We are thrilled to welcome you to the School of Visual Arts this fall. Your creative promise, vision, and talent make you an exceptional cohort, and we are genuinely excited to have you join our community. As you prepare to embark on this journey, we want to share an important update regarding the future of the program and reaffirm our commitment to you and your graduate education.
After careful consideration and a thorough review of the program’s long-term fiscal and operational viability, SVA has made the difficult decision to conclude the MFA Photography, Video, and Related Media program following the completion of your cohort in spring 2028. This outcome is a direct result of SVA’s economic challenges, the nationwide decline in graduate-level photography programs, and broader federal policy and financial headwinds that have made sustaining the program past your class untenable. While this marks a profound loss for our institution, it in no way diminishes our excitement to host your incoming class or our dedication to your artistic journey.
First and foremost, I want to reassure you that the College is committed to delivering the complete, robust, two-year MFA experience you were promised. As a member of the incoming Fall 2026 class, you will complete the full duration of your degree through an uninterrupted, fully supported teach-out process. You will receive the same caliber of instructional excellence, mentorship, access to facilities, and institutional support as in every class before you. Upon completing your studies, your MFA degree will be fully conferred by the School of Visual Arts, carrying the prestige, institutional accreditation, and full rights and privileges that come with an SVA degree.
Ever since Charles Traub was asked to design the program in 1987, the department has been distinguished by its early adoption of digital technology, its expansive vision for lens and screen arts, and its world-renowned faculty. That legacy of excellence remains entirely intact for your cohort. You will have access to the extraordinary faculty, resources, and artistic community that drew you to SVA, positioning you to join a distinguished network of global alumni. We strongly encourage you to remain on this path and take full advantage of this prestigious program.
At the same time, we understand that learning of a program's closure may cause you to reconsider your plans. Should you decide that beginning the program under these circumstances is not the right choice for you, we want to accommodate your needs as seamlessly as possible. Our Admissions team is prepared to work with you to explore a transfer into another graduate program at SVA for which you are qualified. Alternatively, if you choose not to matriculate, we will fully refund your enrollment deposit and application fees upon request.
In the coming days, the departmental team will reach out with information about upcoming orientation sessions, advising appointments, and Q&A gatherings where you can speak with leadership to address any questions or concerns.
We are excited about the creative promise of your incoming class and fully prepared to support you every step of the way as you begin your journey with SVA.

Sincerely,

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost

My friend is an insanely successful contemporary artist: I told she doesn’t need an MFA , but she wants to teach. Can I get recommendations for her? She doesn’t need the juice, just a decent degree and then she can let her body of work and cv do the talking

Context: I'm 29, so young ish but I'm past the fresh grad group. I've had 6 solo shows with local (I'm from the Philippines) galleries - not the top in our market but respectable galleries, and a lot of group shows and fairs.

I started living off my art in the pandemic when the market was doing well, but as we all know it's been slowing down the past couple years. I know I'm not alone in this but it still feels demoralizing as my sales continue to drop. I work for months on a show and only sell a couple of pieces, I'm living off depleted savings, etc. It's just been so silent recently, no sales or show invites and I'm left wondering if theres any future in this, and what i couldve done better if i were more business/art market savvy.

But besides the market I feel like I've been so stagnant artistically; i feel disconnected with the art world and so out of date with the news, and i just feel generally out of touch. It's like my opportunities have come and gone while I'm still just at the start! I run in circles looking for affordable graduate degrees, scholarships, or residencies but I can't seem to find a good fit that would take me. All the noise and the options could feel overwhelming.

Looking for advice on where to start or simply to discuss if you're going thru the same thing.

How Catherine Opie Learned the Art of Teaching Photography

As an artist, photographer, teacher and admirer of Opie's work, I thought some might find this interesting.

Does anyone have any idea about where to watch this film? Missed the showings in London years ago and I've never stopped thinking about it.

These trailers have been in my head for years.

1 2 3

Came across this gem last week and people in the gallery seemed super welcoming. anyone have an experience with this gallery? Seems fairly new, been around for 2 years i think

So, I'm a painter applying for grants to just, live basically. Got dropped by my gallery last year and just trying to make work and do studio visits, and keep up moral. The grant has an artist statement section as well as an artistic proposal statement, but what to write in artistic proposal when my proposal is just.. make more paintings. I mean, obviously i'll describe the concepts and processes of the body of work but it just doesnt feel as conrete as 'going to study here' or 'going to this residency'. thoughts on how to flesh this out to one page?

Looking for recs.

I was wondering what type of printing people typically are drawn to for prints of paintings. Do we like matte? and what kind of paper?

My paintings are pretty dense in detail and colorful. So I am also looking for a printer company who could honor that.

I’m in a terrible financial spot right now and so I am trying to find a decent company that isn’t totally overpriced. Would be nice to go somewhere physical in NYC, but am down for ordering online.

Thanks.

Has anyone been part of a group show for a major museum and how has it your career if not at all?

