"It was my dream since I was four to become a fashion designer, but I never knew how to do it," said Anna Sui, sitting beneath the Women of Vision bas-reliefs on the Arnold Hall stage. "My whole childhood I was looking for the magic key."

Sui herself provided the magic key to SCADstyle 2023. In conversation with SSENSE digital content chief Steff Yotka, the beloved designer recounted a career that has transformed American fashion. As Yotka said of Sui's work: "Every design awakes the simple joy of dressing and elevates it to pure magic."

The event teemed with exuberant students from degree programs including fashion, fibers, business of beauty and fragrance, and fashion marketing and management. The star was funny, funky, and unaffected, as Yotka talked her through a scintillating slideshow dating back Sui's first runway show.

"It was 1991, the height of these huge corporate designers, and I thought how am I going to compete?" said Sui. "But that summer, I noticed a lot of models were asking me to take them to the flea market and buying vintage tops. They were wearing jeans, whereas a few months before that, they would show up to every party and every dinner head-to-toe in Chanel or Versace. I thought maybe it's my time, maybe I can do this."

Inspired by patent leather, white tights, and Sixties-style Carnaby Street caps, Sui's first runway show captured the mood of grunge and "that great Smashing Pumpkins video where they're wearing vintage dresses on the ice cream truck."

Anna Sui (left) conducts class visit critiques during SCADstyle 2023

Reminiscing about her flagship Manhattan store on Greene Street in Soho, Sui said, "We painted the walls ourselves, my favorite color lavender. It was all do-it-yourself. The store was my heart."

Yotka described the Anna Sui store as a place where "you could learn not only about fashion through Anna's collection, but you could learn about culture and the connected art of being cool."

Since her debut, Sui has produced 84 collections, and grown her label to include cosmetics, accessories, and fragrances. As she said: "Just ‘cause my name's on the label, I'm not the only one responsible."

She praised her photographer friend Steven Meisel's advice on models, and sound designer Frédéric Sanchez's suggestions on integrating classical music into her rock'n'roll palette. "Always have a story to tell. My job is to transport the audience on the same journey that I'm trying to express."

And oh, those clothes: There were baby doll and tiara looks based on party dresses her mother once made her. Handbags inspired by cake frosting. Marabou stoles and Johnny Rotten sweaters. "I wanted [my version of] punk to feel optimistic, so instead of black we used silver and white," Sui said.

The conversation swelled with references to notable names who have modeled for Sui, from Linda Evangelista to Gigi Hadid. Finally, Yotka asked: "Do you have a favorite person who's ever worn your collection?" Sui: "I think my mom."

At the event's end, students created a line stretching well out of the theater to get their books signed. Sui took the time to speak with and write a personalized inscription to each. It was truly SCADstyle magic.

Thank you, Anna Sui!

"Design can't be at the sidelines anymore, it has to be integrated into business solutions," said Feifei Sun (B.F.A., advertising, 2008), igniting a conversational thread during Hive Mind: SCAD Grads Creating Buzz at SCADstyle on Tuesday.

Hosted by professor of business of beauty and fragrance Wendy Ogden (B.F.A., graphic design, 1994), the event brought Sun and fellow alumni Meghan Preiss B.F.A., industrial design, 2017; B.F.A., service design, 2017) and Hannah Harris (B.F.A., business of beauty and fragrance, 2022) back to SCAD to discuss their creative careers.

"It's incredible to see the growing resources that students have access to," remarked Preiss, mentioning both SCADamp and the new XR stage/LED volume. The motto "Once a Bee, always a Bee" took on renewed resonance in the SCAD MOA Theater as the alumni shared their experiences.

Sun, who works as executive editor of brand communications at McKinsey & Company, said: "I studied advertising at SCAD, and one of the most impactful things was how many real-world projects we got to experience. Senior year we participated in a contest to create a campaign for Coke that was judged by Coke executives—and we won. When I got into the real world, that engagement with companies while I was at SCAD proved immediately applicable."

"I got my first internship from SCADstyle," said Harris, the visionary creator of Brown Girls Hands, and currently brand marketing coordinator at Summer Fridays. "Freshman year, I interviewed one of the guests [Stacie Brockman of Métier Creative] for SCAD Manor. She was hiring interns and I got to go to New York for the summer and I ended up interning with one of their clients, MERIT Beauty. I've found one opportunity always leads to the next."

Guided by Ogden, the panel touched on topics including sustainability at the corporate level, the enduring relevance of Photoshop, and the meaning of an Instagram "nail budget." All three alumni seemed to wear their successes lightly, yet each revealed how they have reassessed their personality types (the words "extremely shy" and "total alpha" were used) to grow in the professional world. This relatability enhanced the panel's power.

Preiss, manager of CX integration design strategy, Delta Air Lines, encouraged students to realize "our superpower as designers": "Think about all the workshops and ideation you do where people disagree, and how you bring them all together. Having that superpower maybe doesn't feel important while you're in art school where everybody has it, but when you go into the business world and get a finance [person], a policy[maker] and an engineer to align on a sustainability issue, you are a hero."

"If you can translate creativity into their language, that helps a lot," agreed Harris.

As Sun said: "One real value of being at SCAD is learning how to think and solve problems, because that's where versatility comes from."

As the rapt capacity audience — including President Paula Wallace — applauded in agreement, everyone felt inspired to keep on stylin'.

"When looking at a family photo, you might see someone in it who you don’t know and you wonder who they are," artist Sara Wong said during SCAD deFINE ART 2023. "There’s proof that this [passerby or bystander] was there with you, but we usually don’t put our attention on that person. Out of curiosity, we built the whole project out of that."

In "Museum of the Lost (Strangers at Home)," now on display at SCAD MOA, Wong and artistic collaborator Leung Chi Wo re-enact the poses and attire of these unidentified, unaware "minor characters." Their life-sized photographic prints are accompanied by semi-speculative texts about the experiences and personalities of these perfect strangers.

"The project is two parallel series: one is the vintage object you can see, the other is this large photograph which is more like our performance, like a Band-Aid on the black hole of history," said Leung. "On the one hand, they are referencing each other; on the other hand, we see the big photos as the choreography of the accidental pose."

Last week Wong and collaborator Leung Chi Wo joined chief curator of exhibitions Daniel Palmer at the museum for a public gallery talk. The artists stood before their work to enlighten attendees with humor and insight.

"We began the project in Nagoya four years ago," Leung explained. "We visited a small shopping street and talked to shop owners. They all had photo albums of their grandfathers’ and fathers’ activities which were part of the business, but also private family gatherings and activities that involved neighbors." These ancillary characters created room for the artists’ imagination.

"When you see the original photograph you imagine the shutter clicking in less than a second, but when we were shooting in the studio, we need to hold a posture for minutes or even hours, so it becomes a performative thing to us, a sculptural process as well," pointed out Wong.

Leung mentioned the Italo Calvino short story "The Adventure of the Photographer" as a source of inspiration, as well as ideas regarding presence in Roland Barthes’ Camera Lucida. "Always leave them with a reading list," Palmer said with a smile, as students took notes.

Leung Chi Wo (b. 1968, Hong Kong) and Sara Wong (b. 1968, Hong Kong) have collaborated since 1992. The artists co-founded the arts center Para Site in Hong Kong in 1996. From 1999 to 2000, Leung and Wong participated in a residency in New York, where they premiered City Cookie, their most widely exhibited project, as part of a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council. Leung is an associate professor in the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong. Wong is a practicing landscape architect and the recipient of the Ramon Woon Creative Prize from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"Museum of the Lost (Strangers at Home)" is on view at SCAD Museum of Art through July 3, 2023.

Approach the freestanding wall inside Savannah Cultural Arts Center to find "Vulnerable." Seen at an angle, the soft sculpture's coils of wall-mounted black rope form a dimensional ovoid, loosely framed by gauzy drapes. Now step closer. Look head-on. What appeared abstract becomes figurative. With dark red locks dangling from her head, "Vulnerable" is a prone Black woman.

"I wanted to give form to vulnerability, comfort, and the self-love necessary to give and receive the concept of divine love," says artist Larissa Miller (M.F.A., fibers). "One big thing for me is affording Black women that privilege of being soft and vulnerable. Yes, we know about strong empowerment—but there's a weight to that. We need that break from always being on-guard because we can't trust the moment."

