For the past 6 years Julia Gorton, Assistant Professor of Communication Design and Director of AAS Graphic Design, has collaborated on a variety of projects with Jackson Shafer, a Literature and Theater teacher at Essex Street Academy, a public high school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Graphic Design 1 students worked in partnership with the students from the high school. Last year’s GD1 and Essex Street Class collaboration resulted in a publication based on the Shakespeare play Hamlet. While photo shoots happened in the student’s own neighborhoods, concept development, team planning and critical feedback happened on site at Essex.

Julia’s current GD1 class is collaborating on a series of posters on the subjects of compassion, community, and gender identity.

See more images from the Hamlet project below.