making of ‘The Ocean Duck.'

For more information and tickets, visit the official SCAD AnimationFest page.

It's almost time to Escalate. The SCAD-produced fashion film, directed by Chris Anthony Hamilton, lauds historic changemakers and their legacies. Visitors can experience Escalate Oct. 13, 2021 – April 16, 2022 in the Film Salon of SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta.

The high concept film showcases student and alumni works created for the SCAD Changemakers Alumni Design Challenge. Envisioned by SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace and juried by Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, the challenge invited exceptional alumni from the university’s top-ranked School of Fashion to design futuristic fashions evoking history-changing leaders, inspired by Carter’s iconic work for film.

Escalate features extraordinary garments by challenge finalists, giving flight to a dream-like odyssey in which vital social, cultural, and political figures of the past and present celebrate creative expression, with a vision to a more inclusive future. Garments pay tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Malcolm X, David Bowie, Semiha Berksoy, Fela Kuti, Elaine Brown, and Stokely Carmichael, among others.

SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace said: “Where else but SCAD can you share your work with Academy Award-winning designer Ruth E. Carter and see your designs featured in an exclusive fashion film for the festival circuit? Alumni designers featured in Escalate testify to a powerful truth: SCAD loves and never ceases celebrating, elevating, and advancing the careers of SCAD graduates. We love our Bees, and our Bees love fashion!” 

Filmed on-site at SCAD Atlanta, Escalate demonstrates the imagination, ingenuity, and exceptional talents of students and alumni from SCAD’s globally recognized degree programs in fashion, production design, jewelry, and performing arts. Production credits highlight student and alumni talent across SCAD’s Schools of Entertainment Arts and Digital Media, with many of the film’s performers placed through the SCAD Casting Office, the only professionally run university casting office in the U.S. Vibrating with choreography by celebrated dancer T. Lang and music composed by cellist-songwriter Okorie Johnson (OkCello), Escalate also centers SCAD’s role as a performing arts incubator for the Atlanta creative community.

“Any historical figure, known or unknown, famous or lost in time, is deserving of honest research,” said Carter, who is known for her own in-depth historical research underpinning her design process. “And in that study of humanity, a person reveals their true self. From the Changemakers design challenge to the film and beyond, I am so proud of these SCAD students and alumni. The work of the SCAD community never ceases to amaze me.”

Carter is a longtime champion of SCAD and its students. Building on the designer’s engagement with the university and her personal legacy, SCAD proudly announces the establishment of the Ruth E. Carter Endowed Scholarship to be awarded to a rising star student in the School of Fashion. This endowed scholarship, made possible by Carter, exemplifies her supreme generosity to SCAD students and cements her unwavering support and inspiration for the next generation of creative leaders and changemakers.

“I feel honored and grateful to have my design, which was inspired by the formidable Justice Ginsburg, recognized by Ruth E. Carter,” said Viviane Carvahlo (B.F.A., fashion, 2016), who won the Changemakers Alumni Design Challenge with her garment interpreting the social and cultural impact of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “It is a dream come true to now see my creation come to life in this film.”

Learn more about the Ruth E. Carter Endowed Scholarship.

For more about Escalate, visit SCADFASH.org.

On a hot and starry Tuesday night in Harlem, the show began with birdsong. Specifically, "The Birds Belong to All of Us" by Pulitzer Prize-winning sound artist Ellen Reid, its avian trills accompanying the debut collection by designer Johnathan Hayden (M.F.A., fashion, 2016). As the models walked, the clothes seemed to sing in conversation with the music.

A sleeveless mini-dress, an acrylic-domed cloche hat, a dark blue belted trench coat with golden butterfly lapel pin; together in motion, the vision of the garments cohered. "As my debut, there's a lot of emotion behind these garments, and the collection is almost a wish-you-were-here postcard," Hayden explained. Sponsored by Harlem's Fashion Row and part of New York Fashion Week 2021, the outdoor runway show represents a major moment in the SCAD alumni's burgeoning career.

2022 Collection image courtesy Johnathan Hayden.

Hayden's commitment to collaboration is a sensibility he developed at SCAD. "As a graduate student, I worked with motion graphics students to make short films that opened up a whole realm of possibility I never thought possible, where my interests in fashion and animation and user experience and my background in music all came together in one. It was a tipping point for me." (The project led Hayden to create a dress included in the "Manus x Machina" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2016.)