"Vulnerable" is one of two pieces by Miller in the group exhibition ‘…But Some Of Us Are Brave,' featuring works by local Black women artists that, as the show notes declare, "encourage viewers to consider the nuances within one's identity and the importance of representation."

Larissa M. Miller, Vulnerable, 2022, textile, 30 x 40 in.; as seen in Savannah Cultural Arts Center.

Born in Riverdale, Georgia, Miller was raised in the North Carolina Triad, and received her undergraduate degree in Consumer Apparel and Retail Studies from UNC Greensboro. Nearly five years of working professionally in her chosen field followed. Larissa then decided to fulfill her dream of attending SCAD and "finding autonomy in my craft." She is now 12 weeks shy of earning her master's degree.

"From the very first day of class, Larissa was intellectually curious and engaged," says art history professor Dr. Arthur DiFuria, who taught Miller in the course Image, Text, Print (ART 436). "Her thinking was always at a high level because she wasn't afraid to be vulnerable and ask questions. As a result, the project she presented was among the most challenging. It was an honor to teach her."

At SCAD, Miller has gone deep in multiple disciplines, including ceramics ("I learned how to slipcast molds") with Prof. Yves Paquette, and printmaking with Prof. Debora Oden ("she helped me let go of having to be perfect"). "My love for engravings and etchings came from my class with Professor DiFuria, where we studied the classical iconography of mythology. He supported my interest and helped me own the imagery of Tarot and its history as an approach to divination."

Depth of feeling, attention to cross-disciplinary craft, and a deep awareness of both history and the present moment all manifest in Miller's work.

"When I use rope, I'm thinking about printmaking and how each engraving or etching is made by cross-hatching and how each line is intentional in creating a figure. I use that in my fibers work."

While conceiving of her particular "Vulnerable" pose, Miller says, "I was looking at Gustav Klimt's Danaë. That pose was vulnerable. Do Black women have that luxury to experience bliss in a way that's unguarded? I wanted that, so I created it for myself."

"Vulnerable" and Miller's Jacquard textile "Foundations" are on view at Savannah Cultural Arts Center through Saturday, March 4. Meet Larissa at SCAD Fibers Open Studio this Friday evening, March 3, at Pepe Hall.

See more of the work of Larissa Miller and follow her on Instagram.

Banner image: Larissa M. Miller, Foundations, 2022, 50 x 60 in., Jacquard textile, detail.

Photo of Larissa Miller: Daniel White.

"I am passionate about using color and light to explore emotion," writes Laura Correal in a statement on her portfolio. "Life is full of magical moments, and I'm inspired to share those feelings with others."

Hailing from Bogotá, Colombia, Correal (B.F.A., animation) is an artist of astounding depth. She achieves this often through lightness of touch. Her sensitive work is essential to the success of multiple projects, including "The Sun is Bad," a forthcoming thesis collaboration co-helmed by Rachel Mow (B.A., animation) set in Hong Kong in 1980s. As Laura says: "Even though we had different upbringings, Rachel and I have a similar aesthetic sense, and share a passion for animation."

"Bogotá Sunrise (Hacienda Santa Barbara)," digital illustration, 2023, for StreetsOfZine.

Growing up, Correal attended Colegio Anglo Americano ("very demanding") and aspired to study art in the United States. As a teenager, she attended local ACM SIGGRAPH events and developed her digital portfolio. She calls receiving a full scholarship to SCAD "one of the happiest moments of my life" and began at SCAD Savannah in 2019.

Now a senior, Laura is taking classes including Historical Adventures in Cinematic Animation (ANIM 223) while working on her thesis. With "The Sun is Bad," she is also tackling a new role: art director. "I've always done my part as a collaborator and done my best, but now I have to make sure everyone else is too!" she says.

"Laura is one of our best concept artists at SCAD," says John Webber, Associate Chair, SCAD Animation, who oversaw Correal's work on SCAD Animation Studios' "The How Book." "Her sense of color and design is phenomenal. I love having her aboard our collaborative projects because she sees the entire vision of a film. As an art director, she knows how to critique and push her peers yet does so with charity and is humble enough to take direction."

