"My hope is that the podcast will show that we can have difficult conversations," says Kacie Willis (M.F.A., sound design, 2013). A Fall 2020 SCAD Alumni Atelier ambassador, Willis is speaking of White-Angle, her new podcast exploring "empathy in documentary filmmaking, dissecting how perspective and privilege factor into storytelling in our modern time of civil unrest."

Born in Detroit and based in Atlanta, Willis is a founding producer at Could Be Pretty Cool, has worked at the Center for Puppetry Arts and 7 Stages Theatre, and was one of 10 participants in last year's Spotify Sound Up program, an initiative to amplify underrepresented voices in the podcasting world. Boost the levels on Kacie for maximum effect.

Kacie Willis:

Of the pitches I submitted to the SCAD Alumni Atelier program, I was surprised that White-Angle was the one selected. I'd submitted three or four fun and quirky ideas, but this was the topic that I was asked to explore.

White-Angle is a podcast that pairs a white documentary filmmaker who's made a film about Black trauma with a Black filmmaker in conversation. It's a podcast about storytelling, agency, ownership, and about who should be telling stories. It's flipping the script in the sense that the documentarian is now the documentary subject of the podcast.

I'm primarily a theatrical sound designer. Since COVID-19 shut down live theater, a conversation has been presenting itself in the theatrical world about the future of race in theater and how to address those issues. I was on a panel where someone said they didn't think a white director should be allowed to direct plays by Black writers. I felt really conflicted about that.

I have friends from all different backgrounds who take their work very seriously, including several cis white male friends who have made feature length-documentary films on Black trauma. One has a film premiering at the Atlanta Film Festival next week that was based on a cold case in Griffin, Georgia. Another made a film about a black male who was having a bipolar episode and was killed by police in 2014. I thought, what can I do to speak to this moment?

Two members of my White-Angle team are also SCAD sound design alumni: Cooper Skinner (M.F.A., sound design, 2013; B.F.A., sound design 2010) will be doing the mixing and mastering, and Jacob McCoy (B.F.A., sound design, 2010) is cutting together a video trailer for the show.

Everything is going to be hosted on a standalone website. There'll be three episodes, each one about 30 minutes. The first episode will feature Stephen Robert Morse, director of In the Cold Dark Night and filmmaker and puppeteer Raymond Carr. Episode two will pair Roee Messinger, director of American Trial: The Eric Garner Story with screenwriter and producer Nakia Stephens. The third episode will feature Erik Ljung, director of The Blood is at the Doorstep, in conversation with filmmaker Derrick Jones.

Part of my Alumni Atelier project is figuring out my target audience for this podcast. This means strategically marketing a difficult piece of work at difficult time where people are looking for levity. It means figuring out how to spark important conversations about difficult topics. As a creative community, we can help one another to tell these stories.

Visit Kacie at her excellent website. Stay tuned for more about the launch of White-Angle, coming October 2020.

The SCAD Alumni Atelier, conceived and endowed in 2015 by SCAD President Paula Wallace, supports select alumni with time, space, and resources to facilitate the creation of new work.

Interested alumni applicants should email [email protected] or visit www.scad.edu/success/alumni-programs/alumni-atelier for details.

photography: Kelley Raye

"COVID-19 is an ecological health crisis of epic proportion and we've all been impacted," says artist and activist Carrie Mae Weems. "We have indisputable evidence that people of color have been disproportionately impacted. This fact affords the nation an unprecedented opportunity to address the impact of social and economic inequality in real-time."

SCAD has partnered with Weems to launch the artist's new public art initiative, RESIST COVID/TAKE 6!, in Atlanta and Savannah, home to SCAD's two Georgia campuses. The artist-driven project emphasizes the precaution for people to maintain a six-foot distance from one another, and speaks to the urgency of Weems' call to action.

"Not only does RESIST COVID/TAKE 6! raise critical health awareness, it shines a light on how this pandemic has disproportionately affected Black, Latino and Native communities," says President Paula Wallace. "We are pleased to be partnering with Carrie Mae Weems, longtime friend of SCAD, to bring this important work to Atlanta and Savannah."

At the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, the museum's street-facing jewel boxes display large-scale photographs accompanied by the initiative's messages including "Don't Worry, We'll Hold Hands Again." RESIST COVID/TAKE 6! is also on view at public locations in and around SCAD Atlanta. Commanding billboards and bus shelters bring its message to the attention of residents in one of the country's highly impacted cities. Flyers, "church-style" fans, and bags will be distributed through Meals on Wheels Atlanta and organizations in Savannah. The printed pieces direct audiences to local resources including COVID-19 testing sites.

The works showcase the realities of the international health crisis while providing notes of gratitude to workers within the health and service industries and making direct appeals for people to take preventive safety measures.

