The George Washington University Names Inaugural Director of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design

Candace Smith: 202-994-3566, [email protected]

Kurie Fitzgerald: 202-994-6461, [email protected]

 

"Sanjit Sethi is an accomplished artist and administrator, skilled in facilitating partnerships and managing an arts organization and recognized for his commitment to interdisciplinary work and creative problem solving," said GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Dean Ben Vinson. "In the course of his career, he has displayed a rare sensitivity to connecting with communities and promoting art for the greater good. He is a visionary and a leader who will add richly to GW and to D.C. and be integral to the Corcoran's growth."

 

At SFAI, Mr. Sethi created initiatives that cultivated dialogues and collaborations between national and international artists, designers and writers and communities in northern New Mexico through programs such as “SFAI 140,” “Project 8” and the institute’s six-week summer community design intensive “SFAI Design Workshop.” He led a fundraising campaign to renovate the institute, was responsible for complex budgets and secured funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. He also directed outreach and collaboration with local, national and international arts and humanitarian organizations, including Moving Arts, the Institute of American Indian Arts and the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture. 

 

Mr. Sethi’s own artistic work has resulted in several projects and exhibitions, including his “Building Nomads Project,” a collaborative endeavor focused on migrant construction workers that he completed as a Fulbright scholar in Bangalore, India; “Richmond Voting Stories,” a project that examined voting as a civic activity; and “Kuni Wada Bakery Remembrance,” an olfactory-based counter-memorial that commemorated the loss of a Japanese-owned bakery in Memphis, Tenn., shut down by federal authorities days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

 

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of a legacy institution like the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University,” said Mr. Sethi. “I look forward to working with students, faculty, staff and administrators across the Corcoran and GW to cultivate diverse forms of creative practice and educate the next generation of critical problem-solvers.” 

 

The search process involved Corcoran students, faculty, staff and alumni. 

 

Earlier in his career, Mr. Sethi was director of the Center for Art and Public Life at the California College of the Arts, where he was responsible for spearheading initiatives, including the Impact Social Entrepreneurship Awards and the Engage at CCA program, which addressed critical social issues through art. He was also the Barclay Simpson Chair of Community Arts and assistant professor at the institution. 

 

He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art and a Master of Science degree in advanced visual studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

 

Mr. Sethi served on the board of directors at Intersection for the Arts and Richmond Art Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been a visiting professor of art at the Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, an artist in residence at The Banff Centre in Canada and a lecturer in MIT’s visual arts program. He has been a consultant on the subject of how creativity can drive social change for numerous individuals and organizations in New Mexico, California, Canada, Japan, India and New Zealand.

 

“Sanjit’s unique ability to identify ways that art can impact social change were impressive to me in the time that I worked alongside him at the California College of the Arts,” said Liz Ogbu, founder and principal of Studio O. “His extensive experience working with students and creating opportunities for them to participate in that change will make him an asset to GW and the Corcoran.” 

 

Photos of Mr. Sethi can be downloaded at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kkxr1c2b4btfb6c/SanjitImagePressRelease.jpg?dl=0 

 

In the heart of the nation's capital with additional programs in Virginia, the George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. The university offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study, as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 130 countries.