What is the most important thing you learned from each other throughout your collaboration?

Clare Grafik: Qingyuan is a very thoughtful and honest practitioner, and this was reflected in our discussions about her work and the directions she could take in her practice. I was very impressed with how open she remained about other ideas and points of view.

Qingyuan Han: Working with Clare has been a pleasure. She gave valuable suggestions on my work and offered viewpoints. It encouraged me to rethink my art practice with the series I’m working on. She helped me better understand how to analyze and communicate as a professional curator.

What do you think the “Mentors” program can teach burgeoning artists about working professionally?

Clare Grafik: A mentoring program can offer a different point of view, one-to-one attention, and a nonjudgmental space to talk about your work, but also an opportunity to gain advice from individuals working within the field beyond the educational sphere.

Qingyuan Han: From my perspective, the program offers a rare opportunity for us as mentees to make that first contact with the inner workings of the professional world. To obtain the sensitivity of creating new work, we must constantly receive criticism from others. In school, we can receive peer reviews and criticism from professors, but we need to set the alarm in our heads that one day we must work and face the “real” art world.

How did the mentorship experience ultimately impact the final work in the exhibition?

Qingyuan Han: Communicating with Clare helped me to foresee what I would present in the final work. It is usually hard for me to decide which work and how many works I want to put in a show as the photographer. With her professional curator perspective, Clare guided me over any questions I had and offered me meaningful suggestions rather than only guidelines. We visualized the final work together during the second meeting and collaboratively made the final result come true.

Curated by department chair Joseph Maida, “Mentors” is on view from Tuesday, March 14, through Monday, March 27, at the SVA Chelsea Gallery. “Mentors” is part of SVA Shows, a culmination of end-of-year and thesis projects by students that includes film screenings, talks, exhibitions and more. For more photos and information on “Mentors,” click here.

BFA Photography and Video's “Mentors” exhibition is on view starting March 14.