Caroline Payson, Cooper-Hewitt's Director of Education, was honored on Friday with the Charles Marshall Robertson Award, bestowed by The School Art League to arts educators who make significant contributions to students in New York City public schools. Caroline (or CP, as she's known affectionately around here) has turned thousands of New York City public-school students onto design through her leadership of the Museum's imaginative outreach programs, including the Target Tour+Workshop program, which has brought thousands of students to Cooper-Hewitt for a free tour and hands-on workshop; the Annual DOE Cover Design Competition, which pairs professional designers with public-school students for a real-world experience in graphic design; and youth programs that offer several months' worth of design and career intensives for underserved NYC youth. And that's only the tip of the iceberg!


Caroline spoke to the students in the audience, who were also being recognized by The School Art League for their aptitude in the arts. She shared examples of great design: the acclaimed XO laptop for children, the elegant, life-saving Q Drum water container, and the ingenious Neonurture newborn incubator, which is cleverly designed using readily available auto parts to facilitate efficient repair, even in remote towns. Caroline encouraged these emerging young talents to apply their creativity to a career in design, where they can help build innovative solutions for the world's toughest problems. We hope they will! Congrats, CP!

Paul King, Executive Director of the Office of Arts and Special Projects, NYC DOE; Eileen Goldblatt, Vice President of the School Art League; Caroline Payson; and Karen Rosner, Visual Arts Coordinator, NYC DOE

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *