BEGINNING: ESTABLISH THE WORLD

Saul Appelbalum: Andrew, I went to a Fine Art High School, and it was so impactful. It’s still so vivid, influential, and important to me today. I'm sure you've had a positive effect on a lot of students' lives. Thank you, genuinely. Will you give an overview of the High School of Art and Design and what you're up to at that program? 

Andrew Bencsko: The High School of Art and Design has been in existence since 1937. It was started by four art teachers in New York City, and they wanted to provide a place for young creatives, But not just for the arts, but also to prepare them for a profession as in the arts. So originally it was started off as the High School of Industrial Arts. And then around the 1950s, it changed to the High School of Art and Design. And that name was deliberate in that art and design were two different entities, but that they were living harmoniously together in our school. We're an audition public school. So we have representatives from all five boroughs, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, and Staten Island. And they could choose between eight majors animation, architecture, cartooning, fashion, design, film, video, graphic design, illustration, and photography.

And it's like an art college light, if you will. And I don't want to diminish what we teach them here, but they have all their other academics. So they have a foundation and a tech class that they start off in freshman year. So they have a taste of a traditional commercial art by hand in their foundation class and in their tech class, they're learning about digital photography, graphic design, digital painting, photo manipulation, and film. And in their sophomore year, they have one period of art history and one period of their major. And then in their senior and junior year, they have a double period with their major.