NEW YORK, April 8, 2013—Parsons The New School for Design will present its third annual Parsons Festival, which will take place May 5 through 24, 2013, and feature exhibitions, symposia, panel discussions, critiques and special projects that celebrate the next generation of art and design in a range of disciplines.

“The festival is an exciting opportunity for the public to come face to face with the breadth and depth of work of the next generation in art and design,” said Parsons Executive Dean Joel Towers. “This annual event enables us to provide a look at the creative process across a range of media, and present cross-disciplinary, collaborative work that speaks to the high level of innovation, critical thinking, and social engagement at Parsons.”

This year, Parsons Festival is an official event of the first NYCxDESIGN, the inaugural citywide event celebrating New York City’s diverse design scene. 

The following are a selection of events featured in the Parsons Festival, including exhibitions of graduating student work. For more information, including a full schedule of events, please visit www.newschool.edu/parsonsfestival.

Parsons Festival 2013 is made possible by the support of Sony and Chelsea Wine Vault.

 
Orchestral Garments
Sunday, May 5, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall
The New School, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor, New York
Parsons The New School for Design in collaboration with Mannes College The New School for Music and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra present an interactive performance and installation that re-envisions the future of orchestral performance wear.

Parsons BFA Product Design Flat-Pack and Micro-Manufacturing Exhibition
Tuesday, May 7–Friday, May 24, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Opening Reception: Monday, May 13, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design
2 West 13th Street, New York
The Flat-Pack Studio challenges Parsons BFA Product Design students to design a piece of furniture that can be packed flat in a UPS box or tube. Each project involves the design and construction of a full-scale working furniture prototype, packaging, and an assembly manual. The Micro-Manufacturing Studio engages students in the design, modeling, prototyping and testing of a family of household accessories or furniture designed with small-scale, self-sufficient production in mind.

Parsons MFA Design and Technology Exhibition
Wednesday, May 8–Friday, May 24, 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Opening reception: Wednesday, May 8, 7:00–10:00 p.m.
Parsons The New School For Design, 6 East 16th Street, 6th floor, New York
Symposium: Friday, May 17-Saturday, May 18, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wollman Hall, The New School, 65 West 11th Street, 5th floor, New York
The MFA Design and Technology thesis exhibition features installations and performances, objects and apps, games and video, and interactive experiences that explore the dynamic role of technology in our lives. Works invoke the playful, the informative, the critical, and the subversive to investigate emerging issues and spark discussion. For more information, visit http://mfadt.parsons.edu. 

Parsons’ School of Art, Media, and Technology Annual 2013
Thursday, May 9–Friday, May 24, 12:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Opening reception: Thursday, May 9, 5:00–8:00 p.m.
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center,
Parsons The New School for Design, 2 West 13th Street, New York
Parsons’ School of Art, Media and Technology Annual 2013 presents the best graduating work in the school’s undergraduate programs in Communication Design, Design and Technology, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Photography. Discover a new generation of artists and designers through this multimedia exhibition, curated by New York based artist and curator Amanda Parmer, which showcases the depth and breadth of the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons.

CreativeMornings @ Parsons: Seth Godin
Friday, May 10, 8:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Tishman Auditorium, The New School
66 West 12th Street, New York
Free admission. Registration is required and opens to the public at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, May 6, at http://creativemornings.eventbrite.com
CreativeMornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series, dubbed “TED for the rest of us” and founded by designer Tina Roth Eisenberg of the design blog swissmiss. CreativeMornings comes to Parsons The New School for Design for its May event, where best-selling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin will speak on the theme of "Backwards," as part of Parsons Festival 2013. Seth Godin's latest book, The Icarus Deception, takes a look at the end of the industrial economy and what happens next, challenging readers to approach their work as a form of art.

