They say SCAD signature events never go out of style — and none stays hip like SCADstyle. Now in its 18th year, the dynamic four-day event in Savannah (April 8-10) and Atlanta (April 10-11) unites design and lifestyle leaders for insightful conversations exclusive to SCAD. An inquiry into fashion, interior design, graphic design, illustration, beauty, advertising, and more, SCADstyle promises career-making networking opportunities with iconoclasts shaping the future of design.

"I created SCADstyle to take our students BTS with today's foremost artrepreneurs and designers," says President Paula Wallace. "A beautiful bill of rockstars headline this year's festival for four days of master classes and convos—including the one and only Wes Gordon, receiving the coveted SCAD Étoile Award. Bees studying fashion, beauty, architecture, interiors, and beyond swarm SCADstyle for inspo on charting a career in design, harnessing social media, leapfrogging and leveraging AI, and more. I invite every Bee and friend of SCAD to seize every synergistic second of SCADstyle 2024!"

SCADstyle 2024 celebrates the culture, innovation, and global voices transforming all facets of design. Featured SCADstyle guests include Francesco Risso, creative director of Marni; Hillary Taymour, founder and creative director at Collina Strada; Craig Robins, co-founder of Design Miami/; Waterworks co-founder and SVP Barbara Sallick; architect, interior designer, and founder of Jayne Design Studio Thomas Jayne; fashion designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin; photographer Michael Bailey-Gates; editor, curator, and art consultant Stefano Tonchi; co-founder and partner of Yabu Pushelberg George Yabu; chief creative officer of Glossier Marie Suter; creative director of amika Matthew Stetson; Washington Post fashion journalist Rachel Tashjian; and fashion writer Charlie Porter.

Event highlights include a conversation between Whitewall editor-in-chief Katy Donoghue and Craig Redman, artist and illustrator of design duo Craig & Karl, and a discussion with zomer founders and designers Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Asha hosted by Family Style editor-in-chief Joshua Glass. 

SCADstyle 2024 also showcases the stellar achievements of the university's impressive alumni during the Alumni Voices panel featuring Emily Smith (B.F.A., fashion, 2001), creative director of Lafayette 148 New York; furniture and lighting designer Lulu LaFortune (B.F.A., furniture design, 2018); and Kan Ando (B.F.A, fashion, 2010), senior designer at Nike.

In honor of the university's milestone 45th anniversary, the trio will be presented with the prestigious SCAD45 Alumni Award for their exemplary contributions to their professions and for demonstrating the prominence and purpose of a SCAD education. More than 18 of the university's top-ranked degree programs are represented in SCADstyle 2024 programming, including fashion, accessory design, interior design, graphic design, industrial design, advertising and branding, illustration, furniture design, architecture, and photography. 

SCADstyle 2024 events are free and open to the public.
For a full list of events and more information, visit scad.edu/scadstyle.

"Where's data, where's inspiration, and how do those things square up?" asks Matt Hansen (B.F.A., computer art, 2000). "These are vectors into a decision-making process."
 
Hansen, co-founder, COO, and Executive Producer of Mountaintop Studios, knows about vectors and decisions. He has thrived for more than two decades in video game development, from his early days as a quality assurance tester to his leading role at of one of the industry's most anticipated studios.
 
At Mountaintop, Hansen leads a fully-remote workforce of 90-plus people to create a game with a budget exceeding $65 million. (Mountaintop CEO Nate Mitchell describes the game as "an exciting PvP tactical shooter with a focus on competition and community.") The still-unnamed game, over three years in the making, will be big. Equally impressive is Hansen's approach to getting it done.
 
"When we started Mountaintop, I was working in-engine on the game every day, standing up the initial prototype with about six team members, deep in the details, though at this point I have hired people who are better and smarter than I am," Hansen explains. "My greatest skill is recruiting phenomenally talented and passionate developers. I have had the opportunity to build-out game teams for various studios throughout my career. Those experiences help me identify exceptional talent who excel at creative collaboration, which is the core of any great game development studio."
 
SCADpro Fund managing director Ray Crowell has worked with Hansen to develop a professional relationship, and the SCADpro Fund now is backing Mountaintop. "Matt is quietly courageous and has no vanity need," Crowell says. "He knows the importance of bringing on great people and hearing what they think about what they're doing. To describe Matt's leadership style in a single word, I would say thoughtful. It's why Mountaintop has the potential to be so impactful."
 
In February, Mountaintop made Forbes headlines with the announcement of a new round of financing, including investments from Anthos Capital, RX3 Growth Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract, vgames, BoxGroup, and Spark Capital. (This round also included angel investors shroud, tarik, iiTzTimmy, Zedd, CohhCarnage, Sacriel, and Paul George.) Getting these marquee names on board was, Hansen says, "a balance between demonstrating our team's passion for evolving the tactical shooter genre and supporting our business hypothesis with data."
 
"Traditionally, video games have come from a Field of Dreams approach," Matt continues. "That can work, but VCs can't make decisions based completely on your gut feeling, especially when there's so much money at stake. The teams who ultimately get funded are the ones who use data and market analysis to understand the needs of their target audience, and combine that with inspiration to deliver a fresh experience to satisfy those needs."

Art from Mountaintop Studio's forthcoming debut game.

