The dog days of summer may be quiet, but SVA is still offering art all August long in our virtual galleries. Many exhibitions are on view now, including "*We Interrupt This Program…" which features thesis work by the MFA Fine Arts class of 2020 and can be seen through tomorrow, August 6, in the SVA Galleries official virtual space: galleries.sva.edu. Through mediums like painting, video, photography, sculpture, public art interventions and others, this diverse array of work speaks to the turbulence of these dark times. Artists respond to extreme racism, ignorance, hate, injustice and capitalist exploitation, showing solidarity and compassion, ultimately carving out their own social engagement terms with one another.

Extended through Monday, August 17, "cloud 9" is a virtual exhibition of paintings and photographs by BFA Visual & Critical Studies alumni Julia Garcia, Kate Jones, Lichi Wo and Lisa Saeboe that pokes holes in the definition of paradise and explores the nuanced projections of it. The yearning intertwined with paradise lends itself to maladaptive escapism, where one continuously reaches for unattainable bliss. 

Also online: "And Then..." on view through Monday, August 31. "And Then…" is a virtual exhibition of work by MFA Visual Narrative 2020 graduates curated by program faculty members Anelisa Garfunkel and Christina Roussos. The curators say, "These thesis projects represent two years and eight months of grit and determination, false starts and triumphs. While their stories began before this particular moment of public health and political crises, each one offers a new vision of adversity, bringing inspiring, exciting and emotional work into the world, filling a crucial need for sincere storytelling." 

And through Wednesday, September 30, a virtual exhibition from first-year MFA Art Practice candidates, "Failed State," explores the notion of the failing construct of the American dream and capitalist system overall. Produced under the guidance of the program's summer 2020 digital artist-in-residence, Katya Grokhovsky, "Failed State" prioritizes process and experimentation within many mediums, genres, visions and concepts, as well as the home- and hand-made, while analyzing the meaning of an artist-citizen today. This exhibition's work initiates an open-ended discourse around the changing landscape of art, exhibition-making, and the uncertain future of our world at large.

On Thursday, August 20, members of the MPS Branding class of 2020 will present their thesis projects in "Futures of Nearness," a live-streamed event at 2:00pm ET. Each project addresses one of the following topics and will be presented in this order: the workplace, retail, media and entertainment, intimacy and food supply. Tune in and see what the future holds!

Also this month:

• Watch Ja'Tovia Gary's (MFA 2014 Social Documentary Film) experimental documentary The Giverny Document, filmed on location in Harlem and by Claude Monet's gardens in Giverny, France. Gary's film is a multi-textured cinematic poem that meditates on Black women's safety and bodily autonomy.
• Will Warasila (BFA 2015 Photography) published his project "Documenting Deeply" in Oxford American.
• Peter Ash Lee (MPS 2012 Fashion Photography; BFA 2009 Photography) launched Dream Up, a podcast featuring inspiring Asian American creatives.
• The Veteran Art Movement interviewed Hector Membreño-Canales (BFA 2014 Photography) about the inspirations for his extensive project "Index of Patriotic Consumption," and what patriotism means to him.
• And for The New York Times article "Finding Euphoria in Bangkok's Food Scene," Louise Palmberg (BFA 2016 Photography and Video) spent two weeks documenting Bangkok's fresh markets and street vendors.

Find more SVA event details at sva.edu/events.

To see even more work by SVA students and recent graduates, visit sva.edu/svashows, where you'll find a list of current and upcoming SVA Shows thesis events, all of which are taking place online. You can also see past SVA Shows exhibitions, screenings and thesis presentations that can still be viewed online.