February 26–28, 2019
The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrates the 10th edition of SCAD deFINE ART, an annual program of new commissions, exhibitions, lectures and performances that brings together an international roster of emerging and established artists and visionaries. The signature event, February 26–28, highlights the university’s history of art programming and exhibitions.
This year’s honoree and keynote speaker, Lawrence Weiner, is a trailblazing conceptual artist and acclaimed figure in the international art world. Born in 1942 in South Bronx, New York, Weiner is a proponent of the use of language as art. He has created text-based and public artwork since the early 1970s. Weiner’s exhibitions and installations have made a significant impact in art capitals including New York, Amsterdam, Mexico City and Salzburg.
This signature event connects SCAD students from top-ranked degree programs, including painting, illustration, performing arts, sculpture, film, television, fashion, photography and immersive reality with artists during deFINE ART through masterclasses, installation collaborations, public art programming and gallery talks.
Featured exhibitors at the university’s award-winning SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah include contemporary sculpture and installation artist Lee Bul (South Korea); performance artists Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti (U.S.); painter Monica Cook (SCAD BFA, painting, 1996)(U.S.); fashion designer Carla Fernández (Mexico); artist Azikiwe Mohammed (U.S.); architect and artist Pedro Reyes (Mexico); painter Alex Gardner (U.S.); sculptural artist Nicholas Hlobo (South Africa); designer, artist, creative director and cultural figure Karl Lagerfeld (Germany); artist Gonzalo Lebrija (Mexico) and sculptor Berta Fischer (Germany). The museum lantern, a 50-foot-tall glass structure, will feature a specially commissioned, monumental wraparound projection by video artist Sean Capone (U.S.) for the duration of the three-day-program.
Other SCAD Savannah exhibitions include the group exhibition News from Nowhere by SCAD faculty, alumni and several artists without SCAD affiliation at Gutstein Gallery, as well as Rebel Rebel, a fashion photography exhibition comprised of work from SCAD Savannah and Atlanta students and alumni, on display at Alexander Hall Gallery.
SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta will exhibit artwork by visual artist and photographer Trine Søndergaard (Denmark) in dialogue with objects from the SCAD fashion collection. At Trois Gallery, the thesis show of SCAD MFA students Cecilia A. Montalvo (SCAD MFA photography) and Charles A. McCullers (SCAD MFA photography; SCAD MA, photography, 2016) is titled Where the Light Enters.
To mark the closing of the annual event on Thursday, February 28, SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace will award the prestigious SCAD40 Prize to alumna Le’Andra LeSeur (SCAD BFA, photography, 2014) for her innovative accomplishments in the field of photography. The SCAD40 Prize is the university’s highest recognition for SCAD alumni. Honorees are selected for exemplary contributions to their professions and for demonstrating through their success the preeminence and purpose of a SCAD education. Awarded at signature events throughout this 40th anniversary year, the SCAD40 Prize is presented to graduates who give “hand, head and heart” to their creative careers at the highest ranks of culture and business.
All deFINE ART events, including the opening night celebrations, are open and free to the public. This special 10th edition of deFINE ART demonstrates the ongoing mission of President Wallace and SCAD to provide public art programming for students, alumni and local communities.
About SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited university conferring bachelor’s and master’s degrees at distinctive locations and online to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers degrees in more than 40 majors. Visit scad.edu.
About SCAD Museum of Art
The SCAD Museum of Art features emerging and established voices in the contemporary art world through commissioned artworks and rotating exhibitions; develops rich connections between university curriculum and exhibitions, programming and the museum’s collection; engages local communities with special initiatives of an international scope and serves as a resource for SCAD students and alumni during their academic careers and beyond.
