An understanding of research as practice, research as a path to new knowledge, permeates KyCAD’S curriculum. At the heart of every class is a subject to be discovered, questions to be asked, and a critical and contextual journey that encourages research-led teaching.

Faculty bring their own areas of expertise and interest into the heart of their teaching. What better way for students to feel the excitement of new work other than through the lens of faculty research and practice?

As students learn the linguistics of practice…how to paint, how to screen print, how to cast and build and sew, take photos, and film, they also learn about contemporary artists working with similar subjects and then they learn to explore ideas and search for material solutions to ways of realizing and presenting their work.

From day one, as the students step into their classes, the inquiry begins. The exploration and testing, the road to success has many failures and students learn from not only their own journey but by watching others.

The open plan studios encourage adjacencies, and digital work is happening at the same time as welding. Sewing and animation are happening side by side. The cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary conversations produce a well-rounded student. This dynamic exchange mirrors the need for a new college of art and design to situate itself within a connected and interdisciplinary world. Systems and adjacencies, collaboration and connection, the roots of a productive future lie within the undergraduate experience at Kentucky College of Art + Design.

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