KCAI ALUMNI

In addition to teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Nick is a performer and fashion designer of world-wide acclaim. His sculptures are composites of artifacts the artist has gathered from swap meets and flea markets and invoke discussion about important issues of gender, race and class.

Nick is celebrated for his Soundsuits, which are elaborately designed assemblages of unexpected materials that emit sounds as the person wearing them moves. His work has been featured in numerous publications and displayed in art museums around the world.

"My professors challenged me, which allowed me to build trust in myself and to have a point of view – to have the confidence and the belief that I could turn this into a serious career. The school was a pivotal moment in my career.”

"I am from the ghetto; Self-referentially, I am a ghetto potter. The word 'Ghetto' can be seen as negative, but I equate it with the word 'resourceful.'"

Phil Shafer, aka Sike Style, channels his creative energy in many ways. For over 15 years, he has run his successful art business; Sike Style Industries. His creative practice includes fine art paintings, 2D design and print graphics. His love of street art and graffiti has lead him to community and corporate projects as a muralist. Murals allow Shafer to transform bland or vandalized surfaces with colorful, positive and uplifting imagery that inspire and create dialogue.

When working with clients, Shafer is able to blend his style with brand standards and create welcome and vibrant artwork for offices, living spaces and school alike. Shafer was awarded the 2017 KC Urban Hero Award, and ArtsKC Inspiration Grant in conjunction with an international mural project in Kingston, Jamaica. Shafer hopes to continue expanding his style, brand and art to wish-list projects and international clients.

“My time at KCAI taught me the importance of the art hustle. Work habits formed during late night studio sessions are still with me today and provide that drive to excel.”

In 2008, after stints at American Greetings and international advertising agency Moxie Sozo, Stephanie moved to New York City and got a job as an animator and designer for the Nickelodeon On-Air team. At Nick, she created the TV interstitials and promotional packaging for the network. In 2012 she became an Art Director of the department and helped lead projects for the team. In 2016 she joined Nickelodeon's newly growing social media team in efforts to ramp up their digital and social platforms. She was quickly promoted to Senior Art Director of Nickelodeon Social, which encompasses all of the social media accounts for our network such as Nickelodeon, SpongeBob, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teen Nick, The Splat and Nickelodeon's Viacom Digital Studios; an in-house production team that generates a growing network of digital series. Projects range from graphic design, film, photography, animation, stop-motion and sometimes making slime.

“My experience at KCAI inspired me to use art and design for both personal expression and communication and problem-solving.”

Experimental photographer and educator Ellen Carey, who is celebrated for her avant-garde approach to materials, found her calling when she was a student at KCAI in the 70s. She knew she was creative, but she couldn’t paint, draw or throw clay. She was in the KCAI Freshman Foundation program, which requires every student to explore numerous art mediums, when she picked up a camera and the magic happened.

Since graduating from KCAI, she has had 55 solo exhibitions, 400 group exhibitions, site-specific installations, books, lectures and more. Her unique work has broken ground in the art world, especially her abstract, minimalist Polaroid Pulls & Rollbacks.

“I fell in love with everything about photography – the camera, the film, and the processing. I loved the freedom and the autonomy that went along with it,” she said.
http://www.ellencareyphotography.com/

“Most artists think their career will be in the studio or gallery but you need to broaden your horizons and realize that artists are needed everywhere.”