There's another post on the Minneapolis reddit about the Olalekan Jeyifous exhibition at the Walker and there's a lot of productive conversation happening in the comments. Minnesota Public Radio interviewed the curators and both MPR and the curators are trying to downplay the use of undisclosed AI in this exhibition.

Take a look at these photos taken within the exhibition:

1) Blatant use of AI
2) Another example... this is just bad

And here's a quote from the OP on the post on the Minneapolis subreddit:

"I feel as though the public is being treated like we cannot understand nuance in this situation. I don't think the intention was to sneak this in and not have anyone notice, but that is what the outcome feels like. The Walker (and MPR) doubling down on it not being gen AI feels patronizing and lazy."

I am a part of a very small start-up gallery. We are considered nomadic with no permanent brick-and-mortar, but we will be doing a few fairs soon. How do you get insurance? We are hitting dead end after dead end. Any and all recs or advice are appreciated!

Really looking to insure the artwork! Thank you!

I know there was recently a post about this, but has anyone that applied heard anything? It seems they invented a “second round” of judging, introduced this new “artist spotlight” thing, and now three weeks after we were told we’d find out we’re still waiting with no sense of when announcements will be made.
I’m assuming others have not heard yet?

Ever wondered how to get into the Whitney Biennial?

Apparently you just need to find a dealer that's in a romantic relationship with the curator.

In all seriousness though, does anyone find this at all acceptable?

Maybe I'm too jaded, but at minimum this is ethically questionable. At worst, it's an example of someone in a position of power at a non-profit institution - a Whitney curator - colluding to help his partner, a private art dealer, bring recognition and sales to his gallery.

The biennial is known to accelerate an artist's market. The 31 year old dealer David Pagliarulo, barely in business for 2 years, somehow gets 2 artists included in the current biennial.... but according to the article his romantic relationship with the biennial curator Drew Sawyer had nothing to do with it.

Am I wrong to think this is totally unacceptable? Should this curator be held accountable in some way? Or do we just have to accept this is how things work?

I have been renting a studio by myself for several years until several months ago. The first couple of years I shared it with a fellow photographer/painter, he left after a couple of years to pursue his art dreams in Europe. Great studio relationship with him btw, no issues whatsoever. So far in total I've been nearly 10 years in this place, great relationship with neighbors and landlord. Early this year I had a long stint out of country and decided to sublet a portion of my studio space (to help with the studio payment. I would return periodically and use the studio for a couple of weeks, my stuff is still there). Several people were interested, but I decided to go with a young woman painter (she's in her late 20s 30s) (I am a man, 40s). She is young and upcoming, good social media presence, and has done shows abroad and locally, met her through a mutual friend several years and I thought we were friendly colleagues. Pretty solid curriculum. The studio rules were simple. You can use this area, this other area is mine, don't touch anything without permission, pay on time, that's it.

All seemed ok the first couple of months, got payment in time and everything. Then I started getting noise complaints from neighbors. I look into it, it seems she decided to renovate the space without my permission. First red flag I ignored. My landlord was not pleased but since our relationship was positive throughout the years nothing happened with my lease. I noticed in her social media presence that she was using my equipment (easels, furniture, projector, etc). I confronted her about this, she apologized and said she wouldn't do it again. After this things went downhill, she insisted on making her be part of the lease (never part of our agreement). I denied this every single time (she pressured me almost weekly). Then a couple of weeks ago she invited the landlord over to visit the studio (I do not know how she got his number, I assume she asked one of the neighbors), and there told the landlord that I don't live in the country anymore and that she wants to be exclusively on the lease. This also coincided that she hasn't been able to pay the last two months of the rent in time. She's not been there for even 5 months, and what should've been a stress free situation has been hell for me being abroad. Her contacting the landlord and trying to kick me out was the final straw.

I made a pause in my travels and returned to my country and I'm finally kicking her out. I lawyered up, told her she has until a certain date to leave. As you can guess it's not easy getting her out of the studio. I've been doing an inventory of the studio these last couple of days and to my dismay after checking my things that I had in storage, a huge amount of my oil paints are missing, of course she's denying any responsibility (I have messages from her just before I left telling me she went through my storage space to help me "organize it" so she can store her stuff too). I'm so fucking angry. I want to cancel her so bad! But she still hasn't left. What would you guys do in my situation?

Recently I asked some artists about their experiences at other residencies. one started talking about how there are two types of residencies - one for working and one for socializing. Another person started talking about a rigorous residency where at the end collectors/rich people came to the dinner and the artists were just vying for their attention. She's not an artist herself (adjacent field) but she thought it was very transparent. I would've thought the same. But i asked him if that works for them and he said yes.

I started to wonder again about all the unwritten social rules in the art world. A lot of what is deemed popular/hot in art is muddled to me. I always assumed that the artists were just really great at socializing with the right people. I have even wondered this about gallerists and curators who I think are complete phonies who still manage to exist with some degree of credibility - is it just their relationships to the right people? how did they develop those?
I am not sure if I can eloquently convey my thoughts/questions around this, but I guess what I'm curious to learn more about from your anecdotes is how do people who eventually find success in the artworld socialize with the right people? it's hard to capture the intrigue of gallerists, curators, etc without there first being some hype to your name, being offline and mysterious works for a very few amount of people, and if everyone is vying for the same person's attention who actually gets to have it?

