Kanye West meets with GSD students during impromptu visit

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s African American Student Union invited musician/artist Kanye West to the School Sunday, November 17. West met with students and then toured the School. While visiting, West addressed the students who had gathered. After his remarks, West distributed tickets to his concert in Boston that evening.

The following statement was put out by Harvard GSD – African American Student Union:

“The Harvard Graduate School of Design’s African American Student Union wrote Kanye West a letter in response to a series of interviews Kanye delivered referencing his growing interest in design and his experiences with race as an artist in the United States. Recently, we received word from Kanye West stating that he would be in town for a concert and that he wanted to meet with a small core of our group’s leaders. Kanye led a very thoughtful conversation regarding the trajectory of design discourse and practice as well as the under-representation of minorities in design disciplines.”

Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of Harvard GSD, commented: “We are thrilled that Kanye West decided to visit Harvard Graduate School of Design and has taken such interest in our students, their work and design in general. I share Mr. West’s concern that minorities are underrepresented in design disciplines. We hope that Mr. West’s visit will raise awareness of design education amongst students of color and will inspire others to recognize the important role of designers in re-imagining and improving the spaces in which we live.”