SCAD has over a decade-long friendship with Weems. The artist has collaborated with the university on numerous exhibitions and initiatives to showcase her dynamic work. Weems has been a distinguished visiting professor at SCAD Atlanta and worked with students on a thought-provoking film, "Constructing History: A Requiem to Mark the Moment" for the National Black Arts Festival in 2008. In 2016, Weems was the SCAD deFINE ART honoree and keynote speaker. That same year she had an accompanying exhibition titled "Carrie Mae Weems: Considered" at SCAD MOA in the Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies.

Most recently, Weems spoke with President Wallace for the ‘On Creativity' podcast where the artist discussed recent and upcoming creative work, the importance of the RESIST COVID/TAKE 6! initiative, and her legacy in the industry.
 
Weems began working on RESIST COVID/TAKE 6! this spring while artist-in-residence at Syracuse University, as the extent of the COVID-19 crisis became apparent. The idea came from a conversation of Weems and her close friend Pierre Loving, lamenting what they saw unfolding. The initiative is also being activated in cities nationwide including New York, Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia in support by producing collaborators, THE OFFICE performing arts + film.

"The arts allow us to get closest to our humanity," says Weems. "One of the important things is to understand the circumstances under which we live. This means unmasking inequity, because then you begin to see the power structures that are under it to keep you fighting one another as opposed to really looking at really the source of the problems. Denial does not solve a problem."

Listen to Carrie Mae Weems speak with President Wallace 'On Creativity' here.

A fabulous three-day weekend, 40 years in the making. This Thurs.-Sat., April 25-28, join SCAD friends and families for SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival, the unveiling of SCADstory, SCAD40 Block Party and much more as we celebrate SCAD40 WKND.

In recognition of the university’s 40th anniversary, Family and Alumni Weekend is part of the larger SCAD40 WKND celebration. This three-day event features activities and opportunities for students, families and four decades of alumni to return to the hive.

For a full listing of the sumptuous schedule of events, including registration and ticketing information, visit the dedicated SCAD40 WKND site.

Highlights include the SCAD40 Block Party, Friday, 6-8 p.m. at Madison Square on Bull Street, celebrating the 40th anniversary of SCAD where it all began. Join the fun with fellow alumni, faculty, staff, students and families. Visit shopSCAD for live artist demonstrations, Gryphon for live music, Art’s Café to purchase keepsake SCAD40 merchandise, SCAD food trucks for tasty treats and much more. This event is open to everyone in the SCAD community.

Friday evening, 8-10 p.m., Poetter Hall 342 Bull St., it’s the SCAD40 Celebration and the premiere of SCADstory, an immersive 360-degree experience through 40 years of SCAD history. Enjoy craft beverages, hors d’oeuvres and live music from Yacht Rock Schooner playing top hits from 1978 and more. Tickets are $78 and SCAD will match ticket sales to a scholarship fund for continuing students of the 2019–20 academic year.

On Sat. April 27, 10:00 am-4:00 pm, a very special edition of Sidewalk Arts Festival takes place in Forsyth Park. Sidewalk Arts Festival 2019 is the 38th iteration of one of the university's most beloved annual events. SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace dedicated a chapter "Sidewalks" in her memoir "The Bee and the Acorn" (Assouline Publishing 2016) to the role Sidewalk Arts has played in the evolution of SCAD.

"None of us could have known that the SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival would go on to become the single largest annual outdoor arts event in Savannah, drawing fifty thousand guests. I'd conceived of it as a one-time event, an experiment, an early sketch to see if anything was there, as fleeting as chalk art, as unlikely as our new college."

Long since relocated from its original location around Madison Square to Forsyth Park, Sidewalk Arts has seen its number of participants increase accordingly. This year, upwards of 1000 SCAD students and alumni as well as high school guest artists will create colorful chalk masterpieces and compete for coveted prizes.

The artists represent a wide range of the carefully curated degree programs offered by SCAD. Chalk distribution happens at 10 a.m. and drawing commences an hour later. Prizewinners will be announced and prizes awarded at 4 p.m. For more information regarding day-of-the-event standby squares, and a dedicated map of the square, visit Sidewalk Arts 2019 registration page.

See you soon at SCAD40 WKND!

This year, SCAD celebrates the 10th edition of deFINE ART, the annual program that brings together an international roster of emerging and established visionaries with new commissions, exhibitions, performances, lectures and screenings. The signature event, February 26-28, highlights the university's rich history of art programming and exhibitions since president and founder Paula Wallace established SCAD in 1978.

"SCAD's annual deFINE ART continues into its 10th season, delighting Savannah and Atlanta communities alike with exhibitions of the most influential artists of our time," said President Wallace. “2019 guests Carla Fernandez, Pedro Reyes, and Azikiwe Mohammed, among many others, are shaping contemporary art and inspiring the next generation."

SCAD deFINE ART 2019 honoree and keynote speaker Lawrence Weiner is a trailblazing conceptual artist and renowned figure in the international art world. Born in 1942 in South Bronx, New York, Weiner is an avid proponent of the use of language as art.

