Alumni Student Profiles Student Gallery Internships Awards Accreditation

08 20 32 alumni student profiles student gallery 64 69 72 internships awards accreditation learn more at kcai.edu create your space. 03 welcome to kcai learn more at kcai.edu 04 welcome to kcai learn more at kcai.edu Nick Cave Paul Briggs Paul Roberto Lugo Jaimie Warren alumni EXPERTISE. SUCCESS. KCAI graduates are the agents of change. They provide leadership, ideas and innovation. They create, believe and challenge the status quo, while contributing to their communities and advancing art and design. They work collaboratively and use the knowledge and skills gained here to solve the problems in an ever-evolving world. Our alumni prove that a B.F.A. degree from KCAI opens doors and sets one apart in the art and design professional community. For every graduate of KCAI, there is a fascinating story to tell, and in a few years, we want to tell yours. 08 alumni learn more at kcai.edu nick cave KCAI class of ’82 fiber Studio artist and chair, fashion department, School of the Art Institute of Chicago Originally from Missouri “My professors challenged me, which allowed me to build trust in myself and to have a point of view — to have the confidence and the belief that I could turn this into a serious career. The school was a pivotal moment in my career.” In addition to teaching at the college level, Nick Cave is Nick realized he wanted to be an artist when he was in a performer and fashion designer. He creates Soundsuits, high school in Columbia, Mo. Nick’s brother was already which are elaborately designed assemblages of unexpected a student at KCAI, so Nick applied and was accepted. materials that emit sound as the person wearing them moves. Once enrolled, Nick also explored the dance program at His work has been featured in Vogue magazine and shown the University of Missouri-Kansas City. in art museums across the United States. “At KCAI, I learned the importance of being able to allow “The Soundsuit is a combination of a number of things,” Nick myself to explore the possibilities and to know that if I were said. “I’m looking at historical dress, costume, ceremonial, to fall I would still have the support of my professors,” he performance, carnival and celebration pieces from around said. “My professors challenged me, which allowed me to the world.” He made his first Soundsuit out of twigs and build trust in myself and to have a point of view — to have the continues to find himself connecting back to the whole idea confidence and the belief that I could turn this into a serious of recycling. career. The school was a pivotal moment in my career.” 11 alumni / nick cave learn more at kcai.edu roberto lugo KCAI class of ’12 ceramics Studio artist and faculty member, Marlboro College in Vermont Originally from Pennsylvania “I am from the ghetto; self-referentially I am a ghetto potter. The word ‘ghetto’ can be seen as a negative, but I equate it with the word ‘resourceful.’” Born and raised in Philadelphia, the son of Puerto Rican Puerto Rican American history. With my education in immigrants, Roberto Lugo (’12 ceramics) is a studio artist critical theory, art education, art history and studio art, I studying toward a Ph.D. in philosophy at Pennsylvania State have developed a studio practice that fluidly communicates University, where he also completed his M.F.A. degree in with diverse audiences.” ceramics. He describes himself as “a potter, activist, culture- maker, rapper, poet and educator.” In 2015, Roberto was “I bring art to those that don’t believe they need to see it and named an emerging artist by the National Council on engage in deeper ways of knowing, learning and thinking.” Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). Roberto participated in numerous exhibitions in 2015, “I am from the ghetto; self-referentially I am a ghetto potter,” including Art Basel, Ferrin Contemporary, Miami; African he says. “The word ‘ghetto’ can be seen as a negative, but I American Museum, Philadelphia; University of Wisconsin, equate it with the word ‘resourceful.’” Whitewater; Borderlands, Alexandria Arts Center, Wash- ington; Roberto Lugo and Matt Tomesko, The Painted Bride, “My life’s story takes shape in the form of teapots, poetry, Philadelphia; solo exhibition curated by Kelicia Pitts, The murals, rap, artist talks and sheer acts of activism,” he said. Artists’ House, Philadelphia; and The Theoretical Show, “My experiences as a poor, brown kid from the ghetto are Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Project Space, New York. my 22 years of research, which inform my version of 13 alumni / roberto lugo learn more at kcai.edu jaimie warren KCAI class of ’02 printmaking Photographer and performance artist Originally from Wisconsin “A career in the arts can be one of the most rewarding and exciting fields