There is another side to the Matt Hansen story, one detailed in the 2016 documentary series Double Fine Adventure: Sidequests. In it, the Jacksonville, Florida native speaks about how the sudden tragic death of his older brother Andrew — his biggest supporter — prompted him to leave a major state university and pursue his dream at SCAD.
 
"I heard my brother's voice in my head, saying, ‘You have one chance at this, don't you want to work in video games?' It was one of the last things he said to me before the fatal car accident that occurred while we were headed to my first day of college."
 
After graduating from SCAD, Matt swung from the bottom rung to become one of the founding members of EA Mobile in 2004, quickly "finding the fun in simple game loops with small development teams and short schedules." Next, he joined Telltale games to work on the Monkey Island series, the same series he and his brother bonded over when they were kids. He concluded his time at Telltale collaborating with Graham Annable, co-director of Boxtrolls at Laika Studios, on the beloved game Puzzle Agent. In 2010, Hansen joined Double Fine, a studio founded by gaming industry legend Tim Schafer. Over his six years at Double Fine, Matt went from being a producer on multiple games to running all the development and operations for the studio.
 
He was "living the dream" when he accepted an exhortation from Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell to join Oculus as the Executive Producer for the Rift team. Together they worked on the product launches for the Rift S, Quest, and Quest 2 VR programs.
 
In 2020, Hansen and Mitchell took their shared passion for traditional games and first-person shooters and exited the Metaverse to found Mountaintop Studios. "Starting the company as fully remote from day one has helped us to cultivate a remote-first team culture. It also allowed us to attract key industry leaders from various AAA shooter companies who were looking to break free from the traditional AAA development structure."
 
"Over the last four years, we have been fortunate to hire top-tier people from all over the world," Hansen says. This includes, at last count, seven SCAD alumni at Mountaintop. "It's never been like, Oh, they're from SCAD, let's hire them. It's always been, Oh, they're really good, let's hire them."

The Mountaintop team enjoy a day out.

Hansen's SCAD experience remains foundational. Looking back, he says, "My roommates at SCAD really pushed each other to strive for greatness. The one who inspired me the most was Hai Phan. He showed me how hard you must work to even have a chance at success in games."
 
Phan (B.F.A., computer art, 2003) is something of a game art legend for his character work on Overwatch, Rift, and Guild Wars. Currently a director at Riot Games, he knows Hansen as only a longtime friend can. "When we were graduating from SCAD, I didn't know what Matt would do. He started in QA and became a producer and worked his way to where he is now. Matt's nature is to be very curious. He has interactions with different people and relates to all of them with a heightened group awareness. He is the glue for a lot of individuals who probably would not have found each other otherwise."
 
Part of what makes Matt a respected leader is knowing how to roll up his sleeves and do the work. "I think one of my biggest strengths is having a holistic view of the entire development process by being very hands-on," Hansen says. "During my time in game development, I have worked as a Designer, Engineer, 3D Artist, Producer, Animator, and Technical Artist on dozens of projects. I am a solid contributor with most disciplines, and those experiences have helped me to understand the challenges of each of those roles, the right way of doing things, and what excellence looks like."
 
SCAD visual effects professor emeritus Malcolm Kesson remembers teaching programming to Hansen. "I recall how hard Matt worked in mastering the fundamental principles of 3D computer graphics," says Kesson. "We did pretty crazy things back in the early 2000s, like rendering intricate 3D models using only a text editor to communicate directly with Pixar's render engine. Matt took to writing descriptions of 3D scenes using RIB files and writing plugins using RenderMan's Shading Language like a duck to water. He was always professional in his approach."
 
"What I studied in Malcolm Kesson's RenderMan class is still very relevant," says Matt, "especially with real-time graphics for games relying on shader techniques that were only applicable for feature films in the early 2000s. I've been ahead of the game all along because of what I learned at SCAD twenty years ago. Having a great group of friends who were willing to challenge me was essential. It's like 2024 was what I was training for all along."
 
The coming months will be major for Mountaintop. Hansen will lead the team into a new phase. He'll do it the right way, foregrounding talented colleagues. Matt smiles.
 
"I love to be there to cheer people on."

Connect with Matt Hansen.

SCAD has a decades-long legacy of contributing to the most prestigious cinematic awards in the world. This year, SCAD is proud to announce the contributions of 158 alumni and current students who have contributed their talents to films nominated for the 96th Academy Awards®. The Awards will be televised live on Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 7 pm.

These talented artists and filmmakers contributed to a total of 17 films receiving nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, including six Best Picture nominees and three Best Animated Film nominees including global blockbusters Barbie, Oppenheimer, Elemental, and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, nominated for Best Visual Effects, includes 39 SCAD alumni credits.

The SCAD Casting Office helped to place over 50 alumni, students, and faculty in front of and behind the camera on director Todd Haynes' film May December, which was filmed in Savannah and is nominated for best original screenplay. SCAD faculty worked directly with the film production of May December to structure two SCAD classes — a production design class and film and television class — which convened on set.

SCAD alumni and students who worked on these Oscar-nominated films represent a variety of top-ranked degree programs, including animation, visual effects, film and television, production design, sound design, acting, casting, dramatic writing, sequential art, illustration, architecture, interactive design and game development, fashion, painting, photography, and furniture design. For more than 40 of the alumni, this is not the first time they have contributed to an Oscar-nominated film.
SCAD's School of Film and Acting and the School of Animation and Motion have launched thousands of alumni into the movie industry, with resources that rival Hollywood studios, Oscar award-winning professors, stunning locations including an 11-acre backlot and two LED volumes, two professionally run casting offices, and stellar film and television festivals.