Storm Janse van Rensburg, SCAD head curator of exhibitions, stated: “We are thrilled to welcome Lawrence Weiner to SCAD. He epitomizes qualities that we aim to install in our students: intellectual dexterity, boundless creativity and a continuous curiosity about art and the world. His influence on young artists and creative minds is immeasurable."

SCAD will bring a roster of esteemed artists creating in an array of mediums to the three-day event. SCAD students from top-ranked degree programs including painting, illustration, performing arts, sculpture, film and television, fashion, photography, and immersive reality will interact with artists during the signature event through master classes, interactive installation collaborations, public art programming and gallery talks. 

Featured exhibitors at SCAD's award-winning Museum of Art in Savannah include contemporary sculpture and installation artist Lee Bul (South Korea); performance artists Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti (USA); painter Monica Cook (USA; B.F.A. painting 1996); fashion designer Carla Fernândez (Mexico); multidisciplinary artist Azikwe Mohammed (USA); architect and artist Pedro Reyes (Mexico); painter Alex Gardner (USA); sculptural artist Nicholas Hlobo (South Africa); multidisciplinary artist Gonzalo Lebrija (Mexico) and sculptor Berta Fischer (Germany).

Other SCAD Savannah exhibitions include a group exhibition show featuring SCAD alumni titled “News from Nowhere" at Gutstein Gallery, as well as a fashion photography exhibition “Rebel Rebel" comprised of work from SCAD Savannah and Atlanta alumni on display at Alexander Hall.

SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta will exhibit art works by visual artist and photographer Trine Sondergaard (Denmark) in dialogue with objects from the SCAD fashion collection. At the Trois Gallery, the thesis show of M.F.A. photography candidates Charlie McCullers and Cecilia Montalvo is titled “Where The Light Enters."

Programming highlights for deFINE ART 2019 include an opening night reception at the SCAD Museum of Art, Tuesday, February 26, including performances by exhibiting artists Azikwe Mohammed, Dejah Ti and Ania Catherine. The museum courtyard will feature an illustration battle, live music, food trucks, and art projections by Sean Capone. On Wednesday, February 27 two other notable performances will take place; a puppet show “Manufacturing Mischief" by writer and director Pedro Reyes, as well as a sonic journey performed by special guest artist and SCAD alumna BOSCO with video projections by artist Emeka Alams.

To mark the closing of the annual event on Thursday, February 28, deFINE ART 2019 honoree Lawrence Weiner will discuss his expansive career and impact on the art world. Following the lecture, President Wallace will award the prestigious SCAD40 Prize to alumna Le'Andra LeSeur (B.F.A. photography, 2014) for her innovative accomplishments in the field of photography.

At SCAD Atlanta, a featured lecture will be presented by visual artist Derrick Adams at SCADShow on Wednesday, February 27. There will also be a special reception for artist Trine Sondergaard and designer Carla Fernandez at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film on Thursday, February 28. The reception will include artist talks and marks the official opening of Fernandez's pop-up boutique in the museum.

All deFINE ART events, including opening night celebrations, are open and free to the public.

For more information visit www.scad.edu/defineart2019.

To be nominated is an honor. To have worked on an impressive 18 of this year’s Oscar-nominated films is truly SCAD.

At the 91st Academy Awards, SCAD students and alumni worked on nominated films including "Avengers: Infinity War," "Black Panther," "Border (Gräns)," "A Star is Born," "If Beale Street Could Talk," "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," "Christopher Robin," "Free Solo," "Mary Poppins Returns," "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "Incredibles 2," "Ralph Breaks the Internet," "Ready Player One," "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," "Solo: A Star Wars Story," "First Man," "A Quiet Place," and "Bao."

“Amazing that 140 SCAD students and alumni contributed to this year’s star-studded array of Oscar nominees, more than double last year’s count," said SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace. "In 1985, when we launched our first entertainment arts degree program, I dreamed our talented students would gain global attention. It seems the SCAD family has always been destined for greatness — and golden statuettes. They bring home the hardware!”

This year, SCAD alumni contributed to nominees for best picture, best documentary feature, original song, original score, adapted screenplay, cinematography, film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, costume design, visual effects, production design, makeup and hairstyling, animated short, and animated feature.

The diversity of these nominations affirms the exceptional preparation for professional careers these alumni received while students at SCAD, as implicitly acknowledged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Academy is made up of approximately 7,000 filmmakers and film professionals. These Academy members vote for the Oscars, championing professionals from every facet of the business.

