This month brings a dynamic lineup with thesis shows, interactive installations, and inspiring conversations with leading creatives.
Evan White, Midjourney Rebrand, 2025, billboard. On view at “Début 25.”
Evan White, Midjourney Rebrand, 2025, billboard. On view at “Début 25.”
April builds on the momentum of thesis season at SVA, showcasing an array of student exhibitions, performances, and lectures that highlight innovation and creativity across disciplines. This month’s programming delves into the intersections of art and activism, immersive storytelling, and entrepreneurial design, with must-see showcases in fine art, animation, advertising, and more. SVA’s lecture series continues to bring influential voices from photography, curatorial practice, and architecture, offering fresh perspectives on contemporary visual culture.
EXHIBITIONS
SVA Academic Affairs and the Office of the Provost present “TO LOVE–TO DIE; TO FIGHT. TO LIVE. Art and Activism in the Time of AIDS,” an exhibition honoring all forms of art-based activism amid the AIDS crisis, 40 years after the idea for the iconic AIDS Quilt was conceived. Organized by alumnus and SVA Academic Affairs operations manager Michael Severance (BFA 2011 Fine Arts, MFA 2013 Art Practice) in collaboration with the New York City AIDS Memorial, “TO LOVE–TO DIE; TO FIGHT. TO LIVE. Art and Activism in the Time of AIDS” honors those who fought hard for their survival, dignity, and respect in a time when activism and art collided into spectacular actions.
AIDS Quilt Block 2348. On view at “TO LOVE–TO DIE; TO FIGHT. TO LIVE. Art and Activism in the Time of AIDS.”
AIDS Quilt Block 2348. On view at “TO LOVE–TO DIE; TO FIGHT. TO LIVE. Art and Activism in the Time of AIDS.”
Through Saturday, April 5 | “WITNESS” | SVA Flatiron Project Space
BFA Visual and Critical Studies presents “WITNESS,” an exhibition by former and current members of the School of Visual Arts community—alumni, faculty, and staff—who have addressed or continue to address the impact of HIV/AIDS in their work, in their lives, and our shared history. It also includes work by four SVA colleagues who were lost to the virus. The statements and artworks presented remind us of our strength and our sorrow, our fears, our loss, our anger, and our hope. “WITNESS” is part of “TO LOVE—TO DIE; TO FIGHT. TO LIVE. Art and Activism in the Time of AIDS”—a series of SVA lectures, screenings, and exhibitions.
Through Tuesday, April 29 | “Début 25” | SVA Gramercy Gallery
The annual exhibition of multidisciplinary work by BFA Design and BFA Advertising students. This year’s spring salon displays the breadth of the department’s offerings, from branding, motion graphics, and augmented reality to interaction and traditional and emerging advertising. Thanks to a suite of interactive displays, visitors will be immersed in the game design world and test their skills with complex digital levels created by students in the Godot game engine. The exhibition also features three-dimensional design work, including creations from the new Wilde Lab fabrication space, one-of-a-kind guitars from the 3D Design students, packaging prototypes, zines, books, and more.
SVA will present “BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show,” an exhibition of senior work by 252 BFA Illustration and BFA Comics graduating students, curated by Viktor Koen, chair of both departments; Lauren Panepinto, vice president & creative director of Orbit Books at Hachette; Rani Som, award-winning illustrator, comics artist and educator; and Amy Reeder, renowned comics artist and educator. Students in the BFA Illustration and BFA Comics programs at SVA focus on fundamentals, expert advice, peer group dynamics, and the development of a unique artistic voice, all of which contribute to an artist’s determination to realize their ideas by making pictures and telling stories that matter.
Ada Shen, Untitled, 2024-25, digital image, 13 x 19 inches. On view at “BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show.”
Ada Shen, Untitled, 2024-25, digital image, 13 x 19 inches. On view at “BFA Comics + BFA Illustration: Senior Show.”
BFA 2D Animation and BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects present an exhibition of printed artworks by 30 student artists. Curated by Patrick Skelton, BFA Animation and Visual Effects faculty member, and Nick Piscitelli, BFA Animation faculty and department coordinator, the exhibition brings the unseen layers of both 2D and 3D animation into focus and celebrates the intricacies of their production. These behind-the-scenes steps shape the final product but are rarely seen by audiences and demonstrate that animation is more than just its polished final frames—it is an evolving, collaborative art form that requires many skilled hands over many stages of production.
MA Curatorial Practice presents year-end exhibitions by program fellows. This exhibition is curated by Daniela Marín Aristizábal. Artists include Daniel Blanco, Juliana Góngora, Julianne Swartz, Gema Rupérez, Ícaro Zorbár and Juan David Figueroa.
Tuesday, April 22 – Tuesday, May 6 | “MFA Fine Art Thesis Exhibition 2025” | SVA Chelsea Gallery
MFA Fine Arts presents an exhibition of work by the class of 2025, curated by Rachel Gugelberger and organized by program coordinator Isabelle Schipper.
BFA Visual & Critical Studies presents an exhibition of work by seniors of the program curated by SVA faculty member Amy Wilson (BFA 1995 Fine Arts).
Split diagonal image, from left to right: Hayden Glover, A 19th-Century Revival: Inspired by the National Library of Spain, 2025, video, 25 seconds; Eni Jiahe Xu, The Green Cradle, 2024, digital illustration, 5266 × 2170 pixels. On view at “Still Moving: Before the Final Frames.”
