Exhibition

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “RE-ELECT: Old Presidents, New Candidates,” featuring reconceptualized and redesigned presidential campaigns for former Presidents of the United States, as the campaign would appear in today’s world. Inspired by the upcoming presidential election, first-year students in the MFA Design Department created campaigns for 20 presidents ranging from George Washington to George W. Bush. The exhibit includes campaign headquarter environments that display both campaign paraphernalia and conceptual presidential podiums. Curated by 3D Design Chair Kevin O’Callaghan, the exhibition is on view April 30 - May 26 at the SVA Gallery, 209 East 23 Street, New York City.

Below is a list of the students and the corresponding presidential campaign that they designed (chronologically by President).

Kathleen Fitzgerald – George Washington
Justin Colt – William Henry Harrison
Francesco Izzo – Franklin Pierce
Lizzy Showman – Abraham Lincoln
YeonSoo Kim – Grover Cleveland
Jungmin Kim – William McKinley
Samia Kallidis – Theodore Roosevelt
Janine Toro – William H. Taft
Jose Fesneda – Warren G. Harding
Makiko Higashi – Calvin Coolidge
Cecil Mariani – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Miao Zhao – Harry S. Truman
Jinsook Bae – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Maryam Allee – John F. Kennedy
Thai Truong – Richard M. Nixon
Jenny Rosbruch – Gerald R. Ford
Marcie Lawrence – Jimmy Carter
Jennifer Lee – Ronald Reagan
Shawn Sprockett – Bill Clinton
Nada Seet – George W. Bush

The MFA Design Department, now known as Designer as Author + Entrepreneur, launched in 1998 as an alternative to traditional masters’ programs that emphasize form over content. The MFA in Design provides the education, inspiration, and experience to insure that students transcend the common definition of designers as service providers to become individual and collaborative authors. As they become productive members of the larger media world, the community of MFA Design alumni grows more influential each year.