Let's celebrate the unmistakable creative contributions of SCAD alumni across a stunning spectrum of this year's nominees:

Adams, Breanna (B.F.A., television producing, 2014) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Anderson, Grant (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017) "If Beale Street Could Talk"; "Incredibles 2"
Bartone, Nick (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008) "Incredibles 2"
Bell, Matthew (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007) "Ready Player One"
Bensen, Constance (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016) "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
Bickley, Max (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008) "Incredibles 2"; "Bao"
Boehme, Madison (M.A., creative business leadership) "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
Boga, Nagender (M.A., visual effects, 2016) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Bolden, Nicholas (B.F.A., computer art, 2005) "Ready Player One"
Britton, Tyler (B.F.A., visual effects, 2015) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Buck, Jacob (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007) "A Quiet Place"
Burstein, Jake (M.F.A., animation, 2017) "Avengers: Infinity War"; "Black Panther"
Cancemi, Stefania (M.A., animation, 2016) "Christopher Robin"
Carrasquillo, Iva (M.A., animation, 2015) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Carter, Melanie Dorn (M.F.A., visual effects, 2008) "First Man"
Castro, Alejandro (B.F.A., computer art, 2005) "Black Panther”; "Ready Player One"
Chai, Yinghao (M.F.A., visual effects, 2015) "Black Panther"
Champagne, Chase (B.F.A., animation, 2006) "Green Book"
Chappina, Anthony (M.A., visual effects, 2008) "Avengers: Infinity War"; "Ready Player One"
Christensen, Amy (B.F.A., computer art, 1997) "Can You Every Forgive Me?"
Chu, Diana (M.F.A., visual effects,) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Clairy, Jason (B.F.A., film and television, 2011) "Black Panther"
Cochran, Nicholas (B.F.A., sound design, 2011) "Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
Cofer, Jocelyn (B.F.A., animation, 2009) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Conover, Aaron (B.F.A., animation, 2002) "Incredibles 2"
Coster, Ryan (B.F.A., animation, 2011) "Black Panther"
Cronkrite, Charles (B.F.A., animation, 2012) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Curtis, Alexander (M.F.A., animation, 2011) "Incredibles 2"
Davies, Jason (M.F.A., animation, 2003) "Incredibles 2"
Davis, Jonathan (B.F.A., computer art, 2004) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
DeMeo IV, Anthony (B.F.A., animation,) "Avengers: Infinity War"
De Moya Pou, Márien  (M.F.A., production design, 2016) "If Beale Street Could Talk"
DeSalvo, Peter (B.F.A., animation, 2013) "Mary Poppins Returns"
Doublestein, John (M.F.A., animation, 2007) "Ready Player One"
Ellis, Brett (B.F.A., visual effects, 2005) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Englert, Scott (B.F.A., computer art, 2005) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse"
Epstein, Jenn (B.F.A., visual effects, 2005) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Evans, Josh (M.F.A., visual effects, 2013; B.F.A., visual effects, 2011) "Mary Poppins Returns"
Fatora, Thomas (B.F.A., film and television, 2014) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Faulkner, Marq (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Fendly, Tom (B.F.A., film and television, 1992) "Black Panther"
Freihofer, Chris (M.F.A., animation, 2017) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Galinak, Shaun (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Incredibles 2"; "Bao"
Gao, Michelle (B.F.A., visual effects, 2015) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Garcia, Leo (B.F.A., animation, 2017) "Mary Poppins Returns"
Gaytan, Minor (B.F.A., animation, 2007) "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
George, Kevin (M.A., visual effects, 2012) "Black Panther"
Ghoniem, Ashraf (B.F.A., computer art, 2005) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Gillis, Ryan (B.F.A., computer art, 2004) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Grasso, Caterina (M.A., visual effects, 2016) "Incredibles 2"
Grey, Aaron (B.F.A., animation, 2007) "Avengers: Infinity War"; "Ready Player One"
Guice, Ethan (B.F.A., photography, 2016) "First Man"
Gunnels, Dorien (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010) "Incredibles 2"
Hahn, Cristi (B.F.A., film and television, 2014) "Black Panther"
Hale, Dave (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Incredibles 2"
Hamdan, Noah (B.F.A., visual effects, 2012) "Black Panther"
Hayden, Joseph (B.F.A., visual effects, 2006) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"; "Avengers: Infinity War"
Heathcock, Luke (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Hildreth, Jesse (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008) "Avengers: Infinity War"; "Ready Player One"
Hodges, Alan (B.F.A., computer art and animation,  2001) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Holland, Robert (B.F.A., film and television, 2009) "Black Panther"
Holt, Justin (B.F.A., visual effects, 2006) "Black Panther"
Holtsclaw, Josh (B.F.A., illustration, 2006) "Incredibles 2"
Humphrey, Kyle (B.F.A., visual effects, 2012) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Hutton, Heather (M.F.A., film and television, 2018) "First Man"
Hwang, Seona (M.A., visual effects, 2014) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Irons, Daniel (B.F.A., film and television, 2015) "First Man"
Jansen, Josh (B.F.A., film and television, 1997) "Black Panther"
Jones, Tobin (M.A., computer art, 1998) "Incredibles 2"
Jonjai, Annee (B.F.A., animation, 2008) "Incredibles 2"
Karbozova, Akmaral (B.F.A., film and television, 2017) "First Man"
Khan, Asim (M.F.A., computer art, 2004) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Kim, JJ (B.F.A., visual effects, 2014) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Kirpalani, Shilpa (M.F.A., visual effects, 2007) "Black Panther"
