SCAD - What a Setup!

How cool would it be to go to college and have a whole downtown section of a city as your campus? That’s what Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has, with over 60 buildings around town. SCAD has been instrumental in renovating, and saving, downtown Savannah. Kids going to college here have one of the best college experiences in the country. Just imagine, the whole downtown as a campus. My office is downtown and I see the students daily, decked out in t-shirts, tennis shoes, loose-fitting jeans, green and blue hair, tattoos, body piercings - it reminds me of my hippie days at Piedmont Park in Atlanta during the late sixties and early seventies, except these kids are getting a real education – we only learned how to tune out, these kids are tuned in and getting degrees in art, design, architecture, film and the like. The college has been a boon for the art community in Savannah with areas cropping up that are “artsy” and hip. I would’ve loved to have gone to SCAD when I was 18 – it looks like a lot a fun. I’ve met many of the kids, working as service people in restaurants and shops – I’ve been impressed with their respect and courtesy and commitment to art. SCAD now has campuses in Atlanta and France and is a well-known, respected art school. It has amazed me how it’s grown and changed Savannah, adding flavor and diversity and a strong community commitment to historical preservation. The paradox of the new new-age kids and historical preservation is a very interesting thing to consider. If I was more profound I could write an essay on it, but I will suffice it to say, it’s interesting. I wonder if I’m too old to become a modern-day Rembrandt? Hmmm.