"I am extraordinarily proud of our alumni, faculty and current students who contribute everyday to the professional filmmaking landscape," said Andra Reeve-Rabb, the dean of the School of Film and Acting. "Having over 150 of our SCAD bees working on Oscar worthy films is a WOW moment, and it's not surprising. It's what we do at SCAD. We have countless full circle moments that begin with a student in a master class during our film festival engaging with an award-winning actor or director and then fast forward a few years and now that alumni is working side by side with those same industry professionals making the best films of the year."

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival has established itself as a distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards. Since its inception in 1997, the festival has screened more than 175 Oscar-nominated films and honored more than 125 legendary actors, directors, producers, writers, and filmmakers.

SCAD alumni also worked on three of the five films nominated for best animated feature: Elemental, Nimona and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. All three films were featured at the SCAD AnimationFest in Atlanta and Savannah Film Festival in 2023, with students benefiting from the career advice from Oscar-nominated industry professionals.

Congratulations to the students and alumni who contributed to this year's Oscar-nominated films:

Breanna Adams (B.F.A., film and television, 2014)  Elemental
Shelby Albright (B.F.A., animation, 2018)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Madison Aldrich (B.F.A., film and television, 2019)  May December
Ashleigh Michele Allen (B.F.A., film and television, 2021) May December
Rami AlRamahi (B.F.A., computer art, 2005)   Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Daniela Alvarez (B.F.A., productions design, 2023)  May December
Vivian Amaro (B.F.A., visual effects, 2023)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Nina Areyan (B.F.A., film and television, 2023)   May December
Jurasama Arunchai (M.F.A., production design, 2010)  Maestro
William Atkin (B.F.A., computer art, 2003)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Collin Banko (B.F.A., visual effects 2014)   The Creator
Vincent Bates (M.Arch, architecture, 2013)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Alireza Bidar (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017)   Elemental
Austin Bonang (B.F.A., computer art, 2005)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mikayla Brander (B.F.A., production design, 2023)  May December
Courtney Brewer (B.F.A., animation, 2020)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Donald Brooks Jr. (B.F.A., animation, 2020)   Elemental
David Butler (B.F.A., fashion, 1997)    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Stefania Cancemi (M.F.A., visual effects, 2016)   Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Rebecca Carfagna (M.A., arts administration, 2015)  May December
Shannon Carlson (B.F.A., production design, 2023)  May December
Bailey Chafin (B.F.A., film and television, 2022)  May December
Yinghao Chai (M.F.A., visual effects, 2017)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Anthony Chappina (M.F.A., visual effects, 2008)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mignon Charvet (B.F.A., fashion, 2009)    May December
Ian Chase (B.F.A., sound design, 2017)    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Yuna Chen (M.A., visual effects, 2019)    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Diana Chu (M.F.A., visual effects, 2019)   The Creator
Bijay Chudal (B.F.A., animation, 2020)    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Alexis Coleman (M.F.A., film and television, 2022)  May December
Chelsea Rose Collins (B.F.A., film and television, 2018) May December
Marissa Coppola (B.F.A., themed entertainment design, 2023) May December
Ryan Coster (B.F.A., animation, 2011)    Elemental
Jackson Cropper (B.F.A., film and television, 2023)  Killers of the Flower Moon
Courtney Dees  (B.F.A., production design, 2018)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Nick DeMaioribus (B.F.A., animation, 2019)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Samantha Doyle (M.F.A., sound design, 2019)   Past Lives
Nicholas Dubois (B.A., animation, 2005)    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Kaitlin Duchene (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Colleen Durham (B.F.A., animation, 2018)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Sonali Dutta (B.F.A., visual effects, 2019)   Nimona
Ricky Elizondo (B.F.A., visual effects, 2013)   May December
Duarte Elvas (B.F.A., film and television, 2003)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Zafer Ercevik (M.F.A., film and television, 2008)  Napoleon
Carlos Escobosa (B.A., film and television, 2021)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Andrea Falsone (B.F.A., animation, 2019)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Sean Feeley (B.A., visual effects, 2006)   Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Alvin Trent Fortune (B.A., animation, 2018)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Philip Fraschetti  (B.F.A., computer art, 2005; /M.F.A., visual effects, 2007) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Yin Fu (M.F.A., animation, 2019)    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Nitin Garg (M.A., visual effects, 2016)    The Creator
Bianca Gee (B.F.A., animation, 2012)    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Beppy Gietema (B.F.A., film and television, 2019)  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Gabe Gilden (B.F.A., film and television, 2014)   The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Emma Gillian (B.F.A., film and television, 2023)  May December
Zachary Goodson (B.F.A., animation, 2010)   Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Nicholas Grozier (B.F.A., film and television, 2021)  Maestro
Eryn Gruttadauria (B.F.A., film and television, 2020)  American Fiction
Jared Gunter (B.F.A., film and television, 2020)  May December
Christian Haberkern (B.F.A., broadcast design and motion graphics, 2008) The Creator
Lindsay Hamilton (B.F.A., fashion, 2013)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Christian G. Hawkins (B.F.A., film and television, 2013) May December
Taylor Hasting (B.F.A., visual effects, 2014)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Alyssa Hibben (B.F.A., film and television, 2023)  May December
Val Higgens (B.F.A., film and televisions, 2023)  May December
