Life at KCAD

EXPERIENCES THAT MATTER

Design in motion: Grand Rapids Ballet dancers performing in costumes created and designed by students in KCAD’s Pamella Roland DeVos School of Fashion

Fresh perspective: Industrial Design students helping Tiara Yachts envision a new line of luxury watercraft

ENGAGEMENT = INSPIRATION

At KCAD, the classroom extends beyond campus into West Michigan’s thriving art and design community, where our strong relationships with arts organizations, industry-leading companies, and nonprofits help provide students with transformative real-world learning experiences and invaluable professional network connections. Envision the future of health care in collaboration with Spectrum Health Innovations LLC, an entrepreneurial incubator powered by one of the top health care networks in the country. Meet and learn from internationally renowned artists exhibiting at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Design solutions that help startups take their next step forward. Explore new ways of thinking, working, and meeting the challenges of tomorrow alongside global corporations like Whirlpool, Bissell, and Steelcase. Bring stories to life onstage by creating costumes for the Grand Rapids Opera and the Grand Rapids Ballet. Become a mentor who empowers K-12 students to realize their own creative potential through partnerships with local schools. Whoever and whatever you want to impact with your creativity, KCAD is here to support you.

KCAD Study Away trips, like this excursion to Scotland, provide transformational learning experiences around the globe. photo credit: Hwa-Jeen Na

Renowned contemporary artist Sue Coe demonstrates her illustration technique in an on-campus workshop.

CO-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES

Classwork isn’t your only source of creative stimulation. Life at KCAD is rich with co-curricular activities that will enhance your education and expand your perspective. Through internal initiatives and relationships with area organizations, the college brings you up close and personal with artists and designers from around the world who are doing work that matters, like TED founder Richard Saul Wurman, artist/illustrator Sue Coe, fashion maverick Matt Baldwin, and WIRED design director Claudia de Almedia. Build creative community with your peers and join a student organization like the Bodies of Art fashion alliance or the Performing Arts Collective, or one of a number of professional organizations like the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) or the Interaction Design Association (IxDA). Showcase your work in one of several student-focused exhibition spaces on campus, or venture out to explore other venues in Grand Rapids and beyond on KCAD-organized excursions. A lifetime of learning starts here.

STUDY AWAY

It’s a big world out there. KCAD offers a number of study away experiences that expose students to cultures and creative expressions from around the globe. Trips to places like Italy, Sweden, Scotland, New York, and Portland blend place-based exploration and cultural immersion with focused learning experiences, inspiring students to make meaningful connections between their own creative process and the world around them.

"Impact" by Dean of Academic Affairs Stephen Halko

Professor Gayle DeBruyn with students on a site visit

EXPERT GUIDANCE PERSONAL ATTENTION

KCAD faculty are also expert artists, designers, and scholars who leverage their deep professional experience to help students make the most of their education. Their artwork is featured in galleries and permanent collections throughout the U.S. and abroad. Their designs win awards and fuel the success of companies large and small. Their scholarship places them centerstage at prestigious international conferences and connects them to the best and brightest in their field. They are experimenters uncovering new techniques and processes in their own studios, and they are entrepreneurs building brands and running successful businesses. Most important, everything they learn through their own professional pursuits feeds back into the classroom.

Our faculty are as passionate about your learning and growth as they are about their own. At KCAD, small class sizes enable faculty to engage students on an individual level. They become mentors and role models, motivating you to reach your potential while also providing a safe and supportive environment for you to try new things and forge your own identity and path to professional success. Here, you won’t feel like you’re getting lost in the crowd; you’ll develop close relationships that will remain long after you graduate.

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Clockwise from left: 1 Drawing Professor Danielle Wyckoff in the KCAD Printmaking studio. 2 “Reuptake Inhibitors” by Painting Professor Diane Zeeuw. 3 Digital Art and Design Professor Mike Dollar guides a student in the audio lab. 4 Work by Painting Professor Chair Diane Zeeuw on display at the former Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA). 5 Children’s book illustration by Illustration Professor Molly Alicki Corriveau. 6 “Flame” by Product/Jewelry Design Professor Phillip Renato. 7 Art History Professor Anne Norcross working with a student.

