Norman Teague featured in WBEZ Chicago
Norman Teague, Assistant Professor of Industrial Design, has been featured in an article in WBEZ Chicago. In the article, Norman discusses his work “Everlasting Plastics” in the Venice Biennale, growing up in Chicago, and his efforts in connecting UIC students with the Chicago community.
From the article:
These partnerships gave his students a chance to design with their own two hands in diverse fields like metal making and woodworking, while also opening up professional avenues for their future careers. Teague believes strongly in offering different forms of teaching in order to make arts education more accessible. For example, he envisions stand-alone classrooms sponsored by universities that allow people, especially non-students, to learn.
"If there were … classrooms attached — or not attached — to the institution, I think that we might find a new group of people that are interested in learning because the comfort levels of going to the standard collegiate direction can be very intimidating,” Teague said.
His experience with the lack of arts education opportunities in the South Side is what motivates him. “There’s so many ways we can improve upon the conditions of South and West side living, just by not asking them to come to you, but you going to them,” Teague said.”