Concept art for "The Sun Is Bad (2023)

In December 2022, Correal flew to L.A. to attend CTN Animation Expo, where she received a one-on-one portfolio review with Pixar Animation Studios art director Deanna Marsigliese. "We were sitting at a table in a Marriott ballroom, and I could feel her real enthusiasm for art," Laura says of Marsigliese. "She had a positive reaction to my portfolio and explained about process and reference when designing in a time period as something I can work on."

Correal came away emboldened to apply for a Pixar Art Internship—one of her potential outcomes after graduation. In the meantime, she is happy to extol buñeulos paired with hot chocolate, reveal that Ponyo is her favorite Miyazaki movie, and explain she works best while listening to "groovy music, like Kaytranada." Sociopolitical topics are also on the table. It turns out Laura's devotion to animation is indivisible from her care about the world.

"After your work becomes part of your identity, assignments help, giving you structure and deadlines, but I think the key is having a community," she says. "That means people who help you with ideas, perspective, and motivation. That's part of what I love about being here at SCAD. It makes me excited to keep going."

See the world of Laura Correal.

In her second quarter as a SCAD Atlanta faculty member, sequential art professor Shadia Amin (M.F.A., sequential art, 2019; B.F.A., sequential art, 2015) has quickly become a student favorite. Pre-class Spongebob-singalongs and stories about manhwa artist Kim Jung Gi are certainly fun factors, but as Amin says, "Being a cool professor doesn't matter if the students don't feel they've learned a lot. I make sure they come away from class prepared."

Growing up in Barranquilla, Colombia, Amin was "an anime kid" who drew mostly to entertain friends at school, inspired by the Sunday color comics insert in El Heraldo. She considered taking graphic design classes at her local college and was "not focused on a career." After completing an International Baccalaureate program however, Shadia met a SCAD recruiter who suggested a degree in sequential art, and the path towards receiving a scholarship. She arrived in Savannah in 2010 to begin her SCAD journey.

The world's first university to offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in sequential art nurtured excellence in Amin. After completing her B.F.A., she drew professionally for two years before returning to earn her masters. Her subsequent success as an artist and illustrator on Scholastic/Marvel's Spider-Ham, Oni Press and Lion Forge's Aggretsuko, and the popular Comics Kingdom strip Olive & Popeye elevated her visibility as a penciler, inker, and colorist. Last fall she again returned to SCAD—this time to teach the next generation.

"We're delighted to have Prof. Shadia Amin on board in Atlanta," says associate chair of sequential art Pat Quinn. "Her commitment to enhancing the SCAD student experience through her own professional endeavors has opened the eyes of many of our students. Her notable work in comics means that as a cartoonist and professor, she brings a lot to the proverbial table."

Last November, Amin drove to Savannah for an in-store appearance at Neighborhood Comics, where she signed copies of "Spider-Ham: Hollywood May-Ham," sequel to the hit "Spider-Ham: Great Power, No Responsibility." Notorious for her visual gags and puns, Amin pointed out that the graphic novel includes a character drawn in tribute to late, great SCAD professor (and long-time Spider-Man artist) Tom Lyle. "He was an important professor for me personally, and we miss him very much," she says.

Amin embodies the essence of SCAD family: students and professors connecting with open hearts to keep the wheel turning. In the 2022-23 academic year, Amin is teaching courses including Drawing for Illustrators (ILLU 714) and Illustrating Beyond the Page: The Narrative Experience (ILLU 309). During Anatomy and Perspective for Sequential Art (SEQA 707), she realized her students were aided "by me going through their work and demonstrating how to correct it. We work on tablets, and I show them how to divide the body to create proportion. When they see what I'm doing, they are able to do better work themselves."

Isn't this privileged information? Shouldn't an M.F.A. come with an NDA?

"Teaching is not gate-keeping," Prof. Amin says with a smile. "Anything I can share about my own professional experience that is useful or valuable to my students, I'm happy to do so. It's why I'm here."

Panel from "Spider-Ham: Great Power, No Responsibility" (Marvel/Scholastic, 2021) by Steve Foxe (author) and Shadia Amin (artist).

