ABOUT
It all started when…
our founder, Jocelyn Chen, noticed a gap in the visual arts ecosystem in Detroit: there were no clear pathways to the financially stable careers in creative design for the middle and high school students of Detroit and Pontiac.
Beneath the veneer of a buzzing startup scene and the full-fledged revitalization effort underway, city poverty persists. In Detroit, the child poverty rate is greater than 50%,[1] and the population within city limits hovers around 85% persons of color.[2] Within arts education, artistically inclined students lacked the means to pursue their interests professionally.
Jocelyn’s experience in the design industry, belief in the power of education, and love for visual arts led her on a path to connect students and create access to the creative design field through exposure, mentorship, and financial assistance. After months of research, and countless coffee meetings with stakeholders (with a few too many parking tickets in the city), she founded DESIGNCONNECT in September 2018. The well-regarded board of directors, clear vision, and specific mission statement guide the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization’s programming and impact.
In January of 2019, DESIGNCONNECT launched its programming at the Detroit School of Arts (DSA), a Detroit public high school in Midtown. By 2025, the organization will increase the depth of its initiatives with DSA by supporting a design curriculum covering five creative disciplines - graphic design, architecture, industrial design, entertainment design and fashion design, and expand its partnership to additional Detroit public schools.
[1] University of Michigan Initiative for Poverty Solutions
[2] U.S. Census Bureau
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/detroitcitymichigan,US/PST045219