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NYUAD to Present MFA and Capstone Students’ Art Practices and Work in Progress from within Their Studios

Titled Open Studios, the event will take place on November 18 at The Arts Center and is open to the public

The Arts and Humanities Division at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) will host Open Studios - an event showcasing work-in-progress art pieces by ten students from the University’s Master of Fine Arts in Art and Media program (MFA) and five from the VisArt Capstone.

Taking place on November 18 at The Arts Center, the public event will feature an extensive variety of art forms from painting and drawing, sculpture, printmaking, fiber arts, to video, photography, and mixed media. The works address a wide range of themes in postcolonialism, mysticism, nature and the cosmos, vulnerability, patterns of human behavior, time and degradation, language and identity, childhood memories, utopia, and humans’ intimate relationship to objects. 

“It is not very often that the public has the opportunity to experience the process behind the making of an artwork. To that end, we are very excited to welcome our visitors and give them a chance to speak to our artists as they present their works in progress.”

MFA Program Director and Visiting Associate Professor of Art and Art History at NYUAD Tina Sherwell

MFA students include Sara Alahbabi, Mahra Alfalahi, Liane Al Ghusain, Majd Alloush, Ciel Arbour-Boehme, Fatima Al Romaithi, Fabiola Chiminazzo, Elizabeth Dorazio, Zara Mahmood, and Farah Soltani Shirazi. Capstone students include Lincoln Adomako, Joanna Jagodzinska, Ilia Kuchuk, Boby Liu, and Tonia Zang.

NYUAD’s MFA is a two-year degree in the visual arts. It is designed as a full-time, interdisciplinary studio art program that sits at the crossroads of practice and theory, tradition and change in the arts. The program immerses students in contemporary research and art practices while training them to become deep thinkers and artistic innovators. Courses emphasize artistic experimentation within a context of theoretical, cultural, and historical study. Its multidisciplinary coursework bridges disciplinary skills and diverse bodies of knowledge. 

The cultural traditions and heritage of the UAE, along with its burgeoning place as a global art center, make field-based learning an important component of the MFA program. In the context of graduate studies, the intensification and depth of practices from field-based learning help build new art communities and connections that emanate outward from the Emirates to the world. This unique cultural mix demonstrates a complexity that is addressed throughout the MFA program which positions itself at the global crossroads of knowledge and practices.

Throughout the program, students will have access to local stakeholders and institutions, including Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi Art, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah Art Foundation, Art Jameel and AlSerkal Avenue. Students also have the opportunity to receive studio visits from a wide roster of prominent curators and artists.

The application deadline is January 15, 2023.

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