Three Cranbrook Academy of Art Graduates Receive Fulbright Grants
Bloomfield Hills, Mich., June 12, 2014 — Cranbrook Academy of Art announces that three recent graduates have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grants. This brings the total number of Academy students who have received grants over the past 11 years to 25 – making the Academy, per capita, the highest producer of student Fulbright scholars in the United States. The Academy also continues to be named one of the Fulbright program’s “Top Producing Institutions” by the Institute for International Education.
This year’s recipients include:
Ryan Debolski (Photography ’14)
Debolski will travel to Oman to compile a photographic series examining architecture and the relationship it has with the identity of the Musandam Peninsula as a geographic enclave. Debolski hopes that by studying formal structures and informal characteristics of segregation, the role architecture has in defining socio-politico boundaries will become apparent in our landscape and urban environments.
Kelley O’Brien (3D Design ’14)
O’Brien will travel to Quezon City in the Philippines, home to one of the largest landfills, in order to study the specific effects the dumpsite has on the built environment. She will document various informal settlements where the re-use of materials and waste are a prominent architectural element within the design of structures, exploring the connection between design and the culture of the urban poor.
Juan Torres (Architecture ’11)
Torres will travel to Denmark to use his knowledge of the history and craftsmanship of contemporary ceramics and brick making to develop a modular system of architectural units that can become interactive public sculptures. He will seek to understand the positive impact that a low-production and craft-oriented approach can have for instigating and creating strong social bonds.
“It is with pride and admiration that I commend our students for tackling such ambitious projects, and being rewarded for their efforts and curiosity,” said Academy Director Reed Kroloff. “And the fact that our graduates receive grants on a regular basis, year after year, speaks wonders about the quality of the art and design education we continue to offer at the Academy.”
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is now the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities each year for approximately 1,900 students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools in more than 140 countries worldwide. During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. Through engagement in the community, individuals interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom.
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design and fine art. Each year, just 150 students study and live on our landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum, and 300 acres of forests, lakes, and streams, all a short drive from the red-hot art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines: Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside our students. For more information, visit us atwww.cranbrookart.edu.
