Fine Arts & Photography MFA thesis exhibition 2021: Unfkd

Unfkd, as in, We persisted, we kept going, we worked with the limitations, the sadness, the isolation, and here we are, not with expectations dashed, but with our work, not necessarily responding to the restrictions of the last year but to the influences and concerns that were already leading us here to this point of articulation and expression. There is no “house style,” no particular way of making and seeing in the MFA Fine Arts and Photography programs at Pratt. Instead, there is a sometimes clashing, sometimes melding, polyphonous sense of hybridity and fluidity, a trust in form and a belief in ideas, exemplified in at least 29 ways in this collective show of an international group of artists presenting their honed, considered efforts after two years of trial and error, intense discussion, experimentation, and decisive thinking.  

Artists: Bethanya Abebe, Kefan Bai, Dalya Bain, Joshua B. Boger, Precious Braswell, Chloe Chen, Taylor Dean, Elle Ellinger, Stephanie Espinoza, Buwei Hu, Weijia Lizzy Li, Xiao Liu, Megan Mack, Marie Anine Møller, Nifa Mousai, Nizza Rodriguez Ortiz, Yanqing Pei, Natalia Petkov, Jacquelyne Pierson, Jan Rattia, Austin C Sapien, Xi Song, Abhishek Tuiwala, Jingru Wang, Jiayu Wu, Xiyun Xu, Abby Xiangshu Zhang, Yichen Zhou, Daiqing Zhu

The exhibition can be viewed online at Pratt Shows 2021 and in-person by members of the Pratt Institute community with campus access.

About Pratt Shows 2021
Pratt Shows are public exhibitions and presentations by Pratt Institute’s graduating classes. Representing years of research, exploration, critical thinking, creative inquiry, problem-solving, growth, production, practice, and accomplishment, the shows celebrate student work leading up to Commencement in May.

About Pratt Institute MFA in Fine Arts
Pratt Institute’s interdisciplinary MFA program in Fine Arts provides advanced education for artists supported by a distinguished faculty, exceptional facilities, and a supportive community of peers. