After two years of virtual celebrations, this past Sunday, May 22, the School of Visual Arts held its first in-person commencement ceremony since 2019. SVA President David Rhodes conferred bachelor’s and master’s degrees on some 1,130 newly minted alumni; 2022 graduates of the College’s BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects and MFA Illustration as Visual Essay programs delivered addresses; and renowned and best-selling writer Roxane Gay gave a poignant keynote speech.

SVA Provost Dr. Christopher Cyphers, who acted as the director of ceremonies, set the afternoon in motion by introducing the event’s bachelor’s degree-candidate speaker, Nelson Mai (BFA 2022 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects), and master’s degree-candidate speaker, Bernardo Rodriguez (MFA 2022 Illustration as Visual Essay).

Mai began by touching on how his experience as a child of Chinese immigrant parents has shaped him and established an appreciation for family within him. This appreciation carried over to the found family he forged at the College. “SVA became the foundation for a new family—one we chose ourselves, and like my parents, we created new memories and new rituals. . . . We become each other’s support systems when home is so far for many.” As a co-founder of the Asian American Student Union at SVA, he reflected on the community’s response to gun violence, police brutality and anti-Asian hate as the ethnic clubs at SVA came together to create the Multicultural Student Union, and thanked the student organizations, SVA DEI Director Jarvis Watson and everyone who played a role in creating a safer space for students and faculty of color on campus.

Rodriguez, who moved to New York from the Dominican Republic at the age of 7, highlighted art-making’s role in his own communication with the world around him. “For as long as I can remember,” he said, “drawing has been the universal language I have used to connect with the world. . . . The arts were a bridge that allowed me to communicate with others without English.” He spoke about the instinctual nature of artistic expression and how each artist has a unique language. “All of our individual experiences have led us down similar yet distinct paths . . . each a work of art that bares our soul and speaks our heart.” Touching on the hardships all students have faced during their time at SVA, he ended with a Dominican aphorism: “With patience and calm; even a donkey can climb a palm tree,” interpreting it to mean, “Your best work is still in front of you, and with patience and dedication, your creations will emerge from the fog.”

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Writer Roxane Gay delivered the keynote address at the College’s first in-person graduation ceremony since 2019