Brock also acknowledged the resilience of the 2020 and 2021 graduating classes in her remarks, observing how special it was to reunite for an in-person commencement and urging her peers to congratulate themselves not in spite of the challenges they faced, but in light of them. “You may have been tempted by cynicism about the role of art and creative life in relation to this landscape, or found yourself taking stock of all that you thought you knew. Against this backdrop, it would be easy to lose sight of the growth that took place during your time at SVA,” she said. “How we showed up for one another amid grief was remarkable.” She expanded on the role of art in today’s world by quoting her program chair, writer David Levi Strauss: “‘In all of this work, it matters to have a good heart.’. . . To have a good heart, for me, means being able to keep your nerve, to not shy away from what you see, to imagine wild alternatives drawing from other histories and futures when necessary. To have a good heart is to make work of generosity, to show up fully,” she said. “As you continue your life after SVA, wherever you end up, my hope is that you too are compelled by goodness in yourself, your work and others.”

As in his 2022 Commencement remarks, President Rhodes took as the starting point for his speech an often-repeated quote by the late Milton Glaser, the legendary designer, longtime SVA faculty member and former acting chairman of the College’s Board: The purpose of art, Glaser said, is “to inform and delight.” Rhodes proposed two questions for the assembled graduates to consider as they continued their professional lives: “What should the artist inform the audience about? And how should the artist delight the audience?” Rhodes enjoined the alumni to create work that “engender[s] empathy and compassion . . . the creation of art that you have all committed yourselves to is a deeply ethical undertaking,” he said.

John Waters, the event’s highly anticipated keynote speaker, keynote speaker of the College’s virtual 2020 Commencement exercises and the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree, delivered an address that was a cascade of hilarious, irreverent and provocative remarks. He encouraged the graduates to embrace absurdity, take risks and make their own opportunities in an ever-changing world.

“Are all good artists liars and swindlers?” he asked. “Or are they prophets and mind-readers? It’s the same thing.”

For more about SVA commencement activities, how graduates can get their diplomas and other graduation-related topics, visit sva.edu/commencement. For highlights from the ceremony, check out the video and image galleries below.

Congratulations to the SVA classes of 2020 and 2021!

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Graduates from the two classes gathered to celebrate and renowned filmmaker John Waters delivered the keynote address