Head
Belly of the Beast
So this difference is massive. Old School differs in that it is not a shop or worse, a Supermarket. Mainstream educational institutions have become shops. They let anyone in, as long as they can pay; it’s a user-pay system that treats its most valuable asset (its teachers) appallingly. And it just shouldn’t be like that. Not everyone can be a designer, not everyone can be a brain surgeon and not everyone should be encouraged to learn design if they don’t have the capabilities. You shouldn’t be learning because you’ve got a lot of money, it should be because you’re prepared to work hard, you’re curious and you really want to be a part of your own education. You’ve got to have initiative, drive and passion. Design is a really rigourous, intellectual process, and I think design schools need to take more responsibility and not just let everyone in because they can pay. It’s very misleading and can be unfair on the part of the student. So many public and private institutions I’ve taught at let anyone in and this is very disruptive. On the other hand, so many students go through major life issues during their education and need individual reassurance to help them work through their issues so they can continue. Mainstream design institutions are too big, and many students fall through the cracks unnecessarily. They could be great designers, but they don’t get that little bit of nurturing and love to get them through. Then they live a life regretting what they could have been, which is really sad. A learning environment needs to be risk-free, where students can feel free to go for it and not feel like they’re being judged. It needs to be a playful and fun environment and just that little bit on the crazy side. 15
What are your aims for the future for your own design practice and also for Old School? I think it’s very important that teachers are not just teaching. Especially in design, teachers need to be practising by making and doing stuff. I exhibited in the Human Rights Art and Film Festival last year, and I need to keep making. I’ve got a little project that I’ve been working on this year. It’s called Music of Stones and it’s all about the Merri Creek. It’s called Music of Stones because the Wurrunji people once inhabited the Merri Creek, and “Merri Merri” is Wurrunji for “stoney stoney”. So I’m working on a little publication based around that. I’m also working on a publication which moves on from my masters. We’re calling it “Cantina” and it’s all about celebrating the Italian way of life, of community, and connectedness through food. It started off its life in my masters as a visual essay for Social Ethnnography. I made a photo essay of my friend Gabriella’s parents in their home and their practices of farming their own rabbits, making their own food and wine. I just want to keep working on projects like that. If a teacher is a maker, it inspires the students who have a lot more respect for those who work on their own projects. The theoretical viewpoint is equally valuable, and something I continually strive to keep up to date with. Portland State Universtiy, Design Academy Eindhoven, Ellen Lupton, Cooper Union, Rhode Island School of Design and School of Visual Arts New York are all schools I refer to as models. My vision is that Old School becomes an centre for design research that incorporates Design Residency Projects to inform teaching and future workshops. I envisage that Old School’s contingent will be about twenty students per year. Interesting and inspiring teachers will share their ideas and experience to become part of the story. Every year Old School will support emerging designers as they realise creative projects such as The Belly of the Beast. This practice-led model will inform the direction of the school, which is a huge part of our philosophy. Maintaining relevant teaching content that provokes curiousity, and maintaining our social media profile will enable us to model new design education methodologies for those who also wish to revolutionise design education.