Thursday, December 1 – Saturday, January 14, 2023 | “The Book Show” | SVA Gramercy Gallery

An exhibition from the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay class of 2023. The students were tasked with creating books in a format of their choice, whether it be illustrated poetry, graphic novel, children’s book, or essay. Curated by faculty member and program alumnus Anna Raff, the works in this year’s exhibition encompass a variety of themes—narrative fantasy, commentaries on our present-day reemergence into public spaces, reconsiderations of times past and advancement into unknown futures. Notably, the class of 2023 was the last to be taught by the program's founder and chair, Marshall Arisman, who died in April 2022 at the age of 83. Their work reflects his sage wisdom, kindness and generosity, which guided decades of students as they forged their way into the world while building a vast community of illustrators.

Thursday, December 1 – Saturday, January 14, 2023 | “An Infrastructure for Restorative Justice” | SVA Flatiron Gallery

An exhibition of BFA Interior Design student work, “An Infrastructure for Restorative Justice,” explores a framework for designers of the built environment working to end mass incarceration, and is curated by Darrick Borowski and Rik Ekstrom. Large banners line the gallery’s walls, each displaying projects focused on design solutions concerning restorative justice, and in one room, two projects have been realized and fabricated in 3D. A second room showcases projected video from footage during protests in reaction to the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, as well as other examples of systemic racism and violence. Furniture is placed throughout the space and numerous copies of a corresponding text are available to read.

EVENTS

Monday, December 5, 6:30 – 8:00pm | The World in a Grain of Sand: Postcolonial Literature and Radical Universalism | 133/141 West 21st Street, Room 101C

BFA Visual & Critical Studies and the SVA Honors Program present writer Nivedita Majumdar to discuss The World in a Grain of Sand, her essential new work of literary criticism that offers a framework for reading literature from the global South. In her book, Majumdar goes against the grain of dominant theories in cultural studies, especially postcolonial theory, by critiquing the valorization of the local in cultural theories typically accompanied by a rejection of universal categories, viewed as Eurocentric projections.

Tuesday, December 13, 7:00 – 8:30pm | i3 Photo Lecture: Amy Touchette | 136 West 21st Street

MPS Digital Photography presents a talk with Amy Touchette, a Brooklyn-based photographer specializing in street portraits, as part of its i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration lecture series. Trained at the International Center of Photography, where she now teaches, Touchette's photographs are exhibited and published internationally, including at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the book Women Street Photographers (2021). Touchette’s latest series, “Personal Ties: Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn,” was published as a book of the same title by Schilt in 2022.

Wednesday, December 14, 12:00 – 1:00pm | The Algorithmic State: Art in the Expanded Technological Field | Online

MA Curatorial Practice presents artists Agnieszka Kurant and Jenna Sutela, along with other guests, to speak with faculty member Noam Segal on rapidly evolving digital-art practices, data harvesting, the expanded field of new social sculpture, new forms of art objects and more.

Wednesday, December 14, 7:00 – 9:00pm | The Life and Times of Mark Surface | 133/141 West 21st Street, Room 101C

SVA Continuing Education presents artist Stephen Powers to discuss 30 years of painting in the streets, the galleries and the museums of the world, followed by a Q&A. Powers began as a graffiti writer but quickly found ways to dialogue with communities, first locally and now internationally. He is known for large-scale mural projects like “Love Letter,” which was first painted across 50 walls in Philadelphia and has now grown to be part of 15 cities worldwide. He has also had a long gallery and museum practice, showing at Deitch Projects, the Brooklyn Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Thursday, December 15, 5:00 – 9:00pm | MFA Fine Arts Fall 2022 Open Studios | 133/141 West 21st Street

Meet artists from around the world from SVA’s MFA Fine Arts program and get a look at their works in progress. Entry is timed by the hour to ensure everyone’s safety. Registration for a time slot is encouraged.

Features

A long-awaited BFA Interior Design: Built Environments show, the annual MFA Illustration as Visual Essay “Book Show,” and the last chance to see the Masters series fill out the month’s calendar at the School of Visual Arts