MassArt will cover tuition and housing expenses for 10 students, as well as launch a crowdfunding campaign for winter clothing and art supplies

BOSTON – Dec. 14, 2017 — Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) today announced that it will sponsor 10 Puerto Rican students whose educations were disrupted by the recent hurricanes in Puerto Rico. MassArt will cover the students’ tuition and housing expenses for the spring 2018 semester. The students currently attend the School of Visual Arts and Design (Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico), a public art college accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

“In light of recent events in Puerto Rico, we are so glad to provide art and design students from Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico, a fellow public art school, with an opportunity to continue their education,” said David Nelson, President of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. “We will continue to work with other schools across the U.S. to determine what we can all do to help the school and its students in the future.”

This initiative will provide the students with some relief and allow them to continue their art and design education while Puerto Rico and Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico makes repairs and prepares to reopen later in 2018. The students will arrive in Boston by Wednesday, Jan. 10, and from the time of their arrival, MassArt’s counseling staff will be on hand to support the students’ transition. In addition, the MassArt Foundation is launching a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of raising $25,000 for the students’ art supplies and winter clothing.

For the Puerto Rican students joining the MassArt community, the feeling of relief is tangible.

“The hardship Puerto Rico has endured may not be permanent, but it definitely has me feeling like my academic growth has been halted,” said an anonymous student from Escuela de Artes. “Studying at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design would help me achieve my goals by allowing me to grow not only artistically but intellectually.”

For more information, visit massart.edu/puertorico.

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About Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) is one of the top colleges of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1873, MassArt has a legacy of leadership as the only freestanding public college of art and design in the country and the nation’s first art school to grant a degree. The College offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in art, design, and art education, all taught by world-class faculty. MassArt is also home to the Bakalar & Paine Galleries, the largest free contemporary art space in New England, professionally curated to enrich the academic curriculum and make contemporary art an accessible experience for all. Among MassArt’s most accomplished alumni are designer Brian Collins, art dealer Arne Glimcher, Oscar-winning set designer Nancy Haigh, visual artist and composer Christian Marclay, 2016 Project Runway winner Erin Robertson, interior and lifestyle designer Kelly Wearstler, and photographer William Wegman. For more information, visit massart.edu. Follow MassArt on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Media Contact

Susie Stockwell, Director of Communications
sstockwell@massart.edu • 617.879.7066