KCAD's Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, now located in the Woodbridge N. Ferris Building (in the space formerly known as The Fed Galleries @ KCAD)

Baker Furniture Collection

Atrium

Alluvium Gallery

ON CAMPUS, YOU’LL HAVE ACCESS TO:

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, a dynamic space that enables students to engage with regional, national, and international contemporary artists through exhibitions, performances, and artist talks that raise provocative and pertinent questions.

The Dow Center FlexLab, KCAD’s state-of-the-art digital fabrication facility, features 3D printers and scanners, laser and vinyl-cutting machines, wideformat printers, and more.

The Baker Furniture Collection provides hands-on access to 1,500 square feet of period furniture and decorative arts from around the world–ancient, modern, and everything in between.

The KCAD Library enables access to millions of books through the MeLCat shared library catalog, as well as access—both on and off campus—to over 180 specialized research databases of scholarly publications and a wealth of digital images through ARTstor and CAMIO. Professional academic librarians provide on-site reference services and research guidance.

The Galleries @ 17 Fountain, feature student, faculty, and community exhibitions, as well as countless walls and hallways featuring an impressive array of student work, the 17 Fountain St. NW building is a living, breathing embodiment of the creative spirit that makes KCAD such a special place.

Gallery Spaces include Alluvium Gallery, the Artery, Atrium, and Gallery 602.

AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

3D design studio / Audio lab / Ceramics studio Computer labs / Darkrooms / Drawing studios Functional Art studio / Furniture Design studios Metals and Jewelry studio / On-campus store Painting studios / Photo studio / Resource rooms Sculpture studios ... and much more

The Jim Crow Musuem of Racist Memorabilia

LGBTQ+ Resource Center

The University Center

Center for Latin@ Studies Promesa Summer Success

ON THE BIG RAPIDS CAMPUS, YOU’LL HAVE ACCESS TO:

The Career Center provides opportunities for students to discover their career interests, articulate their skills, and locate internships and employment.

The Jim Crow Musuem of Racist Memorabilia, who's mission is to use objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice. The Museum features six exhibit areas — Who and What is Jim Crow, Jim Crow Violence, Jim Crow and Anti-Black Imagery, Battling Jim Crow Imagery, Attacking Jim Crow Segregation, and Beyond Jim Crow.

Center for Latin@ Studies a statewide leader in innovative and culturally responsive pre-college through post-secondary education for Latinx student success by creating a seamless connection between the University and Latinx communities.

The LGBTQ+ Resource Center serves to foster a supportive environment that is open, safe, and inclusive for students of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.

The Veteran Resource Center at Ferris State University is run by Veterans for Veterans. The VRC is a centralized resource department, easily accessible and widely available to all veterans - active duty, reserve guard, separated, retired and their dependents.

The Office of Multicultural Student Services (OMSS) promotes the intellectual understanding and appreciation of diversity, inclusion and social justice by creating opportunities for learning and leadership development for our campus community. In addition, OMSS provides meaningful support to assist in the transition, retention and graduation of our underrepresented student populations.

URBAN INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS

UICA organizes the Exit Space Project (ESP) an ongoing, multi-site project that activates locations all over the city.

From performance to installation and everything in between, all expressions are welcome at UICA.

MEGA is an annual juried exhibition organized by KCAD graduate students.

THE PULSE OF CREATIVITY IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

KCAD’s Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) provides an ever-evolving lineup of visual art, dance, spoken word, performance art, music, and educational programming. As a regional hub for art and creative learning, UICA fosters creative community by providing resources and support systems for West Michigan’s emerging artists and connecting them to the community at large.

For KCAD students, UICA is an intergral part of their campus experience, offering direct access to cutting-edge and practice-based learning as well as spaces for critique and collaboration. Engage with regional, national, and international contemporary artists throughout the year through exhibitions, performances, and artist talks that raise provocative and pertinent questions. Check out everything that’s happening at uica.org. Admission is free and KCAD students are invited to visit the galleries, attend events and artist talks. As a collaboration between UICA and Kendall College of Art and Design, shopUICA is open to the community and designed for artists, designers, students, and entrepreneurs. shopUICA includes a selection of art supplies and opportunities for students to sell their work. UICA also offers competitive internship, volunteer, and employment opportunities that enable students to gain valuable realworld experience working in the world of contemporary art.