"My aim with students is to teach them how to think, not what to think," says film and television professor Chris Donahue. "In class, we work on ‘crucial conversations,' meaning how to discuss everything from the safe placement of a ladder to the characters in a screenplay. I also teach time management and process and problem-solving, so that students are equipped to create the culture they want on-set."

A year into his SCAD teaching career, Donahue is bringing relatability and a compassionate disposition to the classroom. As a professor and a producer, he's already put in the work.

Donahue received an Academy Award in 1998 as producer of short film Visas and Virtue. His recent credits include executive producing 2020 motorcycle feature documentary Caffeine and Gasoline. Yet the Dallas native wears his storied career lightly—he prefers discussing what his students are doing now. "When you're my student and we're in class, I want to know what your experience was like working on-set this weekend," Donahue says.

Film and television department chair D.W. Moffett is unreservedly enthusiastic: "Chris joining our film and television faculty means having a brilliant and dynamic resource here for students as we continue to evolve our department. His award-winning professional experience and unwavering positivity serve to prepare our students to achieve at the highest possible level."

Before joining SCAD, Donahue's interest in the university was piqued by an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about the expansion of the media studio and the creation of a film backlot. He is impressed by SCAD putting the means of production into students' hands, and how that prioritizes the student experience.

"Our role as educators is changing. We're more curators of content now. Today, I can direct an individual student to specific interviews and films to watch. The curriculum doesn't have to be uniform for the entire class." Donahue mentions a student who was interested in becoming a Steadicam operator whom he pointed towards the work of J. Michael Muro. "I encourage students to find a professional whose work they admire, then do a deep dive on their career."

Donahue's deep, detailed knowledge of the film industry combines with an openness to transformative possibility. He is equally engaged discussing the films of Robert Towne and Robert Altman as he is extolling the work of Christine Vachon and Andrea Arnold.

In the first quarter of the new calendar year 2023, Donahue will reconnect with emerging student filmmakers. "There are students I taught in Preproduction: From Concept to Set (FILM 115), and four quarters later I'm seeing them again as they're doing preproduction for their thesis films. It's wonderful to witness."

This quarter Donahue will also teach Short Film Screenwriting (FILM 265), a course as flexible as the definition of content itself. "We'll write short film scripts, and we'll also explore writing for new formats, including how to write podcasts, text-chat stories, radio formats like The Moth, Web-based graphic stories, and Op-Docs. I want to engage students in the place they find most engaging. It's all connected."

Shi Jinsong was born in Wuhan, China, in 1969 and graduated from the sculpture department of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts in 1994. For many years, the artist has been exploring the idea of human consciousness, analyzing the relationship between the self and the world, and attempting to reveal the reality behind social phenomena through his sculpture.

Shi Jinsong's SCAD MOA solo exhibition Waiting for a response which we might never get is a contemplation of the accelerated pace of society. Stepping into the exhibition hall is like entering a cross-section of time, with dark walls separating visitors from the outside world, forcing us to face the industrial jungle.

One featured work in the exhibition, "Let's Go," was completed by Shi Jinsong in 2013. Resin and metal machinery are assembled into a motorcycle, where a tree trunk's flamboyant posture fuses with the metal parts of a locomotive. Shi Jinsong calls "Let's Go" a "sculpture of consciousness."

Shi Jinsong, "Let's Go," 2013, motorcycle, industrial waste, and resin, 106 x 39 x 63 in. Courtesy of the artist and Eli Klein Gallery, New York.

Liu: What was the inspiration for your work "Let's Go"?

Shi:  At that time, there were suddenly many exhibitions about luxury goods in China and discussions about luxury goods in the media. The air seemed filled with a strong atmosphere of the special temptation that luxury goods bring to emerging families. I remember I had just published my first collection of works, "Report on Luxury Goods," with Today Art Museum. I wonder whether this is a coincidence because, at that time, the whole society was in a fanatical imagination with confidence in the future and the prosperity of material life. This atmosphere was magical and realistic. I conceived the sculpture of consciousness as the muse of my work.

Liu: What were the considerations in choosing the materials? What do you want to present?