Knight, Dan (B.F.A., computer art, 1996) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Koh, Jason (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Kojeva, Katerina (B.F.A., production design, 2016) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Kramer, Anthony (B.F.A., computer art, 2004) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Kuroda, Jim (M.F.A., computer arts, 2000) "Black Panther"
Laird, Jonah (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017) "Incredibles 2"
Leerasanthanah, Win (M.F.A., animation, 2016) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Leidenroth, Eric (B.F.A., computer art and animation, 1998) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Leone, Nicolas (B.F.A., film and television, 2010) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Leu, Nicolas (M.A., visual effects, 2015) "Black Panther"; "Avengers: Infinity War"
Lin, Andy (B.F.A., animation, 2008) "Incredibles 2"
Lockwood, John (B.F.A., visual effects, 2013) "Incredibles 2"; "Bao"
Lombardi, Gian (B.F.A., visual effects, 2014) "Mary Poppins Returns"
Lyu, Wanqi (M.F.A., visual effects, 2017) "Black Panther"
Madrigal, Carol (B.F.A., computer art and animation, 2002) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Magid, Ryan (B.F.A., computer art, 2003) "Ready Player One"
Mahar, Mallory (M.A., animation, visual effects, 2011) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
McCann, Brian (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010) "Black Panther"
McGriff, Aaron (B.F.A., animation, 2005) "Avengers: Infinity War"
McSpadden, Jennifer (M.F.A., visual effects, 2013; B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Avengers: Infinity War"; "Black Panther"
Meng, Jie (M.F.A., visual effects, 2015) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Messeder, Filipe (B.F.A., sound design, 2016) "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"; "Free Solo"
Mohr, Kyle (B.F.A., animation, 2005) "Incredibles 2"
Montefusco, John (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Christopher Robin"
Moore, Eric (B.F.A., film and television, 2014) "First Man"
Mountcastle, Marley (B.F.A., film and television, 2014) "Black Panther"
Narse, Prasad (M.F.A., animation, 2013) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Nelson, Brandon (M.F.A., visual effects, 2008; B.F.A., visual effects, 2005) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Nelson, Derek (M.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
Nelson, Jonathan (M.F.A., computer art, 2005) "Black Panther"
Nieves, Michael (B.F.A., animation, 2014) "Bao"
Northcutt, Brett (painting) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
O'Hara, Ryan (B.F.A., film and television, 2008) "Skin"
Okun, Sarah (non-degree) "First Man"
Ortiz, Samuel (M.A., animation, 2009; B.F.A., animation, 2008) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Page, Joseph Harold (B.F.A., film and television, 2007) "Black Panther"
Parker, Kenzi (B.F.A., animation, 2013) "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
Piacente, Brittany (B.F.A., animation, 2012) "Black Panther"
Poh, Kiki Mei Kee (M.A., visual effects, 2010) "Incredibles 2"
Radcliffe, Ben (B.F.A., computer art, 1997) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Raza, Wajid (M.F.A., visual effects, 2008) "Ready Player One"
Rea, Clint (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016) "Incredibles 2"; "Bao"
Rempel, Jordan (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Incredibles 2"
Reynolds, Jeff (M.A., photography, 2012) "First Man"
Rizvi, Ali (M.A., visual effects, 2016) "Black Panther"
Rock, Samuel (B.F.A., film and television) "Border (Gräns)"
Roiter, Gal (B.F.A., animation, 2006) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Ryan, Michael (B.F.A., animation, 2008) "Mary Poppins Returns"
Sadler, Brandon (B.F.A., illustration, 2009) "Black Panther"
Samms, Haley (B.F.A., animation, 2017) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Sawtell, Martin (M.A., visual effects, 2008) "Ready Player One"
Schilling, Jordan (B.F.A., visual effects, 2006) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Serei, Sorya (M.F.A., visual effects, 2014) "Black Panther"; "Avengers: Infinity War"
Sievers, Nic (M.F.A., visual effects, 2005) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Sims, Demorrius (B.F.A., animation, 2014) "First Man"
Snow, Alexander (B.F.A., animation, 2009) "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
Son, J. Jeongyeon (B.F.A., visual effects, 2012) "Black Panther"
Spadafora, James (M.F.A., visual effects, 2017) "Ready Player One"; "Solo: A Star Wars Store"
Sparks, John (M.F.A., visual effects, 2006) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Tan, Ka Yaw (B.F.A., computer art, 1995) "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
Taylor, Bobby (B.F.A., animation, 2009) "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Taylor, Eunice (B.F.A., animation, 2014) "Black Panther"; "Mary Poppins Returns"
Torres, Aldrich (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Ready Player One"
Trusendi, Paola (B.F.A., film and television, 2016) "A Quiet Place"
Van Allen, Jim (M.F.A., visual effects, 2006) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Venegas-Spadafora, Maria (M.F.A., animation, 2015) "Ready Player One"
Ward, Erick (B.F.A., computer art, 2002) "Ready Player One"
Weglein, Jesse (M.A., visual effects, 2008) "Incredibles 2"
Weiler, Zack (B.F.A., computer art, 2000) "Black Panther"
Williams, Kevin (B.F.A., animation, 2005) "Black Panther"
Wilson, Aaron (B.F.A., computer art, 2003) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Wilson, Chris (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009) "Black Panther"; "Avengers: Infinity War"
Wu, Xiao (M.F.A., animation, 2018)  "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Wylie, Brejon (B.A., television producing, 2014) "Avengers: Infinity War"
Yu, Xiaoyang (M.F.A., visual effects, 2018) "A Star is Born"
Zhao, Zichuan (M.F.A., visual effects) "Solo: A Star Wars Story"

