DCAD hosts visit from Hong Kong business delegation

Delaware College of Art and Design and community partner NextFab recently co-hosted a visit from representatives of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York.

HKETONY director Joanne Chu and deputy director Erica Lam met with DCAD President Jean Dahlgren, Dean Katy Ro, admissions director Jane B. Campbell, assistant admissions director Randle Reed and other administrators at the 600 N. Market St. campus building. Chu and Lam learned about the College’s programs, study body and community partnerships. They also discussed the state’s creative industries and DCAD’s role within those industries.

During the session, Chu noted that an institution to which students frequently apply for transfer after completing their associate of fine arts degrees at DCAD – Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga. – had opened a Hong Kong campus in 2010. Today, SCAD Hong Kong offers 14 programs of study.

The group then traveled via the DCAD van, which is wrapped in a student-designed collage of student artwork, to the NextFab location on Tatnall Street. DCAD has partnered with NextFab since 2017 to enable students to learn and create using the facility’s state-of-the-industry equipment, instruction and dedicated DCAD classroom space. First-year students in all majors, who are required to take DCAD’s “Three-Dimensional Design” foundation course, and second-year fine arts majors studying sculpture are among those benefiting from the innovative, high-tech art and design environment of NextFab.

While at the makerspace, the group met with marketing/sales director Eric Kaplan and discussed NextFab’s role in the DCAD curriculum. Participants also toured the facility and learned about the site’s broader place within Wilmington’s Creative District and business environment.

HKETONY’s stops at DCAD and NextFab occurred in conjunction with Hong Kong Commissioner to the United States Eddie Mak’s first duty visit to the First State. His trip included a call on Gov. John Carney and Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. It also included meetings with other key Delaware leaders and organizations. All of the activities were intended to explore potential collaborations between entities in Delaware and Hong Kong.