Tune in this weekend to see FIT President Joyce F. Brown on CUNY TV’s Black America. Dr. Brown speaks about her stewardship of FIT during her 19 years at its helm, plans for the future of the institution, diversity through the lens of The Museum at FIT’s Black Fashion Designers exhibition, FIT’s commitment to innovation and sustainability, and reflections on her personal life and experiences growing up in New York, among other topics.
Black America is an in-depth conversation that explores what it means to be black in America. The program, hosted by veteran news anchor Carol Jenkins, profiles prominent blacks in America, including activists, academics, business leaders, sports figures, elected officials, artists, and writers, to gauge their experience during a time of both turbulence and breakthroughs.
Jenkins focuses at length on Black Fashion Designers and the inspiration for the exhibition, which has received widespread acclaim. “I think the inspiration really was to create an opportunity for people to understand the impact of black fashion designers on the industry,” Dr. Brown said. “There were a few storied names that people were familiar with, but there are many, many black fashion designers who are not known but have had a tremendous influence. So the curators wanted to encourage interest and perhaps greater scholarship.”
Dr. Brown also discusses FIT’s commitment to sustainability―through numerous endeavors undertaken at an administrative and faculty level, as well as student-initiated projects that have received considerable attention―along with the college’s commitment to nurturing innovation. “Everything is changing,” she said. “The world we are in is changing. The way we communicate, the way we teach and learn, receive information, express our artistic muse. [At FIT] we have been working to try and create opportunities for faculty to work together, to create research opportunities for the students, and we’re working to build an Innovation Center. In that Innovation Center I want people to come for creative solutions for either the product that they are making, developing, and building, or improving, and to create opportunities for students to get a handle on what the future of those artistic expressions and creative industries are going to produce.”
The episode airs Saturday, March 25, at 10:30 am and 6 pm; Sunday, March 26, at 11:45 pm; and Tuesday, March 28, at 11:30 pm. The program can be viewed on Channel 75 (Spectrum and Cablevision/Optimum), Channel 77 (RCN), and Channel 30 (Verizon).