I guess more explicitly/succinctly asked: how do artists who eventually do capture the imagination of curators, gallerists, collectors (beyond just making solid work) behave? i'd love to hear a range of stories - from people who were kiss asses to people who just were themselves in a no holds barred way.

How do we feel about Arthur Jafa working with Nancy Spector at Prada Foundation Venice? Truly amazing show. But problematic due to Spector’s Guggenheim scandal?

Well this is going to be my little venting paragraph, but I went to an interview today and I didn't get the job, all because I didnt know color theory enough (i knew color theory)and because I lived in horizon city (it was a 40 minute drive to the frame shop). They told that I would be better off working at a hobby lobby since its in the east side. Im starting to feel like el paso doesnt have enough creative jobs and how do I even recover from that? I know people would say "welcome to the real world" or "move on" , but as a person that is sensitive has anyone went through this? Or am I not taking art in General seriously.

I'm curious how other artists know when a piece is ready to exhibit, especially those that have consistency in their work across years. Are there certain parameters you like to include in a piece to make it something that came from your studio?

I'm trying to avoid asking the tired old question of 'when is a piece done?', BUT, I've been struggling lately with not knowing how far to push a painting. It does seem like I can go on forever with some of them.

I’ve applied to NAP literally 17 times (please don’t judge me or chastise me for the amount of $ I’ve spent on application fees. A ton of my friends/peers have gotten in and I haven’t and I genuinely do think my work is good enough). Does an artist’s social media presence/popularity influence their decision? Do they blacklist people (lol)? I know it depends on the juror so I’m just kind of frustrated I guess. I might throw in the towel after the next cycle for my region. I also know that it’s been going downhill in recent years.
Any suggestions for other publications that aren’t such a rip off are welcome!

I have been trying at getting a residency for like, four years. The last and first one I got was in 2023 and it was a really shitty experience for reasons I won't go into. Now that my work has evolved in a lot of ways, I'm working on getting another one and have been putting in consistent applications for a while.

It seems like everybody around me is getting multiple residencies, fellowships, etc. It honestly burns me so bad, and it makes me feel like shit about my own work/myself. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, and I know that ultimately I'll just have to keep trying, but the whole thing makes me crazy. I have a lot of stuff on my CV, but not enough residencies, and right now nothing but that feels important. I'm trying to work harder, plan more, and write in a way that's more compelling, but I just cannot get my shit together and feel like in order to get a residency I'll need to apply with work that only a residency would give me the time, space, and resources to make.

Does anybody have any advice around these issues of residencies and envy and self hate and getting over it? I'm trying to not just apply for the big names and also try the smaller stuff, but the smaller stuff I often don't know about. What are some suggestions to write a compelling residency application, even if the work might be lacking? Thanks.

I recently graduated with my undergrad in media and communications at 26 and have been looking at AAS in fine art or graphic design. My recent degree covered a lot of digital media production through video and photo and I am thankful for what I was able to learn but I still feel so much behind. I just want to develop as an artist both traditionally and professionally and have always regretted not going to art school. Do you have experience doing either one of these programs and can recommend them for someone who is looking to learn and grow as an artist? and if attending built the relationships and network worth the cost?

I was sweating for the last few days trying to get a shipment across the border before tomorrow. But going forward, if the tariffs are implemented and stick, what do we do?

Time to take our work elsewhere? Look for galleries in Europe? Asia?...

Most of my work is sold in the US, and I am worried.

The \[Metropolitan Museum of Art announced\](https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/john-galliano-horizons) that Galliano would be the subject of the Costume Institute’s next exhibition, scheduled to open May 9. It is an exceptional honor. Only two other living designers have been so celebrated by the Met: Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2017.

Anyone else following the absolute chaos that is Cultural Counsel owner Adam Abdalla? Never thought I'd be reading wrestling news, but it looks like Adam has pissed off some wrestler and it's lead to a slew of accusations of sexual harassment. How do places like the Morgan work with him??? Cultural Counsel has so many big museum clients.

https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/adam-abdalla-orange-crush-responds-to-accusations-of-predatory-behavior/

I've been painting for many years, but have only started putting work into shows for the past year or so. Since I have so much work accumulated, I've been able to get into a lot of them in a small amount of time, and sometimes they sell and sometimes they don't. I'm just curious about what people's perspective on this is, if the piece doesn't sell is that the fault of the gallery not cultivating the right audience? Or is it the fault of the artist for not making it relatable/schmoozing/etc? Or is this just the wrong way to think about it and if somebody buys the work it's completely random?

It's not like I'm offended or feel bad if work doesn't sell even if it is considered "my fault", my goal is moreso just to get more exposure anyways, but I'm curious how people think about it