PRE-ENROLLMENT PROGRAM 

PRE-COLLEGE ACADEMY  PRE-COLLEGE FACULTY

Adam Brent: Advanced Drawing
Adam Brent received his BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art and his MFA in sculpture from Parsons School of Design. With the use of materials from everyday life, Brent attempts to author an immediate familiarity or presence with his objects and imagery. His work focuses on reflecting the present through a direct use of media and medium.

Kien Chu: Fashion Design
Originally from Oregon, Kien Chu’s interest in fashion led him to study fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Within the last 15 years, he has been designing and illustrating fashion for numerous fashion companies ranging from Geoffrey Beene, Stanley Platos and Vivienne Tam. Currently, he is a professor of fashion design at F.I.T and Parsons School of Design. He continues to be a design consultant and a freelance illustrator for a variety of contemporary fashion brands. His teaching emphasizes a strong foundation in drawing and conceptual thinking providing the students with the necessary communication skill to explore their own aesthetic vision.

Nina Frenkel: Animation Design
Nina Frenkel is an Animator/Illustrator who works out of her studio in Manhattan’s Garment District.. She began her illustration career on the staff of Slate Magazine in 1996, and has continued to work for the magazine among other her clients, which include: MSNBC, Starbucks, New York Magazine, Good Housekeeping Magazine, and more. She worked as a staff Animator at Smashing Ideas Inc. (Seattle, WA) and continues to animate in Flash for her own clients. Currently she is animating 6 characters she designed for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s educational site “Economic Adventures”. She studied Studio Art at Carleton College (MN) and continued her studies at the School of Visual Concepts (Seattle, WA), the School of Visual Arts (NYC).

Cynthia Gallagher: Portfolio Development, Drawing
Cynthia Gallagher. Painter. Solo exhibitions include 55 Mercer Street, NYC, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, NYC, Johnson and Johnson, N J, Espace Croix Baragnon, Toulouse, France. Selected group exhibitions include "Critical Perspectives" P.S.1, Long Island City, NY, "newtalent/Printmaking", Castelli Graphics, NYC, "First Parrish Art Museum Design Biennial", Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY. Awards include New York Foundation of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts. Her work is held in many collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and Salomon Brothers and has been widely reviewed and published in catalogs. Gallagher holds a BFA from Philadelphia University of the Arts BFA and an from Queens College. She teaches in the Foundation Department at Parsons School of Design.

Steve Kennedy: Graphic Design
Steve Kennedy is an adjunct professor in Communication Design at Parsons School of Design. He teaches Typography, Graphic Design, and Letterpress. Steve is founder and owner of Interrobang Design Studio, and a trustee of the Graphic Communications Scholarship Fund.

Bliss Lau: Fashion Design
A graduate of Parsons Fashion program in 2003, New York based Bliss Lau launched her handbag collection that same year. Raised in Hawaii, Bliss takes inspiration from the culture & beauty of the islands infused with her understanding of city life and the importance of the perfect handbag.

In Spring 2006, Bliss launched her belt collection. Inspired by the beauty of traditional Hawaiian quilting techniques, the belts feature floral cutouts which compliment and shape the curves of a woman's body.

Bliss Lau works closely with her craftsmen during every stage of production to uphold the finest quality at the highest standards. Each bag and belt is made with precision and designed for comfort and convenience. We are committed to fine quality leathers which are supple to the touch, beautiful and durable.

Riad Miah: Portfolio Development
Riad Miah, Associate Director of the Pre-Enrollment Programs. Has taught in Summer Intensive Studies, Fine Arts department and Pre-College Academy at Parsons. Exhibition includes: Knoedler & Co., deluxe projects, P.S. 122 Gallery, the Baltimore Museum for Contemporary Art and the Museum of Modern Art in the United States and at the Catholic University and Budapest Gallery in Europe. Awards include: New York Foundations for the Arts (NYFA) fellowship, Peter B. Lewis Fellowship, and Germanations Europe fellowship. Residencies include: Skowhegan, School of painting and Sculpture, Maine, USA, Higher Institute for Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium. Education: MFA from Ohio State University, BFA from School of Visual Arts.

Max Porter: Animation Design
An award winning filmmaker, Max Porter studied animation and illustration at Rhode Island School of Design. He has since created and collaborated on a wide variety of commercial and independent projects around the world. A native New Yorker, Max lives in Brooklyn and is currently developing an animated television show for children.

Stacy Seiler: Portfolio Development, Drawing
Born and raised in the factory-driven neighborhoods of South Baltimore and West Philadelphia, Stacy Seiler’s work documents the silhouettes of decaying industry found in urban landscape. Utilizing materials such as charcoal, cut-paper collage and light installation, Stacy explores themes of neglect and abandonment in early 20th century structures by re-presenting the raw shapes of utilitarian forms as objects of beauty. Stacy received her BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art and her MFA in Fine Art from Parsons School of Design. Her work is represented by Margaret Thatcher Projects along with the international art dealer Catherine Von Saldern in New York.

Melinda Wax: 3D Studio
Melinda Wax. Artist, educator, textile designer, milliner; with careers in textile & costume design, arts administration, and wardrobe styling for the film and TV industries, Melinda considers herself a hybrid of many disciplines that all eventually spill into each other. Her career in the millinery business culminated with the coveted Milli - Milliner of the Year award in 1993. Textile design clients included: Express, Gap, Hanna Andersson, LL Bean, Land’s End, The Limited, Liz Claiborne, Pottery Barn, Talbot’s and Target. Her paintings and drawings have been exhibited on the east and west coasts, and one of her hats was included in Ahead of Fashion: Hats of the 20th Century, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1993.

Melinda teaches 3-D Design and LAB in Core Studies/Foundation, and Drawing and Design, in Pre-Enrollment

Nadia Williams: Fashion Design
Nadia Williams is a graduate of Parsons BFA Fashion Design program. Her work experience includes designing for Gap Kids and Banana Republic, as well as several design internships and awards. She has taught ESL in Mexico, as well as in New York, where she has also done career counseling for city youth.

Amy Yang: Foundations of Art and Design
Amy Yang is an artist and art educator. Amy has exhibited her photography throughout New York City and recently in London. She is also owner and shirt designer of Lily+Amy, LLC, a clothing company outfitting babies, kids, men, and women. Amy lives and works in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She has a BFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts.

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