Parsons’ School of Design Strategies Exhibition
Friday, May 10–Friday, May 24, 12:00–5:00 p.m.
Opening reception: Friday, May 10, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Symposium: Wednesday, May 22, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York
The School of Design Strategies at Parsons offers a range of experimental programs on the forefront of design, business, and innovation. The works featured in this exhibition present strategy in action. How can we use design thinking to promote change, to foster creativity, to envision the new urban? How can design be employed to improve or reimagine established systems, from fashion to health care to housing? The featured projects confront questions like these through rigorous research and application. A related symposium explores innovative approaches to integrating research and design processes into business strategy.

Parsons MFA Transdisciplinary Design Symposium
Friday, May 10, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York
Graduate students in the MFA Transdisciplinary Design program and outside experts in the field explore aspects of this relatively new discipline, which uses design thinking to address major social, economic and cultural issues, from urbanization to the economy and the environment. Also on view is a selection of thesis projects by graduating students in the program, which last year included Softwalks, winner of a Fast Company Design and Innovation Award.

gadgITERATION
Saturday, May 11, 12:30–3:00 p.m.
Parsons The New School For Design, 6 East 16th Street, 12th floor
Free admission. Registration is required: www.eventbrite.com/event/5768568945 
Turn trash to treasure! Experiment with interactive design! Children ages 11–13 and their families are invited to this fun, multigenerational workshop. Come tinker with electronics using a simple, safe device called The Noisemaker—no previous experience with engineering or computer programming necessary. We will explore the way electricity works and make delightful contraptions that beep, buzz, and light up. Please bring discarded electronic devices, plastic toys, and boxes that open and close, as well as recyclables such as egg cartons. (Materials will also be provided.)

Parsons MFA Photography Exhibition
Monday, May 13–Friday, May 24, 11:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Opening reception: Tuesday, May 21, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
The New School, 90 Fifth Avenue, New York
This exhibition features work by students in the MFA Photography program at Parsons The New School for Design, which seeks to redefine the creative role of the photographer in contemporary culture. These pieces reflect a wide range of interests, areas of inquiry, methodologies, and approaches. The work of these emerging artists extends the boundaries of the medium and the limits of creative vision.
 
Parsons Scholars Exhibition
Monday, May 13–Friday, May 24, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Senior Capstone Presentations and Reception: Saturday, May 18, 4:00 p.m.
Student Gallery, Parsons The New School for Design
66 Fifth Avenue, 8th floor, New York
The Parsons Scholars program is a three-year college preparatory program in art and design for high school students in New York City public schools. This exhibit showcases work created by students at each level of the program, spanning a variety of art and design disciplines. On May 18, students present work produced as part of Sandy Storyline, a community-generated narrative of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath aimed at building a more just and sustainable future.

Parsons MFA Fashion Design and Society Exhibition
Tuesday, May 14 – Friday, May 2, 10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Li & Fung USA, 1359 Broadway, 19th floor, New York
This exhibition presents work by graduating students in Parsons’ recently launched MFA Fashion Design and Society program, a selective graduate program for emerging designers initiated and supported by alumna Donna Karan. Showcasing womenswear, menswear, and knitwear, the exhibition presents each student’s creative vision through an installation of clothing, film, and photography.

Parsons Art and Design History and Theory Graduate Symposium
Thursday, May 16–Friday, May 17, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Reception: Thursday, May 16, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design
2 West 13th Street, New York
This symposium explores a range of student research on decorative arts and design history, fashion studies and history, and design studies and theory. The event features current research in these fields, bringing together students from the MA History of Decorative Arts and Design, MA Fashion Studies, and MA Design Studies programs at Parsons.

Parsons Five Sixty 7th Exhibition
Friday, May 17–Friday, May 24, 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Opening reception: Friday, May 17, 5:00–7:00 p.m.
David Schwartz Fashion Education Center, Parsons The New School for Design,
560 Seventh Avenue, New York
The School of Fashion at Parsons presents an exhibition of thesis work from the range of fashion disciplines, including menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, accessories, and multimedia installations. Also on view are projects sponsored by companies including PPR, Louis Vuitton, Nomi, Swarovski, Saga Furs, Solstiss, and The Shoe Polytechnic.

