This week’s edition of The Five, a roundup of press clips spotlighting the work of SVA community members, celebrates a slew of recent alumni and students who took home awards in design, plus new exhibitions inspired by the work of SVA alumni, and the long and winding careers of others.

1. The world is finally catching up with comedian and drag king Murray Hill (MFA 1997 Photography and Related Media), according to a new profile in The New York Times this week, which highlights the many exciting projects the actor and performer has in the works, from television to film. The piece delves into Hill’s background, the creation of his persona and its many wide-ranging influences, including 1950s Borscht Belt comedians and Brooklyn wiseguys. Most recently appearing in HBO’s Somebody Somewhere and Amy Schumer’s Hulu series Life and Beth, Hill has been staying as busy as ever and will next star in a forthcoming film from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig.

2. A few years ago, BFA Advertising and BFA Design chair Gail Anderson (BFA 1984 Media Arts) created a poster inspired by U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters’s viral statement, “Reclaiming my time,” delivered amid her questioning of then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. That poster is now the namesake and inspiration for a new exhibition at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., curated by Michelle Wilkinson. Anderson’s piece joins a group of other works by Black designers and artists—including Lorna Simpson (BFA 1982 Photography)—exploring themes of Black rest, reclamation and restoration in the face of systemic inequalities across furniture, paintings, collages, magazine covers, posters and wallpaper.

Features

This week’s press roundup spotlights alumni features in ‘The New York Times,’ ‘Print’ and more