you could ever imagine. Exhibiting my work nationally and internationally is probably the most satisfying thing for me.” “Choose the hardest, most challenging teachers you can Philadelphia and San Antonio, to name just a few. have,” is advice to college students from Jaimie Warren, a photographer and performance artist who lives in Kansas In 2014, she received the Baum Award for an Emerging City and Brooklyn, but whose career has taken her all over American Photographer and has had a solo artist monograph the world. “Just ask around on campus; you’ll find out who published by Aperture. Her work has been featured in they are.” numerous publications including The New York Times, the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Paper and Dazed & Among her many accomplishments, Jaimie is co-creator/ Confused. Jaimie was recently a featured artist on ART21, a co-director of the faux public access television show “Whoop documentary series on art and life in New York. Dee Doo,” a traveling, artist-led project that creates ambitious installations and live performances internationally, generally “A career in the arts can be one of the most rewarding and through universities, festivals, arts organizations and museums. exciting fields you could ever imagine,” she says. “Exhibiting “Whoop Dee Doo” has created commissioned projects and my work nationally and internationally is probably the most events in Chicago, New York, Sweden, Montreal, Miami, satisfying thing for me.” 15 alumni / jaimie warren learn more at kcai.edu paul briggs KCAI class of ’96 illustration Story supervisor, Walt Disney Animation Originally from Texas Paul’s tips for future animators: Understand the basic fundamentals. Use your time at school to master these. Tell me a story; show me character; make me care and empathize. When he was a senior at KCAI, Paul Briggs learned from to work. According to him, “Being able to flip through his department chair that Disney was accepting portfolios original ‘Pinocchio’ animation is a definite employment for an internship. Paul followed up, got the job and started bonus. What’s more impressive are the amazing artists, animating on “Mulan.” Except for stints at Warner Bros. storytellers and filmmakers I work with every day. I’m in awe and Nickelodeon, he has been with Disney ever since. at the talent and level of craftsmanship in the studio.” Most recently he was co-head of story for “Big Hero 6” Asked how KCAI prepared him for his career at Disney, and before that, story supervisor on “Frozen.” Being head Paul said he gained a strong foundation in art and benefited of story means managing a team of story artists working from a support system of other students. He said college is together to get the director’s vision up onto the screen. a time when students can try new things, experience failure and learn from it. Paul describes Disney Animation as an incredible place 16 alumni / paul briggs 02. ask questions 01. start here 03. challenge yourself at KCAI you discover 05. not what to make approach education differently 04. 06. discover new create your answers future learn more at kcai.edu student profiles DEVELOP. IDEAS. Students at Kansas City Art Institute are passionately committed to their creative practices and to the development of their work. Our student population represents over 35 states, as well as other countries. Whether you are a first-time freshman or a transfer student with previous college experience, KCAI will challenge you to redefine yourself as an artist, while simultaneously supporting and pushing the ideas behind what you make. As an artist, designer, writer, historian or hybrid scholar, you need to be in an environment that will nurture your artistic endeavors — a place that will prepare you to impact the current visual and cultural landscapes and contribute to the future, global communities of art and design. The artwork on the following pages was produced by students who chose KCAI. 20 student profiles learn more at kcai.edu “We were told that foundation would be a life-altering program, and I thought they were exaggerating. They weren’t. The experience in foundation nourishes us completely. We must go forward and apply all that we have learned to the workings of our lives.” nicholas olivares / foundation / texas What you like best about living in Kansas City: Strangely, it feels love everyone who works there. In a way, it feels like all of your extended like home. That’s probably my favorite thing. It feels as though at any family has come over to our house to cook. It’s the warmest kitchen in town. moment, if I wanted to, I could walk out the door to my friend’s house and feel every color of his ceiling. It’s a feeling attained, most likely, by Favorite creative tool: I like to keep people around.

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