If you are aware of a name missing from this list, please email information (Name, Degree, Film) to [email protected].

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is pleased to announce "Savannah Songs," a unique, interactive live performance experience celebrating the university's 40th anniversary and honoring Georgia Day. Students from the university's award-winning performing arts programs will showcase the city's remarkable historical legacy. "Savannah Songs" takes places Friday and Saturday Feb. 1-2.

"'Savannah Songs' celebrates Georgia Day in a uniquely SCAD way — through music, story, and plenty of pizzazz, all performed by SCAD students for our community," said SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace. "'Savannah Songs' is a time-travel musical, an hour-long party that literally sings tour guests from place to historic place, all in honor of Georgia Day. This year, SCAD's immersive performances vivify our city's rich history from the 1920s to the ‘60s — a time of memorable music and magnificent architecture, too. We hope everyone will come!"

Over 120 SCAD students from a range of preeminent degree programs including performing arts, dramatic writing, preservation design, interior design, costume design and sound design will bring the "Savannah Songs" performance to life. "Savannah Songs" will take audiences on an hour-long "musical tour through time" showcasing the city's storied past from the 1920s, ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s.

This multi-site musical tableau showcases incomparable moments in the history of the city of Savannah. This biennial celebration recognizes the culture and history of the city, and provides unique opportunity to tour four distinctive venues within SCAD's preservation footprint.

Guests of "Savannah Songs" will begin their experience at Trustees Theater, then proceed across Broughton Street to Gutstein Gallery, followed by Jen Library and concluding at the Lucas Theater. All locations will feature interactive participation between guests and SCAD students.

Trustees Theater, which opened February 14, 1946, will take the audience back to the 1940s.  The performers will be dressed as members of the Mighty Eighth Air Force who have just returned home from World War II. They will be joined by fellow performers portraying wives and domestic partners who were working in Savannah shipyards, factories and victory gardens during the war.

Gutstein Gallery will transport guests to the 1960s, when the space was the Azalea Room restaurant, adjoining the former Levy's department store.  On March 16, 1960 three African-American high school students took part in a sit-in at the whites-only lunch counter. This was one of the first steps that ultimately led to desegregation in Savannah, as commemorated by a Georgia Historical Society plaque The Georgia Civil Rights Trail: The Savannah Protest Movement. "Savannah Songs" guests will learn more about the day of that historic sit-in.

The Jen Library, formerly Levy's, will showcase the 1950s. The department store was once the most popular and stylish place in Savannah to buy dresses and other clothing. Guests will be treated to a sock-hop performance and get a glimpse of vintage dresses from SCAD's permanent collection.

The Lucas Theater, the last stop of the tour, opened in 1921. "Savannah Songs" guests will be treated to a spectacular vaudeville performance and bags of popular candy from that era.

Performances on Saturday, Feb. 2 are open to the public. Admission is $10.  Tickets available online.

Check-in for "Savannah Songs" at the Savannah Box Office at Trustees Theater.

Performances begin at 10 a.m.

Come celebrate this year's SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the university's 21st annual acclamation of cinematic excellence, Oct. 27–Nov. 3, 2018. A key stop on the Oscar festival circuit, the festival will screen 164 total films, including 33 narrative films, 16 documentary films and 115 shorts, more than any previous year. SCAD will welcome more than 55,000 expected attendees from around the world, including developing talent, students, and the industry luminaries who make the big screen shine.

The largest university-run film festival in the country will honor professional and emerging filmmakers during its eight-day film schedule of events. The festival kicks off Saturday, Oct. 27 with the Opening Night Gala screening “Roma," directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Actors Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira and producer Gabriela Rodriguez will be in attendance. The Centerpiece Gala feature is “If Beale Street Could Talk," written and directed by Barry Jenkins, and starring festival honorees Stephan James and KiKi Layne, all of whom will be in attendance.  The festival concludes Saturday, Nov. 3 with the Closing Gala screening “Green Book," directed by Peter Farrelly, and starring Viggo Mortensen and 2016 festival honoree Mahershala Ali.

