This has been a summer of record-breaking heat waves and dramatic conclusions to ongoing narratives in the news (Nelson Mandela’s miraculous recovery from a life-threatening illness coinciding with his 95th birthday) and culture (Superman will face off against Batman on the big screen). Last night’s Grad Show Preview played right into this season’s “go big or don’t go at all” ethos, with its spectacularly well-attended (upwards of 500 guests) display of graduating Art Center students’ creative heat.
Each term at Art Center culminates with Graduation Show Preview, an invitation-only event, where students unveil final projects as well as highlights from their time at the College. While the show eventually opens up to the public following Saturday’s graduation ceremony; there is a particular electricity and excitement coursing through Hillside campus on the preceding Thursday night when students debut the feats of ingenuity and imagination they’ve spent the past four years cultivating and refining.
“It’s such a special night with incredible energy and great opportunities for our graduates to share their work with industry and celebrate the completion of a tremendous amount of hard work,” says Alumni Relations executive director, Kristine Bowne. “It’s the only time during the whole year when the work of our graduating students is on display and the only time you can visit and get a sense of the breadth of creativity and innovation of our students and the impact they will have on our world.”
For those of you who weren’t on the list last night, here’s a glimpse at what you missed.