Split diagonal image, from left to right: Hayden Glover, A 19th-Century Revival: Inspired by the National Library of Spain, 2025, video, 25 seconds; Eni Jiahe Xu, The Green Cradle, 2024, digital illustration, 5266 × 2170 pixels. On view at “Still Moving: Before the Final Frames.”
EVENTS
Tuesday, April 1, 3:00 – 5:00pm | Beatrice Glow | 133/141 West 21st Street, room 101C
Beatrice Glow is a multidisciplinary American artist of Taiwanese heritage. Her practice spans sculpture, installations, textiles, olfactory experiences, virtual reality sculpting, and participatory performances. Bridging public history with just futures, she questions historical forms of visual and material culture, often in collaboration with culture bearers, researchers and museums to reinterpret collections through contemporary and community-based lenses.
MPS Art Therapy presents a talk with faculty member Joshua B. Brancheau, MPS, ATR-BC, LCAT, on leveraging Polyvagal Theory to guide art therapy interventions. This lecture will introduce participants to Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory (PVT), and its application in art therapy. The autonomic nervous system will be established as the foundation of our adaptive responses to trauma and be expanded upon as a key component of PVT. Existing PVT models will be explored for their value as tools for psychoeducation with clients. The lecture will conclude with case materials that further illustrate how PVT can be utilized to guide interventions.
Tuesday, April 8, 7:00 – 8:30pm | i3 Photo Lecture: Jai Lennard | 136 West 21st Street, Room 418F
MPS Digital Photography presents a talk with New York-based portrait photographer Jai Lennard (BFA 2008 Photography). Through his photography, Lennard tells stories about perseverance, triumph, legacy, love, and strength is the common thread throughout his diverse body of work. With a background as a performing artist, Lennard’s deep respect for all art forms offers him a way to connect with his subjects and work seamlessly with them from behind the camera.
Wednesday, April 9, 9:00 – 10:00am | The Curatorial Roundtable: Astrid Peterle (Vienna) | Online
MA Curatorial Practice presents a talk with Astrid Peterle.
Thursday, April 10, 5:30 – 7:30pm | Speaker Series: Let Passion be Your Guide | SVA Chelsea Gallery
MFA Products of Design presents a talk with Chelsea Andersson, a maker, miniaturist, and prop designer based in Connecticut. Andersson spent nearly a decade as a licensed landscape architect until her passion for creating models and miniatures led to a career in building scale replicas. Through her studio ChelseaMakes, she offers custom-made miniature replicas, stop motion and video content creation, and a line of DIY modern dollhouse kits. She has created custom content and miniatures for dozens of brands, including Warby Parker, Redfin, L'Oréal, and Barbie.
Thursday, April 17, 5:30 – 8:30pm | VENTURE 2025 | SVA Theatre
MFA Design presents a showcase of entrepreneurial venture projects by 19 graduating students at the annual Venture Forum.
Tuesday, April 22, 6:30 – 8:30pm | Anne Anlin Cheng, Women on Walls: Architecture, Projection, and Envy | 133/141 West 21st Street, room 101C
This talk by cultural theorist, Princeton Professor of English, and historian Anne Anlin Cheng takes a collage made by the early 20th-century architect Eileen Gray as a springboard from which to examine the submerged history of racialized gender in the making of modern architectural theory. Gray’s enigmatic, previously never-before-shown collage triggers a series of revelations that in turn shed light on the birth of modern architectural history, theory, and the roles that racial-gendered projections and envy played in their making.
Tuesday, April 22, 7:00 – 8:30pm | i3 Photo Lecture: Ashok Sinha | 136 West 21st Street, Room 418F
MPS Digital Photography presents a talk with Ashok Sinha, an architectural and fine art photographer based in New York City who fell in love with architecture while photographing Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s masterpiece Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro on a travel assignment. His photographs have been published by editorial outlets such as The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper, and Interior Design, and exhibited at The Museum of the City of New York, the International Center of Photography, and The Royal Photographic Society.
Andina Marie Osorio, Untitled (She Loves Me), 2024. Image courtesy of the artist. On view at “MA Curatorial Practice Year-End Exhibition.”
Andina Marie Osorio, Untitled (She Loves Me), 2024. Image courtesy of the artist. On view at “MA Curatorial Practice Year-End Exhibition.”
Wednesday, April 23, 9:00 – 10:00am | The Curatorial Roundtable: James Voorhies (Miami) | Online
MA Curatorial Practice presents a talk with James Voorhies.
BFA Visual & Critical Studies presents a series of performances curated by SVA faculty member Lizzie Scott and Anthony O'Donnell.
Sunday, April 27, 11:00am – 5:00pm | MFA Computer Arts 2025 Thesis Screening | SVA Theatre
MFA Computer Arts presents a thesis screening event at the SVA Theatre featuring short talks and videos of graduating students’ work.
MA Curatorial Practice presents a talk with Henriette Huldisch.
To celebrate and showcase the incredible puppets and sets created by students from different majors, BFA Animation is hosting its very first stop-motion open studios. Exhibiting student artists include BFA Animation students Schantelle Alonzo, Gina Flora, Addison Fujimoto, Smila Gaulkin, Ted Li, Teo Nalani, Audrey Vega, Yilin Xiao; and Illustration majors Sihao Chen, and Circle Zhu.