In elementary school, there was nothing quite as exhilarating as a field trip. Nothing beat the excitement of piling into a big, yellow school bus on the premise of learning something new in an environment that didn’t involve the same-old four walls and a desk. Last week, the NewCo conference dusted off this childhood concept, bringing their unique approach to Cincinnati and to the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
The unconventional conference sent the attendees to the presenters instead of sending the presenters to a single location. The result? Attendees of the conference had a chance to not only hear the stories of the more than 80 local organizations that participated but they also had a rare opportunity to get a true peek behind-the-scenes at each location.
The Art Academy of Cincinnati was excited to be one of the organizations that invited Cincinnati professionals into our space, giving attendees a chance to experience a little of what we offer our students on a daily basis.
“We were making artists in 1869 and we’re making artists in 2015,” began Mark Thomas, AAC’s Associate Dean and Professor as he addressed the NewCo attendees last Thursday. Thomas, along with Paige Williams, AAC Professor and Studio Program chair, gave attendees a crash course in the history of the AAC, art and how to harness artistic process and critical thinking to tap into your personal creativity.
Attendees also got hands-on with their studio experience, partnering with each other to use their collective brain power to destroy a piece of paper in a creative way. The session wrapped with a group critique as those who attended learned to deconstruct the visual imagery they created using evaluative technique.
What a copy of the presentation? Download it here.
