Parsons Presents First International Conference on
Black Studies in Art and Design Education

Stephen Burks, "We are all one: Six Baskets," 2010

NEW YORK, March 1, 2011—Black artists and designers are at the cutting edge of contemporary culture but Black communities and their cultural histories continue to be a marginal presence in art and design schools. On March 26 and 27, 2011, Parsons The New School for Design will host the first international conference to consider the reasons for this gap: “Black Studies in Art and Design Education: Past Gains, Present Resistance, Future Challenges.”

Organized by Parsons professors Coco Fusco and Yvonne Watson, the conference will feature artists Pepón Osorio, Damon Rich and Parsons professors Bill Gaskins and Leslie Hewitt; industrial designers Stephen Burks, Noel Mayo and Parsons professor Tony Whitfield; and scholars Mabel Wilson, Craig Wilkins, Leslie King-Hammond, Jennifer Gonzalez, and Susan Cahan.

“The artists, designers and scholars we have brought together for this conference share a commitment to finding ways of making Black Studies part of every student's education,” said Fusco. “Parsons is uniquely poised to address these matters, due to its location in a university with a longstanding commitment to social justice and in a city with one of the largest urban Black populations in the country.”

The conference will take place at the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons, 66 Fifth Avenue, and is free and open to the public. For more information please visit the conference website.

Parsons The New School for Design is one of the premier institutions for art and design education. Founded in 1896, is has served as a pioneer in the field for more than a century. Based in New York but active around the world, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the full spectrum of design disciplines. Critical thinking and collaboration are at the heart of a Parsons education. Parsons offers rigorous training that allows for interdisciplinary collaboration across five thematic schools. An integral part of The New School, Parsons builds on the university's legacy of progressive ideals, scholarship, and pedagogy. Parsons graduates are leaders in their respective fields, with a shared commitment to creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st century.

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Media Contacts:

Deborah Kirschner
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Kate McCormick
212.229.5667x3794
[email protected]

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