Parsons MFA Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition
Saturday, May 18–Saturday, May 25
Tuesday–Friday 12:00–6:00 p.m., and Saturday 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Opening reception: Friday, May 17, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, New York
Parsons presents work by graduating students in its MFA Fine Arts program, in which emerging artists develop the formal, intellectual, and conceptual dimensions of their work. A cross-disciplinary program, MFA Fine Arts houses students and faculty whose practices span a range of genres and fields of research. The exhibition is curated by independent curators Wendy Vogel and Jess Wilcox.
 
INTERACT 2013: A Forum on Civic Engagement and Sustainable Partnership
Saturday, May 18, 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall
The New School, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor, New York
INTERACT 2013 is an all-day forum that examines co-creation as a central factor in developing successful relationships between universities and non-profit organizations. Participants explore ways to structure and facilitate cross-disciplinary, multi-year collaborations to make them effective in reaching social justice goals.
 
Parsons BFA Photography Exhibition
Tuesday, May 21–Sunday, May 26, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Opening reception: Tuesday, May 21, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Milk Studios, 450 West 15th Street, 8th floor, New York
Parsons The New School for Design and Milk Studios present an exhibition of photographs, installations, video projections, and magazine and book displays by graduating students in Parsons' BFA Photography program. BFA Photography challenges students to use analog and digital technology to create work influenced by film, design, fine art, video, and sound. Exhibition sponsored by Sony.

Parsons School of Constructed Environments Exhibition
Tuesday, May 21–Friday, May 24, 10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
Opening reception: Tuesday May 21, 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Parsons The New School for Design, 25 East 13th Street, 2nd floor, New York
This exhibition presents drawings, models, and prototypes created by graduating students of the Architecture, Interior Design, Lighting Design, and Product Design programs at Parsons. The thesis show takes place in the exhibition space created by the Parsons Design Workshop, the school’s signature design-build program.

Parsons BFA Communication Design/Design and Technology Screenings and Book/Web Launch
Tuesday, May 21, 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. (Screenings); 5:00-9:00 p.m. (Book/Web Launch)
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design, 2 West 13th Street, New York
Parsons presents narrative shorts and documentary, animation, kinetic type, sound, performance, and experimental videos by graduating students in its BFA Communication Design and BFA Design and Technology programs. A related book and website launch follows.

Parsons BFA Illustration Pecha Kucha, Animation Screenings and Book Launch
Wednesday, May 22, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (Pecha Kucha); 5:00-8:00 p.m. (Screenings and Book Launch)
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center,
Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, New York
The Parsons BFA Illustration program presents works and ideas in a variety of media, including editorial illustration, comics and graphic novels, picture books, motion and animation, toys and other products, and gallery art. For the Pecha Kucha, graduating students present their thesis projects in a series of slide talks, each three to five minutes long and followed by a short Q&A. The screenings showcase a range of time-based media, from traditional animation to more experimental works. The program will also host a book launch for its first Illustration Annual.

 
Parsons Fashion Show
Wednesday, May 22, 12:00 p.m.
Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers, 23rd Street and West Side Highway
RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/parsonsfashionshow
The School of Fashion at Parsons The New School for Design presents a runway show of top collections by the graduating BFA Fashion Design class, along with a display of work by students in the BFA, AAS, and MFA fashion programs. The annual presentation has helped launch the careers of some of the school’s most prominent alumni, including Marc Jacobs ’84 and Jack McCollough ’02 and Lazaro Hernandez ’02 of Proenza Schouler.

About Parsons
Parsons The New School for Design is one of the leading institutions for art and design education in the world. Based in New York but active around the world, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the full spectrum of design disciplines. Critical thinking and collaboration are at the heart of a Parsons education. Parsons graduates are leaders in their respective fields, with a shared commitment to creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st century. For more information, please visit www.newschool.edu/parsons.

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