Hayden's cultural fluency is indivisible from his intellectual worldview and his kaleidoscopic creativity. In conversation, he flows from a soliloquy on Stravinsky to a detailed discourse on the history of labor practices in Manhattan's garment district. He is well positioned to be an industry sensation because he's already put in the work that deserves the attention.

"I've gone through life with people putting me in boxes of how they perceive me," says the mixed-race son of a military family from a small town outside Dallas, Texas. "I've never been enough for one group. Through merit alone I've been able to get accepted." 

While still a SCAD student, Hayden interned at Badgley Mischka ("I became their first paid intern, which turned into an apprenticeship"). After graduating, he ran Parsons' design for disability education program, "and I was working retail for a sustainable brand, and making samples of my own stuff." Hayden was building relationships, being patient, knowing his moment to show his first full collection would come. This week it did.

2022 Collection image courtesy Johnathan Hayden.

"Now I'm hoping we see a large order and the beginning of a retail relationship and expanding clientele," he says. "As a practical philosophy, I only want to show one collection a year, and slow down our consumption of fashion, give the audience something to savor. We can still align with the retail calendar, but I think the future is making people excited to see what we've been working on for a full year. That gives my collaborators time to really be inspired and develop ideas as well."

He originally heard his collaborator Ellen Reid on an NPR segment about her SOUNDWALK app. Reid's "The Birds Belong to All of Us" was first composed to soundtrack The Ramble in Central Park, a place made infamous during an altercation last year between a bird watcher and a dog walker. After Reid and Hayden met, the composer created a special extended version of the piece specifically for the runway. "The context of Ellen's song is how my show opens," says Hayden. "I thought it was a really effective way to acknowledge the year we went through, and also to give it a hopeful tint."

And the birds did sing.

johnathanhayden.com

Break out the awesome sauce: Brittany Leffler (B.A., visual communication, advertising, 2015) has been named a Future Leader in Convenience by Convenience Store News. The honor celebrates Leffler as part of the next generation of convenience industry leaders, and provides a forum for the further development of leadership skills. Leffler, loyalty and brand manager for convenience store chain Parker's, is one of 25 industry professionals age 35 and younger honored in 2021.
 
"Brittany is extremely creative and excels at looking at the big picture when it comes to brand management, loyalty, and customer engagement," said Parker's founder and CEO Greg Parker. "A strategic thinker and tactical professional with a ‘can-do' attitude, Brittany is the heart and soul of our company's loyalty program and a rising star in the convenience store industry."

"I feel my hard work has paid off, which is fantastic," says Leffler.

Since its founding in 1976, Parker's has grown from one store in Midway, GA to an award-winning company with locations throughout Georgia and South Carolina. It is a convenience destination of choice for SCAD students, many of whom arrive in Savannah unfamiliar with the chain. As an undergraduate student, Leffler—who grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts—was no different.

"My first experience as a Parker's customer was downtown at the market on Drayton Street," she says of the location nicknamed "Fancy Parker's." "We see that as our flagship store, but we still make the Parker's experience as consistent as we can. If I'm driving on I-16 and I see a Parker's, that's where I'm stopping because I know I'm going to get a great experience." 
 
As loyalty and brand manager, Leffler manages and executes member communications to more than 210,000 Parker's Rewards members, loyalty program logistics, and digital content on the Parker's website. She also oversees digital menu boards, mobile menu ordering, and the Parker's Rewards app.

"I started with Parker's in 2016 as the graphic designer and marketing assistant," Leffler says. "I handled digital content and in-store signage across 50 stores. Over my three years as the graphic designer, I started to identify needs we had in terms of digital and advertising. Parker's recognized that I had a knack for communication with our customers and brand consistency, and my position as loyalty and brand manager grew out of that."

Leffler sees her SCAD experience as a key to her professional success. "My SCAD degree in visual communication means I got the best of both worlds—my focus was advertising, with lots of graphic design classes. Arlene Distel was one of my favorite professors. She really helped me hone my creative thinking skills. That means not only design but copywriting and the creative brief and the mechanism behind the marketing."
 
