"To receive an honor that carries André Leon Talley's name, his presence, his light, is something I'll never take lightly," said Pharrell Williams from the stage of SCADShow in Atlanta. "SCAD meant so much to André, and this is a place that not only celebrates creativity but protects it, and it teaches artists to build careers from imagination. That makes this moment even more meaningful to me."
 
It was an epic evening covered by everyone from Vogue to Vibe, as SCAD unveiled André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever at SCAD FASH, the landmark exhibition celebrating the life and achievements of André Leon Talley, the visionary creative director, style legend, and beloved friend of the university. Events included a preview reception for museum members and the presentation of the André Leon Talley Award to Pharrell in recognition of his impact on the global fashion industry.
 
"André! The name conjures a man of wonder, wisdom, glamour, influence, and the warmth of a sun that burns brightly and will for the ages. With a caftan as his cape and words as his wand, André Leon Talley reigned as fashion's most winsome oracle, a beloved cultural titan, cherished friend, and mentor to SCAD Bees across the world," said SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. "This landmark exhibition, along with a book of the same name by SCAD University Press, unveils André's private collection, a sartorial sanctuary he called his ‘armor' and his ‘tabernacle.' André dearly wanted these personal objects and artifacts to live on at SCAD in perpetuity, benefiting students and lovers of all things beautiful."
 
Made possible by Talley's extraordinary bequest of personal garments, accessories, photographs, and ephemera to the SCAD Permanent Collection, the exhibition honors the 10th anniversary of SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film, an institution deeply influenced and shaped by Talley, who played a vital role in its establishment.
 
Curated by Rafael Brauer Gomes, creative director of SCAD FASH museums, André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever presents an evocative collection of couture and bespoke pieces from Talley's personal wardrobe — each reflecting the artistry and vision of celebrated designers such as Tom Ford for Gucci, Miuccia Prada, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Gianni Versace, Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga, John Galliano for Dior, Chado Ralph Rucci, Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy, and Isabel Toledo
 
"André Leon Talley didn't just shape fashion, he shaped people," said Gomes. "His legacy endures in garments and publications and in the lives he uplifted, the voices he amplified, and the doors he held open for others. This exhibition is our love letter to a legend who carved a place in history with style and conviction."
 
For more than two decades, Talley was a generous steward of SCAD and a passionate mentor to SCAD students from every academic discipline. With President Wallace, Talley was pivotal in establishing the university's fashion exhibitions program, lending his vision to acclaimed shows that strengthened the university's influence on design curation and education within global culture. Talley's enthusiasm for the university led to his longtime service on the SCAD Board of Trustees (2002–2014). He delivered the SCAD Commencement address in 2008, receiving an honorary doctorate of humane letters and becoming the first recipient of the SCAD Lifetime Achievement Award in Fashion, an accolade now known as the André Leon Talley Award.
 
André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever is on view at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah through Jan. 11, 2026, and at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, Oct. 15, 2025–March 1, 2026. An accompanying exhibition catalogue, published by SCAD University Press and Rizzoli Electa, offers a further exploration of Talley's legacy.

Stylin': President Wallace and Pharrell Williams celebrate ALT at SCAD FASH.

For more information, visit scadfash.org.

It began on a momentous day: SCAD Commencement 2021. You Li (M.F.A., interior design, 2021) stood on stage in Atlanta, receiving her master's diploma and the prestigious Excelsus Laureate distinction from SCAD President Paula Wallace. The occasion brimmed with excitement as Li ventured into the professional world of interior design, eager to tell stories through spaces.

Four years later, and You Li has fashioned a remarkable career as an interior designer at Gensler, the globally-renowned architectural and design firm. From conceptualizing bold ideas to traveling across the U.S. to inspect construction sites, her work blends aesthetic vision with practical execution.

Let the good designs roll: You Li with President Wallace at Commencement 2021. 

For Li, design is storytelling — expressing a client's vision and capturing a city's cultural identity through the artistry of spatial design. She transforms ordinary structures into extraordinary vessels of collective memory by mastering the interplay of concepts, color, light, and shadow. At Gensler, she works alongside construction teams, seeing every phase through from ideation to completion.

"Every design needs to stand the test of time, to tell a story today and resonate tomorrow," she says.

At SCAD, Li learned a vital truth about design: it begins with listening. Whether walking through a client's stables or sitting at their kitchen table, she immerses herself in their stories, transforming their needs into personalized solutions. "It's about understanding the purpose of design and weaving visions into actionable plans," she says.