The 2018 schedule includes Gala, Docs to Watch, Signature and Professional Competition screenings, along with Global Shorts, and the returning “Wonder Women" forum, highlighting female directors, producers, and below-the-line talent. New programming this year includes Animation Corner: Art in Motion.

SCAD's annual tribute to excellence in film has screened over 110 Oscar-nominated films, and has honored over 80 legendary actors, directors, producers, writers, and filmmakers. 

“SCAD's renowned master's and bachelor's degree programs are essential to the continued growth, sophistication, and evolution of entertainment professions in Georgia and around the world," says SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. “SCAD is the preeminent source of knowledge in film, production design, costume, animation, motion media, performing arts, screenwriting, sound, and every other aspect of entertainment. It is our pleasure to celebrate moving pictures with our better-than-ever 21st SCAD Savannah Film Festival."

More than 10,000 SCAD alumni have graduated from the schools of digital media and entertainment arts, and nearly 5,000 students are currently enrolled in majors that cover fields of animation, entertainment, motion pictures, media production, writing, editing, broadcast media and performing arts.

Celebrating its 21st year, the festival and the competition provide SCAD students with opportunities as unique as the selected films. This year, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival received a record-breaking 2,300 submissions for the competition film series. During the festival, students from every academic discipline connect with leaders from the entertainment industry through master classes, coffee talks, lectures, workshops and panel discussions.

Tickets and passes are available for purchase online at savannahboxoffice.com, by telephone at 912.525.5050, or in person at the Trustees Theater, 216 E. Broughton St., Savannah. Visit filmfest.scad.edu for a complete list of films and screening locations.

"Sound resonates through nearly every degree program at SCAD," announced SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace from the Trustees Theater stage, "and that's why our students should listen closely to tonight's honorees, two legendary artisans of sound and sense who have collaborated for over 35 years."

The honorees worth hearing were Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. The occasion was the SCAD deFINE ART 2018 keynote lecture. The crowd — primarily but not exclusively students — filled the venue to its thousand-plus capacity as Cardiff and Miller unspooled the secrets behind what President Wallace deemed their "transcendent aural masterpieces."

When the couple took the stage, jocular, youthful, and slightly shaggy, the fun began. Renowned for their immersive sound installations and "audio walks," Cardiff and Miller have two major installations currently at SCAD Museum of Art: "Opera for a Small Room" and "Experiment in F# Minor." Both works repanel the museum-going mindset: movements trigger sounds, while Hitchcock's "Rear Window" mis-en-scène is flipped for the DJ generation.

"We've been collaborating as artists from the first time we met," Cardiff remarked about work she called "hybrids between theater, music and the visual arts." Their talk provided an overview of their accomplishments dating to the 1990s, when they began first experimenting with the potential of listening with both ears.

"We love binaural audio," said Miller, as a duck might speak of water.

When the pair produced Cardiff's first audio walk in 1991, participants listened to pre-recorded sounds on a Walkman while walking through a forest. Some of those sounds were birds Cardiff had recorded in the forest. The effect was "an overlapping of reality…is that a fake bird or a real bird, and what about that boat going by?"

"I wasn't sure if it was art," Cardiff admitted.

The pair proceeded to create hundreds of these "audio walk" experiences in different locations around the world. After the advent of the iPhone made digital video an everyday reality, they developed "video walks" under the same reality-curving principles. Representing their native Canada at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2002, they built a 16-seat cinema simulator that turned the moviegoing experience on – and into – its head.

"We like trickery or intrigue, to bring people in to wonder, ‘How are they doing that?'," Cardiff said.

"Making art, you manipulate your senses or reality to believe in things that aren't possible," Miller added.

The energy in Trustees Theater was predicated on the enmeshed personalities of the honorees themselves. Befitting a long-time collaborating couple, they demanded clarity from each other while evincing tenderness and trust.

As the couple continued screening clips from the works, a very Cardiff and Miller thing happened: the Trustees Theater audience sat looking at a moving image of a theatergoer looking at a screen depicting an audience looking at a screen. It felt natural of course, and totally hyperreal and transporting. It felt like SCAD deFINE ART 2018.

This Friday, Feb., 9, 5:30 p.m. at historic Arnold Hall, SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace will present the 2018 Savannah Women of Vision investiture, honoring women of peerless valor, altruism and intellect who have shaped the great city of Savannah. All members of the university and Savannah community are invited to attend.

At a ceremony suffused with oratory, music and art, each honoree will be extolled in permanent tribute with an individual relief portrait carved beforehand by SCAD alumnus Michael Porten (B.F.A. illustration, M.F.A. painting). The portraits will adorn the walls of Arnold Hall, home of the SCAD School of Liberal Arts.