Shi:  Regarding the interpretation of the work, I look forward to all of them no matter from which direction because I usually do not set goals for the expression of the work but work in the gap of ideas or consciousness, as well as form a richer and more specific presentation and expression in everyone's different understandings. I go with the flow with the materials so that the things that have been destroyed or abandoned for various reasons become cool again and full of vitality, bursting out infinite possibilities, allowing dreams within reach, leading to deeper hallucinations, and sculpting and presenting the material form of consciousness.

Liu: How do you understand the relationship between inspiration and the creative process?

Shi:  Inspiration, I think, is a word full of divinity, so it is difficult for me to describe the state of its existence, and even for a long time, I did not believe in its existence or the meaning and value of its existence until one day I found that we all have a starting idea and reason for creating works. After completion, there will be a series of interpretations and readings. Still, it is not the initial ideas and reasons that support the completion or even the moving of his or her work, nor the subsequent interpretations and readings. At least it is not only these. Therefore, I began to examine and dissect mine and our state of consciousness, including some divine awareness.

The production of my works is more like a section of consciousness that is presented due to an occasional pause in the thinking process, just like the various reactions of a boxer in a fight, it is a deliberate and intuitive reaction. Therefore, I attach great importance to the role of on-site reality and do not care much about the existence of inspiration Oh, and maybe my inspiration lies in all kinds of reactions.

Liu: Many SCAD students are looking forward to your exhibition. Do you have any advice for us?

Shi: For those who just stepped into the art field, my experience is to stay curious and confused and let maturity and success come as late as possible. You will be closer to art, and the relative joy of working in art can last longer. In this accelerating era, perhaps we can adjust our pace and path to pursue our passion and purpose in life. The future is still long—we have a lot of courage yet to be squandered, a lot of things to unravel, and a lot of attitudes to be expressed.

Waiting for a response which we might never get is on view at the SCAD Museum of Art through Jan. 2, 2023.

"Who am I?" wonders Nilsson Cajamarca (M.A., motion media design, 2022). "My name? My customs? The music I listen to? The things I spend time doing?"

Facets of identity are at the core of Nilsson's M.A. final project, the forthcoming motion media work "That's Not Me." As its creator explains, "In it, I explore ‘me' from different perspectives."

This much is true: A native of Villavicencio, Colombia, Cajamarca speaks Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, English. He has learned basic French and Chinese. He is a longtime vegetarian. He is fascinated by the roots of hip-hop culture, and a devotee of the acrobatic art of capoeira. He is the first person in his family to receive a university degree. He was awarded the Dean's Fellowship to come to SCAD just over a year ago.

In February, Nilsson attended the student-led motion graphics conference at SCAD called CoMotion. He made key connections with guests from professional creative studios, including Scholar, the award-winning production company founded by alumni William Campbell (B.F.A., broadcast design, 2005; B.F.A., motion graphic design, 2005) and Will Johnson (B.F.A., broadcast design, 2006; B.F.A., motion graphic design, 2006).

Nilsson: "Scholar messaged me that same week and asked, 'Do you want to intern with us?' I replied: 'Sure! Let's go!'"

Still image from the music official video for "Haz Más" by El Chojin.

Nilsson Cajamarca:

When I was studying at college in Bogotá, pursuing a master's degree seemed unthinkable. Then I went to an education fair and met a SCAD representative, and learned about the motion media program, and that Motionographer founder Justin Cone (M.F.A., motion graphics, 2008) went to SCAD. I was impressed, and when I saw SCAD was ranked #1 by The Rookies, I said, okay I'm going to try to go. I got in touch with students from Colombia who had gone to SCAD and they all told me, SCAD is going to change your life!

When I started in Fall 2021, I was still in Colombia, learning online via SCADnow. Then I came to Savannah, and my first quarter here got involved in the SCAD motion media club. MOMELOVE prepared me for CoMotion with workshops on how to refine my brand identity, upgrade my portfolio, and cut my demo reel—even a session of mock interviews. That led directly to meeting with Scholar during CoMotion.