Alan Hodges (B.F.A., visual effects, 2001)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Chase Hogan (M.A., animation, 2018)    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Lauren Hughes (B.A., film and television, 2023)   May December
Fatou Jackson (B.F.A., performing arts, 2022)   May December
Aidan Skye Jameson (B.F.A., production design)   May December
Matt Jamoom (B.F.A., visual effects, 2021)   Napoleon
Niah Johnson (B.F.A., photography)    May December
Bess Johnson (B.F.A., film and television, 2011)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Darnell Johnson (B.F.A., sequential art, 2010)   Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Reagan Johnson (B.F.A., film and television, 2023)  May December
Brandon Lee Karcher (B.F.A., animation, 2018)   Napoleon
Walker Kennedy (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017)   Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Jeannine Kernisan (B.F.A., animation, 2015)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
David Kersey (B.A., computer animation, 2000)   Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Kelsey Kirpich (M.F.A., production design, 2023)  May December
Lubomir Kocka (B.F.A., film and television, 2012; M.F.A, visual effects, 2017) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Nathan Koga (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009)  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Jason Koh (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016)  Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Harrison Kracht (B.F.A., film and television, 2021) May December
Ryan Lang (M.A., visual effects, 2010)   Nimona
Jasper Laur (B.F.A., photography, 2023)   May December
Colin Lechner (M.F.A., sound design, 2014)  Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Eric Leidenroth (B.F.A., computer animation, 1998) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Frederick LeMaster (B.F.A., animation, 2005)  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Yesenia Lomeli (B.F.A., production design, 2022) May December
Alison Looney (M.F.A., production design, 2023)  May December
Landon Lott (B.F.A., film and television, 2010)  Killers of the Flower Moon
Rosana Lucia (B.F.A., film and television, 2019)  May December
Kerrin Major (M.A., luxury and fashion management, 2013) Oppenheimer
Paul Martinez (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008)  Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Brenden Mascherino (B.F.A., film and television, 2024) May December
James Masino (B.F.A., animation, 2019)   The Holdovers
Ian Matta (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017)  Napoleon
Carly Maurer (B.F.A., film and television, 2018) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Gray McDonald (B.F.A., film and television, 2022) May December
Aaron McGriff (B.F.A., animation, 2005)   Elemental
Jack McMillan (B.F.A., writing, 2022)   May December
Gabrielle McMullan (B.F.A., film and television, 2016) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Connor Meccay (B.F.A., fim and television, 2021) May December
Julia Moran (B.F.A., film and television, 2023)  May December
Johnathan Nixon (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Silswarup Patel (M.A., visual effects, 2022)  Barbie
Anthony Peznola (B.F.A., film and television, 2023) May December
Mikaela Pfeifer (B.F.A., animation, 2017)  Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Brittany Piacente (B.F.A., animation, 2012)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Thitaphon Piraban (M.A., visual effects, 2022)  Barbie
Boyce Powell (B.F.A., dramatic writing, 2017)  May December
Leah Ralph (B.A., production design, 2023)  May December
Sasha Rangel (B.F.A., film and television, 2021) May December
Clint Rea (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016)  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Stephanie Reiken (M.F.A., production design, 2023) May December
Caleb Rice (M.F.A., film and television)  May December
Nicola Rinciari (B.F.A., film and television, 2020) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Thomas Rodgers (B.F.A., film and television, 2020) May December
Gal Roiter (B.F.A., animation, 2006)   Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 
Ashutosh Rokade (M.A., production design, 2023)  May December
Jiacan Ruan (B.F.A., animation, 2021)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Joey Rudzinskas (B.F.A., film and television, 2023) May December
Davies Rushing (B.F.A., animation, 2019)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Colleen Ryan (B.F.A., film and television, 2024) May December
Valentina Sanchez (B.F.A., film and television, 2023) May December
Hope Schroers (B.F.A., visual effects, 2021)  Elemental
Kevin Sears (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007)  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Ryan Setzer (B.F.A., film and television, 2023)  May December
Nic Sievers (M.F.A., visual effects, 2005)  The Creator
Caitley Symons (M.A., fibers, 2023)   Killers of the Flower Moon
Michael Tanzillo (M.F.A., visual effects, 2008)  Nimona
Sommersill Tarabek (M.F.A., film and television, 2017) Nimona
Tennyson Thompson (B.A., film and television, 2018) May December
Terner Thompson (B.F.A., visual effects, 2018)  Barbie
Becki Tower (M.F.A., animation, 2008)   Elemental
Kenzie Uhr (B.F.A., film and television, 2022)  Killers of the Flower Moon
Rachel Ussery (B.F.A., film and television, 2020) May December
Maia Vota (B.F.A., film and television, 2024)  May December
Ella Ward (B.F.A., sequential art, 2018)  Barbie
Douglas Westurn (B.F.A., film and television, 2019) May December
Kylie Wijsmuller (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017)  Elemental
Alasdair Willson (B.F.A., broadcast design and motion graphics, 2008) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Jillian Wilson (B.F.A., film and television, 2022) May December
Kyle Winkelman (B.F.A., computer art, 2003)  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Solomon Ching Yu Wong (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Kiersten Yahn (B.F.A., visual effects, 2020)  Barbie
Bryan Yentz (B.F.A., film and television, 2010)  Elemental; Oppenheimer; The Creator
Matt Yocum (B.F.A., sound design, 2015)   American Fiction
Claire Yu (B.A., production design, 2023)  May December
Sophia Yu (B.F.A., animation, 2015)   Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

If any names are missing from this list, please email [email protected] and they will be added. 

