Cape Craft + Design Institute’s (CCDI) Design Support Program has run the School Design Week project, an official World Design Capital 2014 project, exposing several thousand high school students in the Greater Cape Town area to career opportunities in design.
A core part of the program is to introduce students to positive and inspiring role models. So far, young professionals like jewelry maker Kathryn Pichulik and designer Mark Nicholson of Thinking Landscape Architects and Interior Designers have been presenting to students at morning meetings.
Alexander Sinton
There is a gap in skills and education resources in Cape Town, so the organizers have targeted Focus Schools, Design and Visual Arts as a pilot for a larger research program on the skills training ecosystem. These are schools with limited availability of resources and scholarships for further study and career information.
There were top visits to Alexander Sinton (Athlone), Wynberg, Milnerton, Livingstone in Kenilworth, Cedar in Rocklands and Muzzinburgh. Students are advised to choose the right subjects in ninth grade so that they can pursue design career in tertiary level. The schools sent their creative classes on full-day tours of the Open Design Festival at the Town Hall, followed by a guided workshop at the Design and Making Exhibition in the Castle.
Reference book
These career talks, workshops and field visits will be linked to the information book produced by CCDI ‘Want to be a future designer?’ Enhances awareness of career and study opportunities in a variety of design disciplines – from urban planning and interior design to video game programming and industrial design. To download the book, go to www.ccdi.org.za/researchandpublications/publications. This is all part of CCDI, which is helping to implement the Western Cape Design Strategy, which prioritizes building the capacity of teachers and trainers and addressing transformation through creative work.
Richard Kilpert, CCDI’s education co-ordinator, said: “Access to schools is limited, but with the support of Leon Buchner of the Western Cape Department of Education, we have been able to provide non-school talks such as Ankunel Stein, Inga Gubeka, Vivian Roberts, Tinking, Robin Paschke, Mak1, Klaus Rabe and Ricky-Lee Gordon volunteered his time to make a difference. Negligible.
“In presentations during morning meetings, visiting designers revisited their 10th grade worldviews, followed their careers through their studies and travels, and then outlined skills they would use in their current positions. Along with questions.
Holiday workshops
Next up in the program are holiday workshops in October for students who do not have access to design resources to support the design curriculum. The Frank Joubert Center for the Arts in Newland hosts these. There are plans to continue the project as part of the WDC Legacy Programme. WDC2014 has the power to show how design can change the world, and education is a priority where design (as a subject and life skill) helps create a new generation of self-reliant problem solvers.
“We want to stimulate transformation in the creative industries and unlock innovation as a future economic driver for the province. We will follow up on our work with a design booklet and poster for all the schools involved in the project. It will talk in an online video format,” concludes Kilpert.
For more information, email az.gro.idcc@treplik.drahcir or call +27 (0) 21 461 1488.
