Letter from the Editor

Something amazing happens when we find our flock. As a community of artists and designers, chances are that most of us stood out a little in high school (or even before). I was thinking of this as I helped work on the “You Belong Here” welcome back campaign, a cross-departmental effort that came from a place of care and compassion. The literal signs of the campaign hang all around the Commons, but I’m more moved by the spirit of community, acceptance, and celebration of each of our differences that permeates every building and public space. It’s this theme of belonging and connection that runs through many of the stories in this Fall 2021 issue of Grid at Otis College. 

Digital Media Specialist Jen Atalla and I collaborated with students, staff, and faculty on a story in which people talked about how they feel connected to the community at Otis. For Foundation student Santino Kina it’s the feeling of joy, love, and safety that has allowed her to connect and make friends faster than she’s ever experienced. “Everyone is a friendly face,” she says. Hazel Mandujano, Director of Alumnx Relations, first saw differences when she arrived at Otis as an undergraduate student, but it was in “critique and on studio days—the quiet working moments when we were all artists—that I felt like I really was in the right place, like I belonged, and I was part of the fabric of the community of artists at Otis,” she says. 

We also connected with some of our overseas alumnx in Korea to see how they felt about their time at Otis. “If the studio courses taught me what to design, Liberal Arts and Sciences courses helped me understand and convince others why I design,” says Joong Han Lee (’09 BFA Product Design), who is now a Senior Product Designer at Note Design Studio. Their story speaks to the College’s efforts to strengthen the sense of community felt abroad by Otis alumnx who live and work all over the world. 

We also took a look ahead to the 15th anniversary of the Otis College Report on the Creative Economy by taking a look back at its modest though ambitious beginnings—to prove the economic viability of a career in art and design. Even though the Creative Economy has taken a hit during the pandemic, there are signs of hope in how essential local and even national governmental agencies and advocacy organizations view art and design now that we’ve all undergone a year without the connection that they enable. 

Be sure to check out my interview with Dr. Julie Spencer, who helped create the Student Health and Wellness Center on the Goldsmith campus back in 2016. Dr. Spencer had to throw out her assumptions about art and design education the minute she first started seeing patients. “Coming from medicine, where everything is protocolized and procedure-based and sterile, I thought art and design school would be more free-flowing. But there’s definitely structure to getting a BFA,” she says. And the ways in which physicians with her training would ordinarily treat student patients—recommending journaling or other creative outlets to manage stress—don’t apply to Otis students since they’re already doing those things on a daily basis. So instead, Dr. Spencer works closely and individually with each patient. “This is the aspect of adolescent and young adult medicine that I love so much, that it has a counseling component to it,” she says. “I get to really spend the time and get to know the student.”

There are five new Alumnx Spotlights to check out, including new work and projects by Adam Blish (’17 BFA Product Design); Claire Fullerton (’13 BFA Product Design); Aaron Gonzalez (’19 BFA Communication Arts, Illustration); Noah Humes (’17 BFA Communication Arts, Illustration); and Claire Oring (’11 BFA Digital Media, Animation). 

Please take a moment to share in and celebrate the work of our faculty and alumnx in the respective Faculty Notes and Class Notes sections. If you’d like to send an update for the Spring 2022 issue of Grid at Otis College, please use this form if you’re a faculty member, and this form if you’re an alumnx.

Thank you for spending time with this recent issue of Grid. We’re wondering in what ways you feel connected to the Otis Community. Drop us a line at communications@otis.edu and let us know!

Anna Raya, Editorial Director