The 2018 Savannah Women of Vision honorees are:

• Miriam Center
• Edna Jackson
• Mary Lane Morrison
• Fredericka Washington
• Sema Wilkes

These women represented a range of civic, educational, philanthropic, and creative endeavors. They are all trailblazing contributors to the legacy of Savannah.

Friday’s event is the second annual Savannah Women of Vision investiture. This year’s honorees join previous honorees Emma Morel Adler, Mother Mathilda Beasley, Mary Musgrove Matthews Bosomworth, Alice Andrews Jepson, Nancy N. Lewis, Juliette Gordon Low, Abigail Minis, Flannery O'Connor, Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears and Frances Wong.

The genesis of Wallace’s Savannah Women of Vision initiative can be traced to the Works Progress Administration’s 1930s mural in the Arnold Hall Theater. The mural, a visual ode to the titans of Savannah’s history, is notable in its omission of women. Wallace created the Savannah Women of Vision to elevate an underrepresented yet tremendously influential demographic.

By symbolically righting the historical record, President Wallace honors paragons of civic virtue to whom students can look for inspiration. The university offers tours of the Savannah Women of Vision portrait installation in Arnold Hall to K-12 students and educators. A free curriculum guide provides historic context to the portrait installation.

“Savannah as we know it rests on the triumphs of its women,” remarked President Wallace. “I created the Savannah Women of Vision at SCAD to illuminate trailblazers and their transcendent work, keeping their names and deeds not only in our hearts, but publicly acclaimed. These are our heroines.”

The following SCAD alumnae will speak during the ceremony: Tiffani Taylor (M.A., art history, 2003; B.F.A., painting, 2002); Allison Hirsch (M.F.A., dramatic writing, 2014; B.F.A., dramatic writing, 2010); Ebony Simpson (M.F.A., historic preservation, 2002); Sehila Mota Casper (M.F.A., historic preservation, 2014); A'ndrea Wilson (M.F.A., dramatic writing, 2017); Hannah Hayes (M.A., arts administration, 2013). Closing remarks will be delivered by Alice Jepson, Savannah Woman of Vision. A musical performances by Sandie Lee (M.F.A., performing arts; B.F.A., performing arts, 2015) and American Idol winner Candice Glover (B.F.A., performing arts) will elevate the celebration on a rousing note.

SCAD invites the public to join the celebration for this free event.

On the evening of January 18, 2018, in the Great Hall of Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace was introduced by Caroline Baumann, director of the Cooper Hewitt, at a celebration of the publication of "SCAD: The Architecture of a University" by Assouline Books.

Written by contributing authors Paula Wallace, Margaret Russell and Chuck Chewning, "SCAD: The Architecture of a University" is a 360-page volume, replete with 40 detailed narratives and 200 sublime photographs, highlighting the university's most inspired and inspiring spaces. The book leads readers from the university's flagship building, Poetter Hall, to the panoply of SCAD architectural marvels around Savannah, and in Atlanta, Hong Kong and Lacoste.

President Wallace's following remarks, delivered in her address at Cooper Hewitt, celebrate the connection between SCAD and the institution of the Smithsonian.

PAULA WALLACE: Thank you, Caroline, for your personal attention to this book launch and for leading the world's preeminent design museum. Please also join me in recognizing SCAD Trustee Lucy Cookson, and giving special thanks to Galerie editor-in-chief and Honorary Dean of the SCAD School of Building Arts Margaret Russell and acclaimed designer and SCAD alumnus Chuck Chewning, both of whom contributed essays to this special book we're celebrating tonight. And, of course, thank you to our esteemed publisher, Assouline.

I love this place and its rapturous marriage of historic architecture and contemporary design. This is very SCAD. Old buildings tell stories. The story of this historic mansion speaks of the Gilded Age, and the tale might end there. But, thanks to the Cooper Hewitt, the narrative of this building has advanced into a new century with a new purpose: as a sanctuary for the study and celebration of the Cooper Hewitt collection and myriad fascinating exhibitions.

Of the more than 210,000 objects in this museum collection, the most precious design object surely is this very building itself. The adaptive rehabilitation of architecture is distinct among design disciplines, where the maker rescues a beautiful object and creates a radical new purpose for it. It's a kind of double design. We are in the midst of a great human migration to cities, and our world desperately needs solutions that employ this double design thinking, as practiced by Cooper Hewitt and SCAD.

The story we tell in "The Architecture of a University" is about the power of adaptive new use to foster human flourishing.

Preservation design also strengthens economies, as proven by the half-a-billion-dollar economic impact of SCAD. Adaptive reuse generates more jobs than new construction, especially when you fill the architecture with a purpose that addresses a cultural need. Cooper Hewitt and SCAD are doing just that: Repurposing history for the future, for memory, for vitality.

Please visit the museum store and find a copy of "The Architecture of a University," a memorable gift for anyone who loves architecture and design. Thank you, Cooper Hewitt, for hosting SCAD here tonight. This magical space truly does feel like home.