Earlier this week, three exhibitions opened simultaneously as part of SVA Galleries’ new juried exhibition series, “Next Up,” a showcase for exceptional work by students at the School of Visual Arts.

Under the “Next Up” umbrella, “Sun Chasers,” “Switchboard,” and “Reverberations” are now on view at the SVA Flatiron Gallery, SVA Chelsea Gallery, and SVA Gramercy Gallery, respectively, and are intended to be viewed as three parts that make up a whole. The shows’ artists represent more than a dozen undergraduate and graduate programs at the College, and the work on view was selected by a group of notable alumni from all corners of the art and design industries.

While juried exhibitions have been an SVA tradition for over three decades, SVA Galleries Director Tyson Skross felt there was room for improvement on how best to showcase such a wide range of talent.

“Since SVA’s campus is spread out across Manhattan, with our Chelsea gallery a 20-minute walk from the nearest building, we wanted to create a continuous event to raise awareness of our amazing students’ work and SVA’s fabulous exhibition spaces,” he says. Below, he walks us through how “Next Up” was dreamed up and what makes it a compelling new take on a beloved College tradition.

What is the biggest difference between this new iteration of SVA’s juried exhibitions and how it was done in the past, and why was it time for a change?

The most significant change is consolidating all of our juried exhibitions into one big campus event. Previously, they were spread out throughout the year, with several taking place during the summer, which made participation difficult. Over the years, they had also been moved, shortened, or split up to make the exhibition calendar more efficient for department exhibitions, which ultimately led to a drop in awareness of and engagement with them from our students. We wanted to change that. We also updated them to accepted standards and provided more exposure to all students who apply by inviting notable alumni in various fields to review the work.

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SVA Galleries Director Tyson Skross talks about the new exhibition series, which showcases student work spanning more than a dozen undergraduate and graduate programs.