Acknowledgements

To realize an MFA Thesis exhibition is a manifestation of collective will, supported by many individuals from across The New School. We wish to acknowledge the heroic efforts of our AMT School Dean Shana Agid and Associate Dean Nadia Williams, as well as our Fine Arts Program Administrator, Jasmine Graham, all of whom worked overtime while maintaining their good humor during a year full of unforeseen challenges. Our thanks also go to President Dwight A. McBride; Provost Renée T. White; Parsons Executive Dean Rachel Schreiber and Director of Events and Special Projects Anthony Curry. Kudos and gratitude to our Making Center staff including Mick Hondlik, Abby Mechanic, Lori Maffucci, Damien Vera, Leah Wolff and Hashem Eaddy, and the entire AMT/Parsons operations team–especially PTF Manager Yasi Ghanbari, Course Planning Manager Maya Valladares, Registrar Kelly Grossi, and our invaluable Academic Advisors, Sasha Gay-Scott and Dr. Angy Estrada. Each of these individuals help students and faculty alike navigate through a complex and sometimes daunting institutional infrastructure, transforming it into a truly inspiring learning environment. 

Amidst the flurry of creative activity made possible through these collaborative efforts, we also value those who help keep our studio spaces safe and clean, including 25 East 13th St. Facilities Manager Ramon Mussenden and Studio Monitors Mauve Martineau and Shay Salehi. Thank you all for your energy, care and expertise in the lead-up to our Thesis exhibition.

On the pedagogical front, we are honored to work alongside an extraordinary teaching team. We applaud all of our talented part-time faculty colleagues who taught in the MFA program this past year, offering their dedication and care: Yasi Alipour, Kamrooz Aram, American Artist, Amber Braverman, Ben Thorpe Brown, Yve Laris Cohen, Sammy Cucher, Shoshana Dentz, Thom Donovan, Kris Grey, Neil Goldberg, Jonah Groeneboer, Terike Haapoja, Carrie Hawks, Sara Jimenez, Rania Lee Khalil, Sowon Kwon, Le’Andra LeSeur, Lenore Malen, Sana Musasama, Ester Partegas, Jessica Rankin, Sharmistha Ray, LJ Roberts, Marc Robinson, Shellyne Rodriquez,  Emilio Rojas, Peter Rostovsky, Mira Schor, Shane Aslan Selzer, Stefanos Tsivopoulos, Cullen Washington, Jr., Saya Woolfalk, and Carrie Yamaoka. We admire your impressive artistic accomplishments and continue to learn from you all on a daily basis! 

Of course, it is our full-time faculty colleagues in Fine Arts who have guided the daily workings of the program every step of the way: Anthony Aziz, Andrea Geyer, Catherine Telford Keogh, Selena Kimball, and Rit Premnath. Their indefatigable labor and camaraderie are rare and invaluable. We also benefit from the wisdom and mentorship offered by Parsons Fine Arts Professor Emeritus Don Porcaro –along with our valued multidisciplinary colleagues Simone Douglas, Tiago Joao Valente, Otto von Busch and Xin Xin—who have generously mentored our MFA students through Independent Studies. We celebrate all of these outstanding faculty members’ deep commitment to keeping our collective pedagogy critical, creative and evolving.

The Kellen Gallery show, An Asterism*, shines because of the exceptional know-how, patience and dedication of the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center’s Assistant Director of the Galleries Daisy Wong and Manager Daniel Chou, and the documentary skills of photographer Martin Seck. Also, a shout out to Zhijun Song and Xianfan Zhu, who assisted with preparing our online catalog, as well as the students who comprised the various MFA Thesis committees: Program Committee members Lily Moebes, Paula Martin, Tianyi Sun and Zhiyi Zhang; Communications  Committee members Austin Casebolt, Lipika Bhargava, Darian Stewart, Ye Cheng; Interpretive Materials Committee Rengu Zhang, carolina muñoz awad, Zoë Fitzpatrick Rogers, Mauve Martineau; and Installation Committee members Kris Peng Siyun, Ghazi Sikander Mirza, Ye Cheng, Zoë Fitzpatrick Rogers, and Rachel Yeoh. Special acknowledgement goes to Lily Moebes and Austin Casebolt, Class of 2022 Representatives, whose gifted leadership qualities have been treasured across the board. 

Finally, we are deeply grateful for the vision, grace and impeccable professionalism of our 2022 Thesis Show curator, Alison Burstein. She has thoughtfully guided the students and assembled an outstanding exhibition that stands as the culmination of her semester-long engagement with our group of talented  international artists. 

In short, a heartfelt thanks to all members of our Parsons community! Together we have helped one another thrive despite  another pandemic year–one characterized by uncertainty and increasing hopefulness.

Lydia Matthews + H Lan Thao Lam
MFA Fine Arts Co-Directors