I didn't really know what I was going to be part of when I started my Scholar internship. I worked with a team on a pitch for Adobe, a TV commercial for Lowe's, and a project for LEGO Education called "Rebuild the World," about a character named Hannah whose childhood dream  is to become a scientist specializing in marine wildlife. To animate her story, I collaborated for two and half months to develop ten seconds of animation, which indicates the level of attention to detail at Scholar. The LEGO project wound up being featured on Behance. My six-year-old sister watched it, saw Hannah and said, "Wow! She can do those things! She can be a sea explorer and scientist and play with robots!" That's meaningful and wonderful.

Being at Scholar was a huge moment for me. I see myself one day as a creative director or animation director, but for now, I want to be under the wing of people more skilled than me. The role of the motion designer is always changing, and for prospective students considering SCAD, know that you're going to acquire and refine all the technical skills you need to do the work, and you're going to develop a deeper component of conceptualization around that work.

The conceptual aspect is the key, because it can be translated to new skills, new technologies, new aesthetics, and applied to new tools. The future will be here soon. We can be the ones to create it. At SCAD I've made friends from the U.S., China, Taiwan, Korea, India, UK, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, and Mexico. We all want to make the most of our SCAD experience and collaborate as much as we can. I feel blessed.

Visit Nilsson Cajamarca!

Nilsson would like to acknowledge Director of Admission Peter May for assistance throughout his time at SCAD.

"SCAD is a Deaf-friendly institution, where we value Deaf people," says Dr. Kara Powis. "The Deaf worldview on visual arts is different than the hearing worldview, which I think is what SCAD is all about — looking at art and design in different ways."


As the new SCAD Coordinator of Deaf Services, Dr. Powis directs an interpreting staff that provides communication services to deaf students both in-class and for co-curricular activities. For the 2022-2023 academic year, SCAD has deaf students enrolled in Savannah and Atlanta, and via online learning platform SCADnow. Suitably, Powis arrives at an institution at the vanguard of art and design education.

"Dr. Kara Powis brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to SCAD, and approaches all of her interactions with a genuine smile," says Dr. Aimée Bellmore, SCAD Executive Director of Counseling and Student Support Services. "She has already made a significant difference for our deaf students. I know she will lead us forward with her mission to increase accessibility, inclusion, and belongingness for students who are deaf or hard of hearing at SCAD."

Meeting Dr. Powis on a recent morning in her Bradley Hall office overlooking Oglethorpe Square proves edifying. "I'm a hearing person, and I want to be mindful that I'm speaking as an ally to Deaf people, from my experience with the community, not of the community. That's an important distinction," she says.

Powis relates a focused history of Deaf culture in the past half century-plus, emphasizing the importance of the Disability Rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, the Deaf President Now student protest at Gallaudet University in 1988, and the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. An intersectional historian and linguist, Powis holds a Ph.D. in Transformative Learning and Change from California Institute of Integral Studies. Beneath her flourishing career lie the roots of her radical empathy.

"I came out of the womb as an activist," she says with her signature smile. "I grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, which was ethnically diverse — there were families from five different countries on our street. Early on I saw injustice and inequality in the world, and as a human being, I knew it was my job to do something about that. That's a big part of my background — and foreground."

As Director of Deaf Services Palo Alto from 2014-2022, Powis worked with some of the biggest Silicon Valley tech companies, coordinating interpreters for employees and executives, and running global Sign Language classes across 18 countries. Then, when her sister-in-law passed her a copy of SCAD President Paula Wallace's memoir The Bee and the Acorn (Assouline Publishing, 2016), Powis' curiosity was piqued, setting in motion a career and coastal shift.

Now at SCAD, Dr. Powis is enthusiastic for what Deaf culture can also mean to the lives of hearing students. "I have been approached by hearing students who want to start an ASL club. We need twenty students to be an official SCAD club, and if enough students are interested, I'm happy to sponsor it." (Students interested in learning American Sign Language through a formal SCAD club are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Powis directly: [email protected].)

"My job is administrative, and it's also educational in terms of helping the SCAD community think more about deafness and access and accessibility and language," Powis says. She articulates a vision for SCAD as a preferred destination for deaf prospective students. "That means elevating SCAD on the map in the Deaf world."

Readers may notice that sometimes the word “Deaf” is capitalized in this post, while in other instances it is not. The capitalized usage refers to a group of people, with the lowercase “deaf” indicates a condition. Thank you to Dr. Powis for the clarification.