Leadership

At the Corcoran, we focus on combining creativity, empathy and innovation to connect our creative practice to the greater good. Our leadership embodies these principles.

MEET OUR DIRECTOR 
 

Lauren Onkey will be the new director of Columbian College's Corcoran School of the Arts and Design starting on July 12, 2021. Dr. Onkey brings to the Corcoran two decades of hands-on experience in the arts and cultural studies, paired with considerable scholarly achievement in her field. She most recently has served as the Senior Director at NPR Music, where she led a team of journalists, critics, videographers, and podcast makers and provided the editorial vision in creating innovative cross-platform music journalism. With her innovative vision and commitment to exploring opportunities for creative and cultural partnerships, Dr. Onkey will be a tremendous asset to the Corcoran’s students and faculty.

More About DR. ONKEY

Kym Rice is the current interim director of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, beginning in July 2019 through July 2021. She will be helping with the transition when Lauren Onkey assumes her director role on July 12, 2021. Director Rice succeeded Sanjit Sethi who became the President of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. During her time at the Corcoran, she worked closely with faculty members to successfully elevate the arts at GW and open up creative opportunities for interdisciplinary connections across CCAS.

Director Rice has taught Museum Studies at GW since 1996 and previously served as its program director. She is a member of the CCAS Dean’s Council and in 2019 received the college’s annual award for graduate mentoring. A long-time exhibition developer and curator, Director Rice works with museums and historical organizations throughout the United States. Her award-winning exhibitions include “A Share of Honour: Virginia Women 1600-1945” for the Virginia Women’s Cultural History Project and “Taverns: For the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers” at Fraunces Tavern Museum. She teaches courses such as Exhibition Script Writing and Curatorial Research & Planning.

More about Director Rice

CORCORAN STRATEGIC ADVISORY COUNCIL

OUR ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP

DIRECTOR'S HIGHLIGHTS

Ongoing Exhibitions & Programming

During the last academic year, we watched in awe as student artists found creative ways to showcase their skills despite being unable to present projects in person at NEXT 2020, the end-of-year show that gives D.C.’s art community the opportunity to see the latest in contemporary art, design and performance.. The community banded together, as adjunct digital lab instructor James Huckenpahler worked with students and faculty across disciplines to develop and manufacture protective gear and protocol for essential workers at GW Hospital amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As students engaged in the new experience of remote learning, they designed broadway costumes from home, viewed virtual exhibitions, and engaged with guest lecturers like DreamWorks animator Radford Sechrist. We look forward to virtual programming this fall, featuring the work of Women’s Mobile Museum and the magic of data visualization.  

Salon Doré Series on Equity

Six times a year, innovative thinkers from diverse fields gather at the Corcoran for the Salon Doré Series, where they discuss issues of equity through the lens of culture and creativity. The setting itself is a powerful symbol of inequity, a French neoclassical salon that was originally meant for the privileged. Grounded in the perspective of the performing and visual arts as important drivers of positive social change, the discussions are community-focused and wide-reaching, centering on creative problem-solving with a goal of formulating fresh, groundbreaking solutions to the pressing problems of our times.
 

MORE ON Salon Doré