She balances creativity with practicality, and communication with execution when aligning teams of engineers or presenting polished concepts to clients. Standout projects include a passenger lounge at San Francisco International Airport. Li sees the space as more than a waiting area. For her, the lounge bookends a traveler's experience, connecting the passenger to San Francisco's cultural heartbeat. She poured the city's essence into every detail of the 20,000-square-foot lounge.

"The lounge will tell a memorable story of the city's vibe and the airline's brand, even during a fleeting stay," she says.

Li is a trailblazer in modular design, contributing to Boise's first prefabricated bank branch. Prefabrication, often likened to assembling a life-sized Lego set, introduces efficiency to construction projects. "This project redefined the boundaries between customization and modular production."By modularizing components, the project reduced construction time, enhanced sustainability, and simplified long-term maintenance.

She credits much of her own growth to her time at SCAD. From mastering design software to experiencing accessibility challenges firsthand, her education grounded her designs in inclusivity and practicality. Her advice to students is simple and profound: "Use each project as an opportunity to explore what truly excites you. The classroom is your testing ground for the future."

Now, as an emerging leader with the IIDA and a LEED-accredited professional — her newest stamp of credibility is the Council for Interior Design's NCIDQ certification — Li is shaping the future of design.

"Design challenges you to listen, balance, and create spaces that inspire and endure," she says.

For Li, interior design remains an invitation to connect people with places and transform functional infrastructure into an enduring story.

Connect with You Li on LinkedIn.

An interior design by You Li (Handan, China) from her final SCAD portfolio.

It was all that and a melodica solo.

A record-setting SCAD commencement took place Friday, May 30, at the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, and Saturday, May 31, at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, celebrating the SCAD graduating class of 2025. As the university honored the achievements of its 2025 graduates, musician and composer Jon Batiste delivered a commencement address and stirring performance at both ceremonies.

"Our happy hive hummed with joy this spring as more than 4,200 SCAD Bees — a record — danced across the commencement stage and prepared to fly off to rewarding careers around the world," SCAD president and co-founder Paula Wallace said. "What I so deeply cherish about SCAD's commencement is the love you feel, see, and hear, everywhere. From grandparents and parents, to students and siblings, cheers, tears, whoops, hugs, and high-fives celebrate phenomenal creativity, courage, and camaraderie. The world is yours, Bees!"

Grammy and Academy Award-winning musician Batiste addressed the largest class in university history, and performed live for students, their families, and honored guests. "I'm honored to speak and perform at SCAD's commencement ceremonies in both Atlanta and Savannah," Batiste said. "It's a gift to connect with and inspire the next generation of creative artists at this globally renowned university."

Batiste was awarded an honorary doctorate by President Wallace. The 38-year-old composer and multi-instrumentalist emphatically encouraged graduating students to "live a life where your receptors are constantly up" and to "expect the unexpected and use their creativity to keep moving forward...it can lead to new and amazing things."

Founded in 1978, SCAD conferred its first degrees in 1982, when the inaugural class consisted of only eight students. Since then, enrollment has grown to more than 17,500 students across more than 40 academic programs, including animation, fashion, film and television, interior design, and user experience design.

NOTABLE HONOREES

SAVANNAH

Valedictorian: Jason Conforti (B.F.A. film and television)
Salutatorian: Lea Bagi (B.F.A. illustration; B.F.A. advertising and branding)
Excelsus Laureate: Carey Lin (M.F.A. service design)
Mace Bearer: Kalani Washington (B.F.A. dramatic writing)
Honorary Degree: Josh To (Vice president of design, AR, AI, and wearables at Meta)

ATLANTA

Valedictorian: Fallon Perlino  (B.F.A. advertising and branding)
Salutatorian: Adriana Colón (B.F.A. graphic design)
Excelsus Laureate: Kourtney Iman King  (M.F.A. photography)
Mace Bearer: Lisa Pringle (B.F.A. iIllustration)
Honorary Degree: Andre Dickens, 61st mayor of Atlanta

Congratulations to the SCAD Class of 2025!

As winter weather wrapped Washington, D.C., Paula Wallace was inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for a warm and welcome occasion. On the afternoon of Thurs., Jan. 2., SCAD's president and founder was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Joe Biden in a ceremony at the White House.

"A lifelong educator and trailblazer of the arts, Paula Wallace dreamt of a university that would transform how we think about professional education," declared a statement issued by the White House. "By establishing the esteemed Savannah College of Art and Design and serving as its president, she has guided thousands of students into creative industries."
 
The Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian award in the United States, recognizes individuals who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country and fellow citizens. "Our democracy begins and ends with the duties of citizenship," Biden told honorees inside the East Room of the White House. "That's our work for the ages. And that's what all of you — and I mean this — all of you embody."

President Wallace was among twenty recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal, who were awarded in a private ceremony, followed by a reception attended by family and friends.

As the official White House statement declared: "President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice."

After the ceremony, President Wallace said  how "profoundly humbled it had felt to sit alongside the other honorees: innovators and pioneers of medicine and healthcare, lifelong public servants, and dauntless civil rights champions. President Biden and the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden (a lifelong educator herself), personally select each recipient, and their overwhelming respect for each honoree shone through the entire event."

SCAD was founded in 1978 to create a specialized professional art college to attract students from the U.S. and abroad. A private, nonprofit, accredited university, SCAD now offers more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 110 countries. SCAD has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.

Visit scad.edu.

"Over the last 12 months, SCAD Bees have achieved what students elsewhere could only dream of: designing and building not one but two electric vehicles — the Aether, a convertible sports car, and the Tyr, an off-roader overland SUV," announced President Paula Wallace, during a momentous unveiling this week.

Students within SCAD's award-winning industrial design program have created these fully functioning electric vehicle concept cars. Each car puts the guest in the driver's seat of their own experience, with functional designs for cruising down coastal highways and navigating challenging off-road terrain—meant to engage and encourage the next generation of driving public.

The project's focus was on curating an experience for Gen Z, a demographic that views driving differently than previous generations. Initial research found 75% of Gen Z do not look forward to getting their driver's license. SCAD students set out to change this perception.

"These new electric vehicle concepts answer an essential question for the automotive industry as more and more young people are choosing not to drive at all, using rideshare and public transportation instead, and SCAD's Aether and Tyr reverse that shift in spectacular ways — because we do our research!" President Wallace remarked. "Our two SCAD EVs present the future of driving for all drivers, with commercial appeal. And they're gorgeous!"

"SCAD's industrial design program creates hands-on learning experiences that no other university does, and the building of these electric vehicles is a prime example," said professor of industrial design Rafael Corazza Ronchetti. "This is an incredible opportunity for our students to enhance their career readiness by designing and building a fully functional car."

The project emphasized pooling innovative student talent from across the university's top-ranked degree programs, including interior design, fibers, motion media design, graphic design, user experience (UX) design, and interactive design and game development. The various builds and elements of each vehicle reflect the disciplines involved, as well as the creative ingenuity of the SCAD students who brought these vehicles from concept to completion.

The Aether electric vehicle, developed in Savannah, proposes a new design language that appeals to the Gen Z demographic while paying homage to influential cars of the past, including the Ferrari 312 F1 and the Porsche 917. The vehicle's racing aesthetic includes an open top and an AI companion that curates music based on driving style. Aether was entirely printed with innovative 3D technology that incorporates acrylic gel photocured with UV lights. This technology was a key element to the success of developing the car in record time.

Wheel genius: Tyr, ready to roll.

Tyr, the electric vehicle created in Atlanta, evokes the narratives and causes crucial to Gen Z. Environmentally-minded students created a car centered on sustainability and used intentional colors, designs, and relevant features to empower the driver's personal journey. In a recent SCADask survey of Gen Z respondents,  fuel efficiency, environmental impact, and technology features were all listed as top transportation priorities.

"We built the Tyr electric vehicle to have a platform that will grow with the user, one that goes from the street to an off-road terrain environment," SCAD Atlanta associate chair of design Owen Foster said. "By prioritizing autonomy, ecological responsibility, and cutting- edge technology, the Tyr becomes an extension of the driver's home, offering safety, reliability, and an unparalleled driving experience with sustainable interiors, a large acrylic screen, adjustable seating, and small truck bed."

Throughout the development process, students worked alongside faculty and industry mentors to learn specialized skills that were essential to building successful and fully functioning electric vehicles. The emphasis SCAD places on application over theory is unlike any other industrial design program. "SCAD students engaged pros in the automotive industry, as well as others in fashion, luxury marketing, and ‘fringe tech' such as controlling a car with eye tracking and hand gestures," President Wallace observed. "We transform SCAD students into pros by compelling them to create real products for real clients and within the constraints of real time, modeling professional practice."

Electric youth: the powered-up Aether. 

Visit scad.edu/evcars.

SCAD proudly presents Sandy Powell's Dressing the Part: Costume Design for Film, the debut U.S. exhibition by esteemed British costume designer Sandy Powell, opening Oct. 11 at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta. Altogether, costume drama has never looked so good.
 
