In the heart of Texas...

The Carver Magnet High School of Applied Technology, Engineering and the Arts mission statement might be obvious from their title, but they animate like thriving professionals from the film industry! I am still in awe of how many students participated and the enthusiasm they brought with them as Project Identity got wings this week and visited CMHS in Houston, Texas.

Visual Arts Chair Ms. McEntire (a Cooper Union alumna) followed through by organizing a fine group of animators and helping to quickly convert several makeshift animating stations for these eager participants, as nothing was going to stop these Texans from animating.

Carvers magnet program is nestled into the metro Houston area, pulling students in from all surrounding communities and passionately assisting them to reach their individual potential and become part of a larger global community – much like Project Identity. I loved the open-air hallways that were surrounded by native palms which joined each of the analogous art studios and truly became a campus within a campus.


Dia de los muertos imagery heavily populates this dynamic environment with a multitude of powerful murals, all of which are heavily influenced by the regional culture, and even a few created by Carver alumni that now attend MIAD.

You can stroll from Carver’s sculpture area past their drawing, painting and digital studios right into a lecture on ancient Greece within a few short steps. It was evident from my residency that diversification, connectivity and integration abound at Carver.

MIAD has a good history with this institution and have had several Carver alumni become MIAD alumni. It is very fitting that Project Identity was able to share some of MIAD’s technology and integrated philosophy with these future artists from Houston, but in all actuality, Carver High School and their fine supporting visual art educators are already doing this. Ms. McEntire and her wonderful team of artists will be sorely missed, thanks for all the hard work and your wonderful hospitality!

Adios from CMHS,

James Barany
Associate Professor of Foundations
MIAD
jbarany@miad.edu