Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies is a charter middle and high school (grades 6 – 12) founded and operated by CCS and the Henry Ford Learning Institute. It has a strong art and design focus combined with an academic curriculum keyed to the Michigan Common Core standards. Its purpose is to give inner-city students the opportunity to pursue a path leading to an art and design college and ultimately to a career in the creative industries. It is located in the Taubman Center. CCS faculty and students, and particularly the Art Education department, play an active role at the school.
Category: Academic Resources and Related Programs
Community Outreach
Located in the heart of a complex urban region and possessing unique resources of value to that region, CCS recognizes a responsibility to serve the community of which it is a part. Thus, its mission includes not only collegiate education in art and design but community education as well. The goals of its community outreach activities include:
- bringing the enrichment of art and design education to a wider population
- illuminating the satisfying career opportunities available in the art and design fields
- increasing the representation of minorities in the art and design professions
- promoting economic and community development in Detroit and Southeastern Michigan
Community outreach occurs in many ways at CCS, through the activities of individual faculty members, through the academic departments, and through special projects and programs. These offices play key roles in outreach and comprise the Community Arts Division: Center Galleries (described above), Pre-College and Continuing Studies and Community Arts Partnerships.
Toyota Lecture Series
The Toyota Lecture Series in Design was established through a generous $1 million endowment gift to the College for Creative Studies from Toyota Motor Company. The endowment is used to bring prominent designers and scholars in all fields of design to speak at CCS. There are between six and eight Toyota Lectures that occur throughout the academic year. The Executive Assistant to the Provost manages the Series, including scheduling guest lecturers and special workshops. Ideas for lecturers are generated by the Chairs and their Departments when requested by the Executive Assistant to the Provost in February. The Speakers and Exhibitions Committee then reviews submissions and approves six-eight with two alternatives. The lecture schedule is determined by April end for the next academic year.
Woodward Lecture Series
The Woodward Lecture Series is supported by an endowed fund to bring three visiting artists to campus each semester. Visitors may be selected from the areas of Art Practice, Crafts, Photography, Illustration, Art History and Criticism, and History. The visitors are well established with national or international reputations. During each visit, there is a public lecture and an opportunity for students to interact with the visitor in a classroom or studio setting. The Director of Center Galleries manages the series in consultation with the faculty Speakers and Exhibitions Committee.
General Motors Auditorium
The General Motors Auditorium is located on the 11th floor of the Taubman Center within the Benson & Edith Ford Conference Center. It has over 5,800 square feet of space and can accommodate a variety of configurations for any type of event. An ideal location for conferences, lectures, parties, luncheons and award ceremonies, the auditorium can accommodate 450 guests with theater-style seating and 360 guests at banquet rounds. Immediately outside the auditorium is the Knight Gallery which serves as a prefunction area for auditorium events and also a site for exhibits, meetings and other smaller events.
Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium
The Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium is located on the ground floor of the Walter B. Ford II Building. This 250 person auditorium serves the entire college for internal events, classes and lectures as well as the college-sponsored events open to the public. It has two projectors and the capability for surround sound audio. The auditorium further provides the capability for HD projection, podium-based lectures, table lectures, or panel discussions.
The maintenance and technical support for the systems within the auditorium are provided by Audio Visual Services. Reservations for the auditorium are made through the Executive Office. Since certain events will override class presentation reservations, be sure to check before committing a reservation to a class schedule.
Knight Foundation Gallery
The Knight Foundation Gallery is located on the 11th floor of Taubman Center and is part of the Benson & Edith Ford Conference Center. It has 5,600 square feet of space designed for exhibition and other social events such as receptions, banquets, or seated presentations. This space can accommodate 200 guests for a sit-down dinner, 300 for a reception or 350 guests for theater-style seating.
U245 Gallery
The U245 Gallery is a student-managed space that offers CCS students the opportunity to showcase their creative achievements to the public. Located on the ground floor of the Art Centre Building, the gallery has easy access and good visibility from the campus.
The Chair of the Art Practice department or his/her designee serves as Faculty Advisor for U245 Gallery. The Chair appoints the gallery manager. When necessary, Exhibit Services may support installation of work.
Valade Family Gallery
The Valade Family Gallery is located on the first floor of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education. The Gallery offers 5500 square feet of event space available for internal and external use. The Assistant Provost oversees the Gallery, including scheduling events and managing floor supervisors. Ideas for exhibitions are generated by the Speakers and Exhibitions Committee and through outside proposals submitted to the Assistant Provost. The exhibition schedule is determined at the beginning of the academic year.
The Valade Family Gallery showcases the work of visiting artists, alumni, faculty, and staff. Additional programming of the Gallery includes special events, benefits, student exhibitions, and artist receptions. The space can accommodate up to 150 people and provides a flexible layout to accommodate all types of exhibitions and events.
Center Galleries
Center Galleries, located on the Ford Campus in the Manoogian Visual Resource Center, presents the work of faculty, alumni, and local and nationally prominent artists for the education and enjoyment of both the students and faculty of CCS and the community at large. The programs of Center Galleries are accessible to and encourage the participation of the widest possible audience consistent with its mission and resources.
Center Galleries is dedicated to exploring the relationship between culture and artistic practice, fostering intellectual inquiry, and creating multidisciplinary exhibitions and educational programming that enable diverse audiences to connect their experiences of art to everyday life. Center Galleries recognizes a special responsibility to support the academic and teaching missions of the College through close collaboration with academic departments on campus. Off-campus, Center Galleries places special emphasis on serving the cultural needs of the people of southeastern Michigan, while simultaneously participating as an active member of the national art community.
Center Galleries also showcases the work of alumni, faculty, and staff in its Alumni and Faculty Hall and the College’s own art collection in the Permanent Collection Gallery. Additional programming by Center Galleries includes film, literary and performance events, benefits and artist receptions, and occasional special exhibitions throughout the campus. Center Galleries’ educational programs are designed for the education and enjoyment of CCS students, and to help build audiences for contemporary art. Lectures, gallery talks with artists and curators, workshops, catalogs, and other publications, and ongoing gallery tours for art educators and their students introduce visitors to new artists, new work, and other issues and ideas about contemporary art practice.