"Savannah is special," says Ellie Isaacs (B.F.A., historic preservation, 2014) as she settles in at a chic coffeeshop on the former site of a dry cleaners on Whitaker Street. "It's absolutely changed in the ten years since I graduated. There's been a lot of development, changes in the landscape, more hotels, and successful projects like Plant Riverside that have revitalized downtown and River Street."

Meeting Isaacs at a repurposed location feels appropriate. She is the new Director of Preservation and Historic Properties at the Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF), the nonprofit cultural institution dedicated, per its mission statement, to "saving the buildings, places and stories that define Savannah's past, present and future." As HSF CEO and President Sue Adler said of Isaacs: "Her passion, expertise and leadership will usher in a new era of historic preservation here in Savannah."

Call it the Ellie era. A SCAD-bred superstar, Isaacs earned minors in architectural history and interior design and was the only undergraduate presenter at the National Trust for Historic Preservation's PastForward conference in 2014. After graduation, she worked for an architecture firm in Hot Springs, Arkansas before returning to Savannah, where she joined Lominack Kolman Smith Architects as historic preservation specialist, and more recently served as Chair of the Savannah Historic District Board of Review and as a member of HSF's Architectural Review Committee.

"Ellie's bona fides go a long way to ensuring the integrity of Savannah as a historic city with evolving civic obligations," says SCAD professor of architecture and Savannah Tourism Advisory Council member Ryan Madson.

In 2023, Isaacs was invited by preservation design professor Sabrinna Cox to mentor SCAD students, conducting class critiques and giving personalized feedback on projects.

"Ellie showed our students that it is possible to create your own path in the preservation field, and to influence how the field is defined," says Cox. "Our students were able to see how the strength of her commitment at the local level can help set preservation trends statewide and even nationally, which will be an added dividend of her new role at HSF."

As an alumni mentor, Isaacs spoke to students about the realities of working in preservation, which are not always "bright and fuzzy," she says. "Sometimes things you plan don't happen and you lose buildings, or people don't have funds and projects have to be done in phases."

Pragmatic idealism suits her new position. Isaacs is responsible for overseeing HSF initiatives including the Preservation Easement Program and Revolving Fund, purchasing historic properties and selling them on to preservation-minded buyers. She will also work in partnership with the City of Savannah, Chatham County government, and neighborhood associations to save and adaptively use historic buildings.

"Preservation is multi-faceted, which for a long time has not been fully understood," Isaacs says, mentioning the new HSF advocacy strategy to better engage Savannahians on social media. "Preservation is about more than a building or a place, it's about the people who lived there, it's about equity in housing, and a focus on underrepresented stories."

Isaacs orders her coffee to-go, since her afternoon will continue with meetings back at the HSF headquarters on Columbia Square. She notes that the nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1955, has achieved a historic symmetry in 2024. "Historic Savannah Foundation was started by seven women who saved the Davenport House, and in 2024 we now have seven women managing both HSF and the Davenport House."

As the new Director of Preservation and Historic Properties says: "Every building has a story and every building has a soul!"

Connect with Ellie Isaacs.

Come celebrate 20 years of SCAD Fibers Open Studio! Students, alumni, locals and visitors to Savannah are invited one and all to the beloved annual community event on this special milestone, Friday, March 1, 5:00-8:00 p.m in Pepe Hall. Explore the immersive environment in the home of the SCAD fibers department with what is sure to be a memorable and fabulous Fibers Open Studio.

The open studio event will showcase standout textile art by SCAD students, alumni and esteemed faculty. At this special 20th anniversary of the annual, always anticipated event, guests will have the opportunity to experience imaginative combinations of traditional techniques with cutting-edge technology and enjoy hands-on demos of screen printing, indigo dyeing, tufting, machine knitting, hand and digital embroidery, weaving, and more.

Now in its fourth decade, SCAD's top-ranked fibers program (part of the university's prestigious School of Fashion) is the largest in the U.S. Its comprehensive curriculum and inspiring facilities feature advanced tools and resources. Historic Pepe Hall is a 20,500-square-foot facility exclusively dedicated to the study of fibers, with state-of-the-art resources and equipment where students expertly develop their weaving, fabric design, screen printing, surface design, embellishment, sculptural, and environmental art skills. At SCAD Fibers Open Studio, the university's elite fibers program is open to the public to experience the magic and creativity of fibers and textile design.

The SCAD fibers department is the largest of its kind in the U.S. with a comprehensive curriculum and large, inspiring facilities stocked with top-of-the-line tools and resources. Students join the elite ranks of fibers artists who regularly win major awards. Successful fibers graduates work in demanding and inventive roles, developing thermal insulating blankets for NASA, automotive interior surface fabrics for Chrysler, innovative athletics materials for Nike, and custom fabrics and installations for fashion houses, retailers, and designers including Anthropologie, Lilly Pulitzer, Macy's, Liora Manné, Kravet, and more.

