Transforming Communities through Design Education CAM opened its doors to the public in April of 2011 in a newly renovated early twentieth-century structure in Raleigh’s historic Warehouse District Elysia BorowyReeder, who began as Executive Director in May, leads the museum’s dedication to creating an everchanging museum experience.“CAM Raleigh fosters innovative and dynamic art experiences,” commented Borowy-Reeder. “Rather than a place to view artworks in isolation, our museum is a collaborative wellspring of ideas and inspiration for the Triangle community.” Through its partnership with the College of Design, CAM Raleigh offers K-12 programming throughout the year.
Design Camp in its 26th Year Over 260 high school students from North Carolina [and thirteen other states] participated in the 2011 CAM Design Camps. Students were exposed to five different disciplines with fast-paced, immersive experiences featuring design challenges, guest speakers and dynamic workshops. High school students experienced the combination of academic and studio life. Nicole Welch, CAM's Curator of Education, explained, “The really magical part of Design Camp is providing that college studio experience. You have late nights in studio and our staff members are phenomenal. They are all College of Design graduates or undergraduate students and they are incredible mentors to the students.” With a mix of rising undergraduates participating in specific design challenges, students were exposed to teamwork and people who shared a common interest in design. Students took part in a mascot challenge to ignite team spirit along with an ecosystem challenge to complete a fort made of recycled materials that would accommodate all 16 of their team members within an hour's time Groups won prizes for the best and most creative fort.
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DESIGN INFLUENCE | FALL 2011
Design Camp students experience their first "crit."
“There is a lot of team spirit at Design Camp and it’s not all serious academic work. There are a lot of other opportunities to get creative and broaden your understanding of design as well,” said Sarah Blackmon, camp and workshops coordinator for CAM. The last phase of Design Camp culminates in an exhibition of all the students’ work to showcase the work they’ve done throughout the week. Parents and family members were welcomed to attend a reception held in the CAM galleries and College of Design studios. “One of the best compliments we can receive is when a parent says, ‘Oh my gosh,this kid is different from when Ibrought him here He’s smiling. He’s engaged. He’s excited. ’ We get a lot of really great emails from parents glowing about their child’s experience and how it really helped redirect their course of study in school,” said Welch.