It's to this Future Leader of Convenience's credit that Parker's was also named the 2020 Convenience Store Decisions Chain of the Year, the industry's highest honor. One question remains: What Parker's snack keeps Leffler going? "That's hard," she says. "I'd say the chicken sandwich. With extra Parker's sauce."

"My style is taking unexpected materials and transforming them," says Caroline Mae Heidenreich (B.F.A., fashion, 2009) as she tugs at the ripstop nylon wrap worn by student model Shiloh Smith (B.F.A., painting). Soon Smith is zipping on a moped down the corridors of Alexander Hall, gauzy garment billowing behind him to fabulous effect. The moment is part of a photo shoot documenting Mae's collection-in-progress FLY, the culmination of her work as SCAD Alumni Atelier Ambassador 2021. "Mae fills the room with light," says Smith. "As soon as she put me in the clothes, I felt uplifted."

While a SCAD undergraduate, Mae created a senior collection of gowns made from military parachutes, mosquito netting, and hand-painted canvas that earned her the Jeffrey Fashion Cares New Talent Award. From 2013-2021, she worked as creative and executive assistant for Madonna, creating costumes for the Madame X Tour. When Madonna posted a video of her son David Banda wearing a Mae Couture dress to Instagram earlier this year, it scored two million views. "Madonna is an idol of our lifetime who believed in me and helped me believe in myself," Mae says.

Mae is carrying that spirit forward. As a 2021 SCAD Alumni Atelier ambassador, she has mentored students, led virtual classroom workshops, and aligned with SCAD SERVE so that sales of her work will benefit the local community. During the new academic year, Mae's capsule collection will be exhibited at SCAD FASH in Atlanta, while her epic oil paintings — emphasizing themes of higher consciousness and "the self as light energy" — will be featured in Savannah at Alexander Hall.

SCAD students Shiloh Smith and Emma Calverley model Mae, with assitance by Beckham Lin (far left) and Ann-Hammond Gift (far right).

Caroline Mae Heidenreich:

I'd always wanted to be an Alumni Atelier ambassador, but working full-time meant my schedule didn't allow it. I stayed in touch with President Wallace, sending her updates about my work, and she connected me with Alumni Atelier director Tiffani Taylor. Then there was an opportunity for me to become one of the first digital Alumni Atelier ambassadors during winter quarter 2020-2021. Now I'm here in Savannah, completing my work in person. I had so many transformational experiences as a student at SCAD that being back in Savannah, a place where I learned so much, feels so right.

The ability to connect with students and classrooms virtually was eye-opening. I began mentoring a student who is now one of my assistants, Ann-Hammond Gift. Ann-Hammond was a fashion major who switched to a painting major, and I was a fashion major who now paints on garments, and I love the energy that's come from that connection, and from working with talented, hardworking students, including Beckham Lin (B.F.A., fashion) who has also been an invaluable assistant to me.

For my Atelier, I found a massive, 66-foot parachute and realized, I can paint on this, this can be my canvas. Some of the garments are silk. The aim with the reversible pieces is for them to be black and white on one side and really colorful on the reverse. The language you see on the garments, like the word FLY, is about spreading your wings. That's symbolic in Andean shamanism, where you travel above the tree tops and truly see from a higher perspective. I paint it and flip it, so the mantras face the body. The repetition of the word LIGHT means the collection recognizes my light within myself and the light within others.

I love the feeling of one-of-a-kind work. Big corporate designers are what everybody is trained to think fashion is. As an artist, I want to make things that can't be mass produced. Even when we make a pattern and cut it out a hundred different ways, it's never going to be the same. Let art be art.

SHOP MAE COUTURE

"La Bayadère is one of the greatest ballets in the world," says Anthony TungNing Huang (M.F.A., illustration, 2021) of the subject of his graduate thesis project, a speculative poster design for The Royal Ballet. "It's about love, it's about revenge, it's about forgiveness, and it's about closure."

The creative process that led Huang to his thesis began in Contemporary Art (ARTH 701) class with SCAD art history professor Dr. Rachel Hooper.

"Dr. Hooper introduced examples of artists who had opened up their worlds by using different materials," remembers Huang. "As an illustrator I thought, how can I use different materials to find myself and grow as an artist? I started off using watercolors, then tried acrylic — both were fun, but not it."