Curated by Rafael Gomes, creative director of SCAD FASH museums, the exhibition displays a stunning swathe of genres, periods, and realities. Showcasing Powell's inventive and dynamic work for films including Shakespeare in Love, The Favourite, Cinderella, The Wolf of Wall Street, and How to Talk to Girls at Parties, the exhibition welcomes cinephiles and costume lovers from around the world to Atlanta to witness the Academy Award winner's worldbuilding legacy.
 
"With 15 Academy Award nominations and three wins to her name, designer Sandy Powell has masterfully costumed iconic films beloved by generations," said SCAD President Paula Wallace. "Sandy is no stranger to SCAD — we have honored her at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, and I've welcomed her as a guest on my series On Creativity. Now, we bring our friendship full circle with Sandy Powell's Dressing the Part: Costume Design for Film. As home to the only museum whose mission focuses exclusively on both fashion and film, SCAD provides the perfect set for her award-winning oeuvre in her first U.S. exhibition!"
 
Powell, recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' highest honor, is a formidable force in filmmaking. Her career-long partnerships with directors Martin Scorsese, Todd Haynes, Neil Jordan, and Derek Jarman and actors Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio, Julianne Moore, and Tilda Swinton have contributed to the creation of iconic film characters. In vignettes featuring more than 125 costumes from films such as Gangs of New York, Carol, Interview with a Vampire, The Young Victoria, The Aviator, The Other Boleyn Girl, Mary Poppins Returns, and Velvet Goldmine, SCAD FASH immerses viewers in Powell's nearly 40-year career.
 
"I am very excited that SCAD FASH has given me the opportunity to exhibit my first ever retrospective in the university's amazing museum in Atlanta," Powell said. "I hope that the carefully curated collection will serve to inspire students and aspiring costume designers just as I have been inspired by the ingenuity and creativity of the designers I have admired throughout my career."
 
The exhibition also presents a new, SCAD-produced documentary on Powell, highlighting how her spirit enriches her craft and proves essential to actors and directors. The film features interviews with her long-time technicians and collaborators, including Blanchett and Moore, providing an authentic look at Powell's creative process and her garments.
 
Sandy Powell's Dressing the Part: Costume Design for Film exemplifies SCAD's continued commitment to the art of costume design. The university is proud to now offer its top-ranked production design and costume design degree programs in the prestigious SCAD School of Film and Acting at SCAD Atlanta.
 
SCAD FASH creative director Gomes remarked: "Sandy Powell is one of the greatest artisans working in film. Her devotion to costume history, coupled with her visionary approach, has elevated some of the most unforgettable films over the past three decades. We are excited to be the first museum in the U.S. to present an exhibition of her work, and for the rich educational and cultural opportunity Dressing the Part presents to our students and everyone who visits the museum."

Witness Dressing the Part at SCAD FASH. 

The SCAD Museum of Art is proud to announce the fall 2024 season of exhibitions, uniting works by forward-thinking creators who represent varied identities, viewpoints, and artistic movements. Reflecting upon the legacies of history while engaging directly with contemporary culture, the nine new exhibitions attune viewers to the power of the human experience, and the dynamic expressions of artists seeking connection to the world around them.
 
"The SCAD Museum of Art serves as a bold and brilliant beacon for lovers of visual ideation across the globe, said SCAD President Paula Wallace. “Our fall shows feature a charismatic lineup of contemporary artists from India, Italy, Kuwait, and beyond — and we welcome back SCAD alum Anya Molyviatis for her debut solo museum exhibition in the SCAD MOA Alumni Gallery. If you're ready to see the world with new eyes, join me at the SCAD Museum of Art this fall. The space draws you in, irresistibly. No passport required!"
 
SCAD MOA welcomes George Clinton to Savannah for the first museum exhibition of his wildly unconventional paintings and drawings that defy expectations with an imaginative Afrofuturist aesthetic centering improvisation and joy. Clinton will present this year's Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Lecture, placing his work in context with the lineages of African American storytelling. The museum is further honored to partner with Dia Art Foundation on a focused exploration of the innovative practice of Minimalist artist Dan Flavin (1933–96), whose pivotal works established a defining formal language of light and space.
 
In new and recent works, Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola critiques the commercialization of culture while uplifting the nuanced roles of everyday objects within Black life and individuality. Blending myth and purported fact in an evocative, grounding installation, multidisciplinary sculptor and filmmaker Monira Al Qadiri explores the complexities of the Persian Gulf's past and future. In her debut solo museum exhibition, SCAD alum Anya Molyviatis (B.F.A., fibers, 2021) merges technology and craft in intricate weavings that augment perception. Artist collaborators Thukral and Tagra contemplate the intersection of the digital and natural worlds in hyperrealistic paintings marked by analog pixels and glitches. Examining the connection between image-making and identity, Pop-Deco illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli transforms her graphic designs into bold portraits for a site-specific installation in the museum's public-facing Jewel Box vitrines. Beloved fashion designer Isabel Toledo is also celebrated with a posthumous exhibition of her work curated with her husband, artist, and fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo.
 
SCAD MOA chief curator Daniel S. Palmer said: "This new season of exhibitions at the SCAD Museum of Art will be unparalleled in the institution's recent history. With creators from across the globe working compellingly in nearly every medium, audiences are sure to be astonished by the art on view. Ranging from a historically significant display of American Minimalist Dan Flavin's most important series to the first solo museum exhibition of P-Funk cultural icon George Clinton's paintings and dynamic installations from Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola, Monira Al Qadiri, Anya Molyviatis, Thukral and Tagra, Isabel Toledo, and Olimpia Zagnoli, these exhibitions are certain to amaze and inspire."
 
The museum's fall exhibitions season reflects the prestige and relevance of SCAD's top-ranked degree programs, from painting, photography, and sculpture to fashion, fibers, industrial design, illustration, and film and television. Students, alumni, and visitors can engage with the artists and curators at complementary programming, including an opening celebration, artist talks and conversations throughout the week, and an electrifying performance by George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic.

George Clinton, Alice in My Fantasies, c. 1999, acrylic and markers on canvas, 30 x 24 in. Private collection. 

Join the opening celebration Thursday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m., at SCAD MOA, 601 Turner Blvd. in Savannah.
 
For more information, visit scadmoa.org.

Banner image: Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola, Party in the USA (HELL YEAH!!!), 2023, durags on aluminum and wood frame, 72 x 144 ½ in. Courtesy of the artist and Night Gallery, Los Angeles. Photography by Nik Massey.

There is no party quite like SCAD commencement, and this year's event was the best and biggest yet. Students, alumni, faculty, and staff were delighted to honor the newest class of graduates at SCAD Commencement 2024, during the glorious first weekend of summer.

SCAD Savannah and SCADnow students participated in the Presidential Conferment of Degrees and Presentation of Degrees ceremonies for their academic schools on Saturday, June 1, while the ceremony for all graduating SCAD Atlanta students took place Sunday, June 2. All ceremonies were streamed live on YouTube.

This year's commencement caps off a milestone academic year as SCAD recognizes its 45th anniversary. As President Wallace said to the graduates:

"During our sapphire anniversary this year, SCAD has celebrated 45 Years of Star Power. And just as the cosmos creates the perfect conditions for a star to be born, so has SCAD provided the ideal environment for the birth of your star-studded career."

President Wallace reflected on the birth of SCAD in 1978, connecting its founding to its current graduating class. "At that time, in this quaint old seaport village, the very idea of SCAD was just so unlikely. At the time, I was already an educator, but to grow SCAD into an elite university, to prove the naysayers wrong, I would have to become something quite rare in education: an entrepreneur."

Vibes were high as President Wallace nodded with enthusiam. "And you joined me in this dream because you are entrepreneurs too!"

Acclaimed actor and New York Times bestselling author Rob Lowe shone as the 2024 commencement speaker. Known for his roles in "The West Wing" and "Parks and Recreation," Lowe addressed the largest class in SCAD history, representing over 40 top-ranked majors, including animation, fashion, and film.

"You are the storytellers," Lowe told the graduates. "You are the connectors that bridge the divides of our culture and unite the human spirit. We need you. We are depending on you. And you my fellow Bees can do this. Congratulations, Class of 2024!"

Congratulations to all our Bees, and to the valedictorian, salutatorian, and excelsus laureate in both SCAD Savannah and SCAD Atlanta.

SCAD Savannah:

Excelsus Laureate Morgan Eng (M.F.A. sequential art, 2024)

Salutatorian Tejumoluwa K. Olarewaju (B.F.A. sound design, 2024)

Valedictorian Caroline Gendron (B.F.A. illustration, 2024)

SCAD Atlanta:

Excelsus Laureate Katie Owens (M.F.A. animation, 2024)

Salutatorian Jayden White (B.F.A. film and television, 2024)

Valedictorian Melody Wu (B.F.A. UX design, 2024)

"Congratulations to the class of 2024. We did it!" —Jayden White

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.

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.