Within the burgeoning New York City art and design community of the 1930s, Holger Cahill’s Design Laboratory School fused fine art with industrial and commercial art to create an environment of learning through experience and interaction. The school was the “first institution in the United States to offer a comprehensive education in modernist design.”1 Influenced by the ideas of progressive educator John Dewey, the school became an instrument for artistic exploration and social engagement in New York City from 1935-1940. Through an exchange of ideas and practices students and faculty learned from one another, collaborated with different art and commercial institutions, and promoted each other’s career. In an era of great hardship, the Design Laboratory School fostered the growth and success of artists and designers living in New York City at the time.
This presentation will highlight how art and design flourished under the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA/FAP) during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The following points will be addressed: a brief history of the WPA, a background glimpse at Holger Cahill and his admiration for philosopher and educator John Dewey, and Cahill’s leadership of the WPA. In recognition of Cahill’s achievements, the presentation will conclude with a discussion on the Design Laboratory School - its influence and its legacy for future design based institutions.
About the presenterJessica Debra Gumora
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