Then, in the winter of 2020, Huang signed up for Graduate Printmaking Processes (PRMK 602) with professor Curtis Bartone. That experience proved transformative. The first assignment was woodcut relief, and as Huang says, "The moment I touched the gouge, I knew."

"Printmaking taught me to slow down. I learned how to be more sensitive to values and textures. Becoming a printmaker changed me as an illustrator."

Huang had the opportunity to work alongside students majoring in a wide range of disciplines, including interior design, painting, and fibers. "It was fascinating to see how everyone's background manifested in their work, even when we were all working with the same materials." When winter quarter concluded and the world went into lockdown, Huang began to work on his thesis project largely from his apartment, without full access to studio tools.

"La Bayadère, also known as The Temple Dancer, is adapted from the Indian poetry drama by Kalidasa," explains the Taiwanese-American Huang. Under the guidance of his thesis chair, professor Arden von Haeger, Huang combined traditional media and new media to create the poster. "I tried to mimic some textures from printmaking. I used monochromatic tones to create a classic feel. I used the form of a ballet dancer to express the grace and sadness of the whole show. I used a sans serif font to echo the logo of the theater itself. And I used environmental elements, symbolic flowers like the lotus."

Huang's horizontal design can be cropped to create a billboard, flyers, or other promotional collateral. "I challenged myself by creating a huge image, with more information inside, and a sense of movement by using dancers' bodies."

Intriguingly, years before he came to SCAD, Huang was on a path to become a professional ballroom dancer in Shanghai before being waylaid by injury and turning towards visual arts. His sensitivity to movement is apparent in his work. (This physicality is evident in the film on his website that conveys the rhythms of his artistic process and his seriousness of purpose.)

"One reason I chose La Bayadère is because of the history of the story, which goes back to Asia. The more I grow, especially with globalization and the internet, I assume a world citizenship. I want to connect ancient cultures through my work, and make it modern."

Huang acknowledges another SCAD class, Business and Professional Practices in Illustration (ILLU 774), as influencing his thesis: "As an artist, it's important to show who you are. But as an illustrator you also need to work with the client. Trying to make your client see what's interesting about your work and who you are, and how that will make their product more successful, that's something I learned at SCAD."

Visit Anthony TungNing Huang.

Rebonjour! SCAD is pleased to announce the re-opening of SCAD Lacoste, an imaginative center for the study of art and design sited in the beautifully preserved medieval village of Lacoste in the Provence region of France. In 2002, SCAD acquired the site and meticulously revitalized more than 30 historic structures. This summer, SCAD will host dynamic activations throughout SCAD Lacoste, inspiring students, alumni, and visitors to the region.

The exhibition Notre Ami, Pierre Cardin, the university's latest ode and homage to the indomitable designer, is now open to the public. The exhibition features exceptional garments and two films produced by the university — including I Am Thinking of Pierre Cardin, awarded Best Fashion Documentary at the London Film Festival — celebrating Cardin's remarkable life story. The exhibition is set in an installation reminiscent of Cardin's famous Palais Bulles, his dream residence near Cannes and a future-forward architectural marvel that rivaled his greatest fashion creations.

Notre Ami, Pierre Cardin highlights the designer's long and treasured friendship with the university that began with the establishment of SCAD Lacoste in the historic village, which Cardin, a longtime resident, knew would serve as an endless source of inspiration for young artists. For nearly two decades, Cardin embraced the role of mentor, engaging hundreds of SCAD students across the university's top-ranked degree programs, from fashion to architecture and beyond.

In 2008, the university honored Cardin with the SCAD Étoile for his contributions to the fields of fashion and design as well as his role in the historic restoration and cultural life of Lacoste. In 2018, the university's SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta originated the exhibition Pierre Cardin: Pursuit of the Future, a major retrospective presented in partnership with the Pierre Cardin Museum in Paris that included iconic looks from the 1950s held in the SCAD Permanent Collection. Notre Ami, Pierre Cardin is curated by Rafael Gomes, head of fashion exhibitions at SCAD, in collaboration with Pierre Cardin Paris and Rodrigo Basilicati.

Visitors to Lacoste can also experience the creative process firsthand as they observe working artists selected for the prestigious SCAD Alumni Atelier, an elite artist residency conceptualized and endowed by SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. Originated in 2015, the SCAD Alumni Atelier offers visionary graduates the time, space, resources, and business education to thrive creatively and professionally. As ambassadors or associates, alumni advance their careers, strengthen their connection to the university, and join a select cohort of emerging and established entrepreneurs, artists, designers, and scholars. Now in its sixth year, the SCAD Alumni Atelier has disbursed more than $1 million in support of new or expanded alumni ventures including fashion brands, jewelry collections, screenplays, feature films, exhibitions, and more — a testament to the university's lifelong commitment to the SCAD community.

Launched in 2021, the SCAD Alumni Atelier associateship encourages graduates to pursue their creative practice with a focus on engagement with the SCAD community. While creating, ideating, or brand building, associates reconnect with faculty, serve as student mentors, and engage with staff in admission, communications, and career and alumni success. SCAD Alumni Atelier associates Melinda Borysevicz (B.F.A., painting, 2011), Masako Maupu Masukawa (M.F.A., illustration, 1995; B.F.A., illustration, 1992), Liz Robb (M.F.A., fibers, 2014), Serge Ruffato (B.F.A., sculpture, 2012), and William M. Ruller (M.F.A., painting, 2013) will create new work in personal studios within the university's enchanting medieval caves and share their artistic practice with students and the public throughout the summer.

The university will also reopen shopSCAD in Lacoste. Nested on the Rue Saint-Trophime, the boutique retail space and gallery features an ever-changing melange of original jewelry, accessories, apparel, stationery, home décor, and unique gifts by SCAD students, alumni, and faculty.

"Summer sunshine bathes France's Luberon Valley in lavender hues and beckons adventurers to SCAD Lacoste, where enthralling exhibitions and explorations await," says President Wallace. "À bientôt!"

Visit SCAD Lacoste!

Daniel Roa (B.F.A., photography, 2019) is a nonbinary photographer who is blurring gender norms and burning cookies.

Roa developed the photo series "My Queer Identity" celebrating Queer and nonbinary individuals while studying at SCAD. Each photo—including the cookie-tinged "Josh ii"—is an ode to Roa's eccentricity, and often draws from their Colombian heritage.

"I want to educate people on what being Queer is and show others that I exist. Gender is a spectrum and I am in it, on it, and around it," Roa says. "I'm human just like you."

Roa's work has been showcased in Vogue Italia, FOTOFILMIC, and FotoFika All-Stars. This has helped them connect with some of fashion's biggest names, including Steve Klein and David LaChapelle. "I shoot fashion in New York today because of SCAD. The university helped me explore what I like, who I am, and the stories I want to tell."

Daniel Roa, "Josh ii," 120 film, 2020.

Daniel Roa:

I applied to SCAD with the goal of becoming a photographer. I loved my initial foundations courses and came to enjoy painting. I took my first film photography class, Camera Exploration and Technique (PHOT 113) with professor Steven Mosch, who helped me see that I was talented and capable and taught me to love film photography.

As a junior, I got to work on a SCADpro project with furniture designer Maria Yee. I had never worked with furniture before, but I knew how to use an image to convey a story. It was an opportunity to test myself and learn a new skill set. At the same time, it helped me define my personal style as a photographer. From there I began focusing on fashion photography.

I began developing "My Queer Identity" series senior year with professor Rebecca Nolan's guidance. Each photo in the series is a representation of myself. "Josh ii" depicts an individual in their kitchen baking cookies and getting ready for their day. I am obsessed with the color pink. I am also an avid baker, a little chaotic, and slightly messy.

I wanted the image to be simple and accessible to everyone. We can all see ourselves wearing a robe and slippers in an ordinary kitchen. What is more mundane than that? The only thing that is fantasy, for me, is that the cookies aren't burned. I can't bake to save my life.

The project helped me get an internship with David LaChapelle and then Steven Klein. As I completed the work, professor Nolan encouraged me to reach out to fellow SCAD grads. Through that process I met my mentor, David Mollé (B.F.A., photography, 2016). His work and guidance has inspired me to continue to stretch myself. I just shot my first ad campaign for Depop with fellow SCAD grad, Angel Emmanuel (B.F.A., fibers, 2016).

As a student, SCAD prepared me for my career. As a professional, SCAD has helped me connect, grow, and thrive. SCAD is a place of love and acceptance that changes and saves lives. For so many of us, the community at SCAD is a family working to make a more beautiful world.

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