Defining "Entrepreneurship" in the Third Issue of ArtCenter On

Welcome to the third issue of ArtCenter On, whose theme is "Entrepreneurship."

In her introduction to the issue, President Karen Hofmann begins by sharing a quote from physicist and Intel co-founder Robert Noyce: "Optimism is an essential ingredient of innovation. How else can the individual welcome change over security, adventure over staying in safe places?"

"Optimism has been on my mind a lot lately," explains Hofmann. "As I write this, the country is just weeks away from the presidential election, an event that carries with it a great deal more anxiety than in years past. There's continuing devastation in the Middle East and in Europe. And the effects of climate change continue to wreak havoc around the globe."

"Given all this and more, it would be perfectly understandable to become dispirited," she continues. "And yet every day at ArtCenter, I talk with students, faculty, staff and alumni who brim with optimism. By that, I don't mean they have an unrealistic view of the world. They're definitely aware of the serious difficulties our world faces. But they see those difficulties not as unsumountable obstacles but rather as challenges that must be met."

"I especially see this in ArtCenter's growing entrepreneurial community," Hofmann writes. "No matter what form it takes, entrepreneurship—the focus of this issue—is an endeavor that requires an individual to believe they can achieve their goal even when facing overwhelming odds."

A few of the entrepreneurs you'll read about in this issue: Graduate Art alumnus Bijan Machen (MFA 18), founder of We Uplift the World Foundation, an organization that has created technology programs for youth throughout the U.S.; Product Design alumnus and Fuseproject founder and CEO Yves Behar (BS 91), whose latest endeavors include co-founding EV truck startup, Telo Trucks, and designing its signature electric truck; and Trustee and serial entrepreneur Michele Ruiz, who is tackling unconscious bias in the workplace with her company BiasSync. 

Also included in this issue are profiles of Product Design alumni Mike Abelson (BS 97) and Yuri Abelson Shimizu (BFA 97), founders of Tokyo-based design brand Postalco, whose work graces the cover and is found throughout the issue; and Product Design alum and Meta Reality Labs industrial design architect Reiten Cheng (BS 22), who, as a student, designed Polyformer, a 3D-printed, open-source machine that recylces plastic bottles into filaments for 3D printers.

We hope you enjoy this issue of ArtCenter On. And as always, we would love to hear from you. Whether you have feedback on this issue or an idea for a future story, drop us a line at editorial@artcenter.edu.

Mike R. Winder
Editor, ArtCenter On

October 25, 2024