School as Lab: Moholy-Nagy in Chicago

IIT Institute of Design

Panel event at The Art Institute of Chicago presented with IIT Institute of Design Upon its founding Moholy-Nagy referred to the New Bauhaus in Chicago as a "laboratory for a new education". As the New Bauhaus evolved into Institute of Design, his legacy of experimentation in education maintains through experiential, project-based learning and a commitment to prototyping. Over the past eight decades, ID's school-as-lab model has provided a forum to conceive new futures in healthcare, transportation, retail, finance, social services and computer-human interaction. The field of design has broadly adopted the human-centered approach grounded in the New Bauhaus as standard practice. Entirely new approaches to learning outside of traditional education models and infrastructures have been developed through the collaborative efforts of designers, entrepreneurs, artists, policymakers and others. This discussion will feature a multi-disciplinary group of panelists representing the academic, non-profit, and creative sectors. Patrick Whitney, Connie Yowell, Eric Ellingsen, and Dr. Melissa Gillian explore Moholy-Nagy's influential legacy of experimental education in Chicago. Panelists Eric Ellingsen Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture, IIT College of Architecture Melissa Gilliam MD, MPH Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pediatrics, University of Chicago Patrick Whitney Distinguished Professor and Steelcase/Robert C. Pew Professor of Design, IIT Institute of Design Connie Yowell CEO, LRNG Moderated by Ashley Lukasik, Director of Corporate Relations, Communications, and Marketing at IIT Institute of Design.