Embrace the chance to be inspired by the next generation of textile artists and designers!

For more info on SCAD Fibers Open Studio, visit the SCAD events page.

This event is free and open to the public.

With SCAD deFINE ART 2024 in full flower, it is time to gather At the Edge of Superhumanity. On Wednesday, February 28, artist Cao Fei joins art historian and curator RoseLee Goldberg for the SCAD deFINE ART 2024 keynote conversation at 5 p.m. in Trustees Theater.

Cao Fei is internationally regarded as one of the most influential and innovative Chinese artists of her generation. Known for her compelling storytelling, the SCAD deFINE ART 2024 honoree works across a variety of mediums from live-action films to the Metaverse, and genres from documentary to science fiction. Her groundbreaking work explores the impact of social and cultural change on people, particularly citizens of China, and their lived realities and dreams.

The keynote conversation is in connection with the artist's solo exhibition At the Edge of Superhumanity at the SCAD Museum of Art, an immersive mixed-reality installation that blurs distinctions between the terrestrial and the cyber, the familiar and the futuristic. Reflecting on highlights of Cao Fei's career, the conversation will contextualize the works on view, including the artist's approach to unearthing the past, engaging with the present, and imagining the future.

Cao Fei (b. 1978, Guangzhou, China; lives and works in Beijing) has presented solo exhibitions at venues including MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome; UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; Serpentine Galleries, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong; K21 Düsseldorf, Germany; MoMA PS1, New York; Secession, Vienna; Bonnefanten, Maastricht, the Netherlands; and Tate Modern, London. Her work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions and major biennials and triennials worldwide. In 2021, she was awarded the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize.

A world-renowned art historian, critic, and curator, RoseLee Goldberg is the founding director and chief curator of Performa. Launched in 2004 to create a highly visible public platform for contemporary art and performance, Performa has changed public and academic perceptions of performance art with its exciting citywide biennial, groundbreaking commissions, publications, and original arts broadcasting platform. Performa has inspired the establishment of performance departments in cultural institutions around the world. 

In celebration of the university's 45th anniversary, SCAD will also present alum Lavar Munroe (B.F.A., illustration, 2007) with the SCAD45 award, honoring his prolific interdisciplinary practice and rising acclaim.

Please join us for a memorable and momentous conversation on this especially deFINE occasion!

Cao Fei

Banner image: Cao Fei, "MatryoshkaVerse," 2022, double-channel HD video, 16:4.5, color, with sound, 37 min., 38 sec. Courtesy of Sprüth Magers and Vitamin Creative Space. © Cao Fei, 2023.

SCAD is proud to share the transformative effect on local neighborhood communities through the university's unique SCAD SERVE Paint Our Parks public art initiative. Since launching in 2021, SCAD SERVE Paint Our Parks has beautified and enlivened sixteen basketball courts and play spaces in the university's hometowns of Savannah and Atlanta by creating larger-than-life murals conceptualized by an elite roster of talented SCAD alumni artists.

Envisioned by SCAD President Paula Wallace, SCAD SERVE is a university initiative that brings together the SCAD community to address neighborhood needs, listen to local leaders, and create meaningful design solutions that improve quality of life. As part of SCAD SERVE, Paint Our Parks serves the citizens of Atlanta and Savannah through the university's vast network of supremely talented students and alumni to revitalize shared recreational spaces with vibrant and scenic murals.

In the collaborative spirit of SCAD's ethos, each Paint Our Parks mural project is led by a SCAD SERVE Alumni Artist to conceptualize a unifying mural design for each neighborhood. These murals are unique works of art for each local community, with defining colors, symbols, iconography, and meaning to each location's sense of place. SCAD SERVE Alumni Ambassadors oversee teams of volunteers composed of SCAD students, faculty, community advocates, and local citizens to fully realize these murals and bring these vibrant works to life.

"Our parks are where we find our best selves, and SCAD SERVE's Paint Our Parks public art initiative, invites our neighbors and friends to enjoy the work of accomplished SCAD artists," said President Paula Wallace. "SCAD SERVE Alumni Ambassador artists — whose murals enliven streetscapes worldwide — lead each Paint Our Parks public art initiative to realize shared visions of positivity, wellness, and joy, and uplift neighborhoods from Atlanta to Savannah."

Through this Paint Our Parks initiative, the university has made a significant investment to revitalize play spaces in Atlanta and Savannah. To date, SCAD's financial contributions for Paint Our Parks totals over $667,000 which include restoration of park surfaces, new top-of-the-line basketball goals and nets, and painting materials. Paint Our Parks has engaged over 2,000 volunteers from the SCAD community and local neighborhoods and utilized over 2,000 gallons of paint to realize these larger-than-life works of art. Over the past 18 months, SCAD has worked with local partners including Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, Atlanta Public Schools, City of Savannah, Savannah Chatham County Public School System, Savannah Jewish Educational Alliance, and Greenbriar Children's Center.

"Employing the creative skills I gained while at SCAD to positively impact a community has been so deeply rewarding," said SCAD SERVE Alumni Ambassador Alexandria Hall (B.F.A., illustration, 2019). "Providing a space for the community to thrive, grow, and experience joy is the best aspect of being a muralist. From the design creation process, working with the amazingly talented volunteers, to witnessing the finished courts come to life, it has been a blessing and an honor to work on this project with everyone involved at SCAD SERVE."

