Columbus College of Art & Design
60 Cleveland Ave
Columbus, OH 43215
Starting in fall 2017, CCAD will offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Comics & Narrative Practice and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Crafts.
About Comics & Narrative Practice
In the Comics & Narrative Practice program, students will work with comics professionals to learn how to write, illustrate, and publish their own sequential art.
The program is a perfect fit for Columbus, which is quickly gaining a national reputation as a comics hub.
“Columbus is in a unique positon to become a major center of comics study in the country, thanks to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus festival, and our strong tradition of illustration at CCAD,” said Stewart McKissick, Chair of CCAD’s Comics & Narrative Practice and Illustration programs.
Students in the comics program will create original comics and graphic novels and learn how to shape narrative elements and invent signature styles, stories, and characters. They’ll also meet with top industry practitioners and gain practical experience with story pitches, prepress, budgeting, and marketing.
“We’re going to have robust business content as well so the students that come out of this program will have a good understanding of the comics industry today and the skills and strategies they need to participate in it,” McKissick said.
In recent years, comics have become increasingly popular, with blockbuster movies based on comics topping the box office. Student interest in the medium has grown, too.
“It’s very clear that comics are now a huge part of popular culture,” McKissick said. “And we’re responding to the fact that there’s growing interest from students.”
About Contemporary Crafts
In the Contemporary Crafts program, students will learn how to make, market, and sell highly crafted pieces of clay, glass, and metal.
“The crafts major will produce graduates who are very skilled in design and have the practical skills to get their work out in the world,” said Kelly Malec-Kosak, Chair of the Contemporary Crafts and Fine Arts programs at CCAD.
Fine artists have been working with clay, glass, metal and jewelry for years at CCAD, but the new crafts program will add additional emphasis on production and business skills.
“The crafts major will help students grow as makers as well as people who can create businesses, exhibit work, and be active in their communities,” Malec-Kosak said.
Students in the new crafts major will learn to make thoughtful three-dimensional objects that people will wear or use. They’ll also learn technical and conceptual skills and gain business experience so they graduate ready to enter the field of contemporary crafts as thoughtful, skilled, and engaged makers.
The new crafts major fits into the growing artisan movement, as people increasingly want objects that are made by experts in their fields.
“People want the objects in their lives to be meaningful,” Malec-Kosak said.
That’s especially true in Columbus, which has a thriving creative economy and a large population of people who value handmade contemporary crafts, from glass to ceramics to metal.
“There’s an appreciation in Columbus for the handmade and the well-designed,” Malec-Kosak said.
About Columbus College of Art & Design
Columbus College of Art & Design teaches undergraduate and graduate students in the midst of a thriving creative community in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1879, CCAD is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States, offering 12 undergraduate majors and two graduate programs in art and design that produce graduates equipped to shape culture and business at the highest level. For more information, visit ccad.edu.
