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This past Sunday, May 21, the School of Visual Arts held its 2023 commencement exercises. SVA President David Rhodes conferred bachelor’s and master’s degrees on some 1,250 newly minted alumni; two 2023 degree candidates delivered addresses; and award-winning photojournalist (and 2022 SVA Masters Series honoree) Lynsey Addario gave an inspirational keynote speech.

SVA Provost Dr. Christopher Cyphers, who acted as the director of ceremonies, set the afternoon in motion by introducing the event’s BFA-candidate speaker, Brithney Mary Rivera (BFA 2023 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects), and master’s degree-candidate speaker, Nicholas Nutting (MFA 2023 Illustration as Visual Essay).

Rivera, who grew up in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, began by recalling her family’s arrival in New York City after departing Puerto Rico, comparing it to the journey that many students embarked on when they left their homes to pursue their degrees at SVA. “It is through the sacrifice of departing that you and your families have made that we can call ourselves artists,” she said. “Our class is one full of adaptability, courageousness and solidarity. We came to this school hungry.” Rivera stressed the importance of growth—pushing yourself as well as being pushed by the community around you. She reflected on a time when students were isolated by the COVID-19 pandemic and still found ways to stay connected and help each other from across the world. “Art at its very core is collaborative,” she said, noting that it is the students who build SVA’s community and create the change they wanted to see. She ended by sharing two phrases: “’¡Ánimo vamos balante!’ . . . It means, ‘Collect yourselves, bring all that energy within, and we are moving forward,’”and “wepa,” a Boricua word. ‘Wepa’ means, ‘Let us celebrate,’” she said. “‘Wepa’ means, ‘We did it!’”

Nutting echoed Rivera’s celebration of communal support, acknowledging the significant role it plays in every graduate’s journey. “Standing here now, it feels wrong to think of this as an individual achievement,” he said. “I see this moment as an acknowledgement of the support, the generosity and the love at the core of our work.” Regarding the potential—and inevitable—roadblocks ahead in graduates’ lives, he asked, “How do we endure these?” One answer could be found in the teachings of the late artist and MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Chair Marshall Arisman, who died last year. “During critique,” Nutting said, “he was famous for giving his read on your work, telling you what he thought about it, and then following it up with, ‘does that make sense? . . . The world needs those who are not afraid to be sincere, to learn new things and want to give a voice to stories that elevate or reflect our culture. . . . Let’s trust that we know what we’re doing. And if we’re not sure, it’s always okay to ask, ‘Does this make sense?’”

President Rhodes delivered a timely speech focused on the emerging discourse around the development, use and regulation of artificial intelligence. He acknowledged that graduating into a climate where the job market is actively adapting to a new form of automation can seem daunting, but that pessimism is not the only option. “I think it is reasonable to assume it will take AI some time before it is everywhere,” he said, “and in that time, we will be able to bend the technology to fit our needs, rather than have the technology dictate to us.” He asked, “Will we continue the past practice of having the gains of these technologies going to the few, or will the benefits be spread more widely and more equitably?” He answered by encouraging the artists’ involvement in guiding the future of this technology. “There is just no substitute for what you know, what you have gained through your interactions with faculty and peers and the world in which we actually live. AI cannot replace those interactions.” Rhodes closes with three suggestions: “Whenever you can, help one another. Always be kind to one another. And finally, be kind to yourself.”

Addario, the event’s keynote speaker and recipient of this year’s honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from SVA, began her remarks by acknowledging the significance of graduating school as an artist. “You’ve likely spent the last few years thinking about the work you want to create, and the impact you want to make with your art,” she said. “You came to SVA because you knew you wanted to use your art to say something meaningful. Your hopes and dreams and plans for the future are all wrapped up in those intentions.”

As with President Rhodes, Addario considered how the recent developments in AI may affect artists’ futures. “As I struggled to come up with how to shape my talk to you today, I wondered how many commencement speakers of late have used ChatGPT to write their speeches, and if they did—and if I did—how would you even know?” She drew from this an important question about how truth will be discerned moving forward, a task often designated to the artist. “As visual artists you are in some way trying to be truth-tellers,” she said. “And you must think about how you will convey the truth.”

In recalling her own creative journey, Addario recalled a transformative visit to an exhibition of work by the Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, known for his honest, dignified portrayal of vulnerable people and places throughout the world. “Suddenly, I understood how art—my art—could be used to document, to inform and to instigate change,” she said. “How something as simple as a picture could evoke emotions and create a co-action between a subject and viewers who were worlds apart.” 

Addario then offered two lessons that she has learned during her career. “The first is about risk,” she said. “Because at some point in your careers you will all face risk. . . .You’ll question yourself. And you might even ask, ‘Why take such chances? I can play it safe and still find success.’ . . . But I disagree. Accept that risk. Embrace it.”

The second lesson concerned success—the point in life, she said, “where most people would sit back and enjoy the spoils of their hard work. It’s there that you have to double down. Success is not static. Set your goals. And when you accomplish them, push for bigger goals, more challenging goals. . . . Nothing great comes easy.” 

For more about the 2023 SVA Commencement, how graduates can get their diplomas, other graduation-related topics and to watch the full commencement exercises, visit sva.edu/commencement.

Congratulations to the SVA Class of 2023!