Letter from the Editor

This first “issue” of Grid at Otis College has evolved several times since we first started talking about it over a year ago. We wanted to be true to the spirit of its predecessor, O-Mag, while also pushing forward with storytelling that was reflective of and responsive to the lives of everyone in the Otis Community right now. Nothing is more top of mind than the COVID-19 pandemic and the College’s inward look at issues of racism and representation that started over the summer in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. These issues have so gripped Otis’s community of students, alumnx, faculty, and staff that we dedicated this launch issue to exploring some of the ways the community has been addressing them. 

Heather John Fogarty (’18 MFA Writing) spoke to several instructors about how they adapted their classrooms for online learning this fall—once local health guidelines restricted in-person classes—and some of the breakthroughs they and their students have made in creating and staying connected during the pandemic. Karissa Lake, Otis’s Social Media Coordinator, interviewed alumnx Noah Humes (’17 BFA Communications Arts, Illustration), Aaron Gonzelez (’19 BFA Communication Arts), and Patsy Pitts (’18 BFA Fine Arts) about the Black Lives Matter-related murals they created over the summer, and how their art moved from the personal to the protest. I talked to Vice-President of Human Resources and Development, Karen D. Hill, about the diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy at Otis, and her work in establishing the newly-formed DEI Council and helping to recruit the College’s first-ever DEI executive. For her, diversity, equity, and inclusion has been part of her lived experience and has informed her work in human resources for over 20 years. We’ve also recapped Otis’s first-ever “Race & The Creative Economy” virtual forum, which took place on October 22 as a preview to next spring’s 14th annual Otis Report and the Creative Economy. During the virtual event, creatives from several sectors, including alumnx Maurice Harris (’05 BFA Fine Arts), discussed how to open up more opportunities for BIPOC artists and designers. “If we don’t center equity in our work then we risk a lack of relevance,” said panelist Kristen Sakoda, Director of Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture. 

And then there’s the five alumnx—Darel Carey (’16 BFA Fine Arts), Teresa Flores (’13 MFA Public Practice), Nikkolos Mohammed (’13 BFA Fine Arts), Hayley Quentin (’08 BFA Fine Arts), and Alison Saar (’81 MFA Fine Arts)—who shared some of their current work and the inspiration behind it. For them, the pandemic and this period of social unrest has been woven into their creative process. 

Postponing our initial plans to launch Grid as a print publication turned out to have a silver lining. By starting virtually we were inspired by Otis’s own recent nimbleness in exploring stories and topics that truly spoke to this moment. Our departure from a more traditional magazine also informed our name and logo, which was conceived and designed by our Creative Director, Sheharazad Fleming. As artists and designers, we all have different processes that define our creative output, but yet when you pull back the layers—vector, acrylic, or whatever the medium—behind it all stands the foundation for the piece, the grid. Fleming brought this concept to life with individual letterforms of varying shapes, which, when brought together, form a non-traditional grid. The inspiration was the Otis community, and how it encompasses all different types of creatives. 

We’d like to extend a special thank you to Hazel Mandujano, Director of Alumni Relations, for her collaborative spirit in working with us on the launch of Grid. Her input has been invaluable, including in how you might notice that throughout Grid we’ve adopted the term alumnx to refer to Otis College BFA, MFA, and Extension graduates, singular and plural. Moving to this non-binary, gender-neutral term more aligns with the College’s values of inclusion and representation. 

Grid represents a new direction for Otis in many different ways. We hope you find insight and inspiration in this launch issue, and of course welcome any feedback you may have at communications@otis.edu. 

Anna Raya
Editorial Director