The School of Design’s Sue and Leon Genet Gallery at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse is proud to present “Footwear by School of Design Alumni,” on display through March 3. The exhibition features the work of over 20 designers representing more than 50 years of alumni from the school’s industrial and interaction design (IID) program.
The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, was organized by School of Design faculty members Don Carr and Carmel Nicoletti. A reception will be held on Friday, Feb. 24, from 6-8 p.m.
The School of Design, housed in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, has a long history of graduates working within the footwear industry, and this exhibition showcases these talented designers’ experiences, philosophies and approaches to footwear design.
Current IID students were tasked with researching and interviewing the participating alumni to inform the creation of shoeboxes meant to reflect the personality and process of each designer.
“This exhibition is an opportunity to showcase the incredible work of these talented designers and to learn about what drives them to propel the industry forward,” says Carr, a professor and program coordinator of IID and the master’s of fine arts (MFA) in design degree program.
The new exhibition, “Footwear by School of Design Alumni,” features the work of over 20 designers representing more than 50 years of alumni from the school’s industrial and interaction design program.
Included are product examples ranging from athletic gear to designer shoes to specialized equipment for space capsule missions. The designers represent a wide network of industry from brands including Nike, New Balance, Clarks, Under Armour and others.
“The industrial design program at Syracuse was formative in shaping my foundation as a professional,” says participating designer Matt Heller ’98, senior director for accessories and footwear at Peloton New York City, when reflecting on his experience at the University.
“My classmates and I were lucky to have an amazingly diverse and complementary design faculty on hand, each bringing a completely different and equally valuable perspective to the program, spanning from future technologies to material explorations to user research to sustainability.”
Based in the School of Design on the first floor of the Nancy Cantor Warehouse at 350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse, the Sue and Leon Genet Gallery is a student-managed space hosting exhibitions from the school’s students, faculty and alumni. Programing seeks to engage the University and downtown Syracuse community with exhibitions inspired by and related to the field of design. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m., or by appointment.