SCAD plans to continue this legacy initiative throughout 2024 in both Savannah and Atlanta with park restoration and mural plans for Cook Park in Atlanta, and Heard Elementary, DeRenne Middle School, and Southwest Elementary School in Savannah.

"SCAD has given our students and our community the most amazing gift - a gift that combines art, joy, and play," said Coastal Middle School principal Allison Schuster-Jones. "The SCAD SERVE Paint Our Parks team transformed what was an eyesore of an outdoor space into a work of art. Our Parent Teacher Student Association has been working to beautify the space for years, but SCAD swept in and worked their magic as only they can. Our students, families, and community will enjoy this amazing spot for years to come. Thank you, SCAD!"

For more information, please visit: scad.edu/scadserve.

"If I wasn’t certain that it would make me unemployable, I would definitely only design in green," wrote Aarushi Menon during her junior year at SCAD in 2022. Reminded of that claim now, the freelance designer at mighty book publisher Penguin Random House cracks up, pointing to her recent "divorce" from the color that once dominated her work.

In shocking pinks and riotous reds, Menon’s iterative designs for the forthcoming Elizabeth Agyemang novel Heart-Shaped Lies (Delacorte Press, 2024) demonstrate her commitment to excellence across the chromatic spectrum. Such diversity was inevitable in Menon’s daily operation.

Unsued design outtake for a book by Penguin Random House author Elizabeth Agyemang. 

"I’m designing all day on InDesign and Photoshop while everyone else does the hard work of production coordinating," Aarushi says with affection for her PRH colleagues. "When I’m doing book cover designs and I’m not able to figure something out, I’ll still throw green on it and then I’m like, Okay, now I can see where things are supposed to be!" 

Less than twelve months after graduating from SCAD, Menon (B.F.A., graphic design, 2023) has received the IDA Emerging Graphic Designer of the Year Award. She has also gotten nods from World Brand Design Society, Young Ones TDC, and GDUSA. As the trophies and books begin to compete for space on her mantlepiece, she looks back at where she was just a few years ago.

"I found out about SCAD from a visiting recruiter while I was a secondary student at Garden International School in Kuala Lumpur," she says. "I came to Savannah to study illustration because I wanted to draw children’s books." That trajectory changed when she learned about photography and typography as graphic design elements. "The variety helped keep me motivated, and I switched majors."

Professor Stuart Fano taught Menon in major curriculum course Production for Print and Digital Environments (GRDS 358). "Aarushi brought a keen problem-solving intelligence and attention to detail to each of her projects," he says. "She displayed a passionate curiosity that resulted in excellent work that raised the standard in the whole class. I’m so pleased to see she is already having a positive impact and meeting with success in such a distinguished industry."

Menon remembers "loving the analog feeling" of bookmaking in Fano’s class. Tactility inspired her Unsplash and Texturelabs-assisted "365-Day Poster Design Challenge" project, which impressed her senior designers at Penguin Random House. It helped that her portfolio included speculative covers for Colin Dickey books including Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places (Viking, 2016) that she developed while taking Typography II: Information and Media (GRDS 353) with graphic design professor Michael Whitney.

"Aarushi was an exceptional student," says professor Whitney. "Her use of type is at a very high level, as is her ability to prototype physical mockups of project finals. She now volunteers to speak to my Portfolio groups via Zoom, and is inspirational to them." 

A commitment to coaching and guidance dates to Menon's time at SCAD as a peer tutor at the Jen Library's drop-in resource center. "Being an international student myself helped me better understand the challenges of written communication for students who might not speak English as their first language," says the native of India.

That dedication to effective communication manifests in her professional process, and the fact that designing a book cover starts with the manuscript. "You read, you take notes, you highlight quotes that are visually evocative, and then you get to the sketching phase," Menon explains. "Sometimes sketching is not taking out a pen and paper and drawing, it’s sewing and pasting, or gathering images onto a Photoshop board and experimenting."

Aarushi started at Penguin Random House in 2023 executing mechanicals ("you pick up a front cover from another designer and do the spine and the back cover") for imprints including Hogarth and Del Rey, understanding the art direction ecosystem, and gradually receiving more cover assignments.

"I’ve learned a lot about the processes that go into making a book cover from [senior designer] Cassie Gonzales and other amazing designers at PRH. There is a significant amount of practical reasoning that has to do with genre and content that decides the aesthetic before you even start on a cover. You’re conveying something about not only a specific moment or event that’s described in the book, but about the overall messaging that the author is trying to impart."

Menon’s excellence may help explain why, as she says, "The desire for physical books has had such a resurgence in my generation."

Connect with Aarushi Menon!

It’s time to bust a move for Black Artists in Music! See and hear the SCAD Bee Sharps, the university's elite performance ensemble starring American Idol winner and SCAD alum Candice Glover (B.F.A., dramatic writing, 2022) at BAM!, Black Artists in Music, this February 16 at the Lucas Theatre in Savannah, and the following Friday, February 23 at SCADshow in Atlanta.

"This year's two BAM! performances in our SCAD hometowns promise an electrifying experience celebrating Black History Month with SCAD stars and special surprise guests," said president founder Paula Wallace.

