Cleveland Institute of Art announces Craft + Design major

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 25, 2021

CLEVELAND—One of the many ways that the Cleveland Institute of Art fosters creativity is by encouraging students to explore across disciplines. For decades, this approach has cultivated increased communication, collaboration and critical thinking—all of which help CIA students better understand their creative processes and prepare them for careers in art and design.

This practice has been particularly evident in CIA's craft environment, and today, the college announced that it's building on the shared successes of its Ceramics, Glass and Jewelry + Metals departments. CIA will take the next step in maximizing its collective expertise, skills and facilities by introducing a new Craft + Design major beginning in the 2022–23 academic year.

CIA's Craft + Design major will combine the three existing craft majors to provide a contemporary approach to a comprehensive education that offers even more opportunities than before for cross-disciplinary innovation, peer support, knowledge sharing and creative experimentation. In addition, the Craft + Design curriculum will have a newly refined focus on entrepreneurship, technology and design—with ever-evolving market demands in mind—while also allowing students the option to focus their studies on a particular area of craft by adding a concentration of Ceramics, Glass or Jewelry + Metals. CIA is also planning to introduce a minor for other students who would like to complement their major study with this future-facing craft curriculum.

In short, through the right mix of academic flexibility and focus, and of creative curiosity and career-mindedness, the Craft + Design major will offer CIA students a modern framework to pursue their passions in contemporary craft.

CIA's craft faculty—Kathy Buszkiewicz, Gretchen Goss, Matthew Hollern, Benjamin Johnson and Seth Nagelberg—worked extensively with Kathryn Heidemann, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty + Chief Operating Officer/Chief Academic Officer; Erin Duhigg, Assistant Director of Academic Affairs; and CIA's Board of Directors over the last few years to make this opportunity a reality.

"There's great enthusiasm for the future of craft at CIA," Heidemann says. "This combined approach has the potential to expose students to materiality they’ve not yet seen or to introduce them to ways of combining ideas or practices to creatively solve problems. Craft + Design's possibilities are profound, and we’re eager for students to explore those possibilities here at CIA and throughout their careers."

CONTACT
Cleveland Institute of Art
Michael C. Butz, Director of College Communications + External Relations
mcbutz@cia.edu / 216.421.7404