ALFRED-CAFA Ceramic Design for Industry program 

---

At the confluence of China’s ceramic heritage, massive industrial engine, booming economy, and influx of Western modernity exists a fertile ground for a new kind of designer. 

Our program seeks to educate the next generation of ceramic designers in China. Our students must be equipped to navigate a complex course incorporating art and design, industrial process and material science, marketing and business strategy.  They should also be sensitive to their location in global culture, using a contemporary voice to interpret their own tradition. 

Importantly, in addition, our program looks toward the enrichment of the legacy regarding design in the context of the Alfred Ceramic Art and the quality of education at Alfred University and The Central Academy of Fine Arts. Therefore, the program is concerned with mutually supportive communication between our Chinese students and American students as realized through a pragmatic exchange initiative that relocates students for semester length study in each other’s cultural environment.

In philosophical essence, the Alfred-CAFA Ceramic Design for Industry program is centered on communication and understanding facilitated on the level of individual experience. It is an acknowledgement of the necessity of insightful education in a globalized world and the potential of friendship and professional collaboration through the language of visual art.