After consecutive years of sold out shows, BAM! 2024 expands its celebration of Black History Month and Black musical artists with GRAMMY, Emmy, and Tony Award nominated stars from Broadway, TV and film. They will share the stage with the stars of tomorrow, including SCAD's premier vocal ensemble The Bee Sharps, SCAD students, and alumni.

“With BAM!, we have a chance to bring everything to the table,” said Talia Hollis (B.F.A., social strategy and management). “Every emotion encapsulated in our bodies, our voices, our movement, from music to storytelling to dancing. All of it is in this show, and it’s a change to be seen by all of Georgia.”

This year's shows will shine bright with the addition of stars of stage and screen including Solea Pfeiffer ("Hadestown" and "Almost Famous") and Brandon Victor Dixon ("Hamilton" and NBC's "Jesus Christ Superstar").

The concert will include iconic hit songs from celebrated Black music artists of our time. From gospel, R&B, soul to jazz, spoken word, and dance — this uplifting and joyous concert will shine a light on how Black music artists have defined today's music and culture.

"BAM! is a revolutionary experience that invites people of all ages and backgrounds to revel in the excellence of Black Artists in Music," said Candice Glover. "Join us as we pay tribute to some of the most iconic artists and their biggest contributions to Black culture, and music from every genre. BAM is the Black history concert that you don't want to miss!"

The concert, from the minds of SCAD executive ensembles artistic director Mike Evariste (Les Miserables, South Pacific, Hair) and choreographer and SCAD performing arts professor Tiffany Evariste (Aladdin, Motown), is a musical journey of joy, laughter and jubilation inspired by  the words of civil rights leaders of today and the past. From Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to Maya Angelou, and Nina Simone to James Baldwin, activists' words have had a major impact on the world and the creative minds of today's Grammy winning music artists. Audience members will experience a one night only extravaganza of SCAD students, faculty, and staff performers, including American Idol  winner and SCAD Music Coordinator Candice Glover (B.F.A., dramatic writing, 2022), SCAD Alums Terrence Williams Jr. (B.F.A., performing arts, 2022) and Kingdom Business and Empire star Kiandra Richardson (B.F.A., performing arts, 2013); members of the magnetic SCAD student ensemble, the Bee Sharps; and Emmy, Grammy, Tony nominated guest stars directly from Broadway, TV, and film.

Tickets are $20 for SCAD card holders, students, seniors, and the military, $35 for the general public.

SCAD TVfest returns to Atlanta Feb. 7-10, 2024, with an opening night gala screening of the new season of Max original drama series Tokyo Vice. The university's signature event celebrating the best in television and streaming will take place at the new, state-of-the art SCADshow theater on Spring Street in Midtown Atlanta. The 12th year of SCAD TVFest promises to be the best.

"All eyes in the TV universe look to SCAD for hiring students and alumni as well as using SCAD's phenomenal stages for professional productions," said SCAD president Paula Wallace. "Buzz for SCAD TVfest is at a fever pitch this year, with both the expansion of the university's top-ranked B.F.A. in acting and our elite SCAD Casting Office to SCAD Atlanta. SCAD TVfest guests will also get to experience screenings in our pristine new theater, SCADshow, ensconced within the magnificent new FORTY FIVE, a five-star resort for SCAD Bees in the heart of Midtown. This year's SCAD TVfest shines bright — just like the Bees who already lend their luster to the best shows on television!"

This year's stellar list of SCAD TVfest honorees include Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers), who will receive The Hollywood Reporter's Trailblazer Award; Joel Kim Booster (Loot), who will receive the Rising Star Award; Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), who will receive the Legend of Television Award; George Lopez (Lopez vs. Lopez), who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery), who will receive the Spotlight Award; Charlotte Stoudt (The Morning Show), who will receive the Variety Showrunner Award; Josie Totah (The Buccaneers), who will receive the Rising Star Award; and Ken Watanabe (Tokyo Vice), who will receive the Virtuoso Award.

Honorees are scheduled to attend screenings and participate in conversations highlighting their performances and illustrious careers. SCAD will present two SCAD45 Awards recognizing graduates who give all of themselves to their creative careers: to casting professional Deanna Greif (M.F.A., performing arts, 2015) and sound editor Filipe Messeder (B.F.A., sound design, 2016).

"It is always a pleasure to celebrate the best in television at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta," said Christina Routhier, senior executive director of SCAD theaters and festivals. "From our terrific honorees, including iconic actors Kelsey Grammer, George Lopez, and Ken Watanabe, to our shows and panels lineup featuring some of the most buzzed-about shows like The Gilded Age and The Morning Show, we can't wait to give Atlantans and our phenomenal SCAD students a full slate of exciting programming."

The Opening Night Gala screening is the US season two premiere of the Max Original drama series Tokyo Vice. Expected to attend are actors and executive producers Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe; actor Rachel Keller; creator, writer and executive producer J.T. Rogers; and executive producer and director Alan Poul. In addition, the SCAD TVfest will showcase dynamic programs from 20th Television, Apple TV+, BET, Cartoon Network, Hallmark, HBO, Hulu, Max, National Geographic, NBC, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, Showtime, Sony Pictures TV, STARZ, Syfy, Universal Studio Group, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Television, and more. Entertainment Weekly (EW) returns for the seventh year as a media partner curating panels and creating exclusive interview content at their photo and video studio.

Visit scadtvfest.com for a full event schedule.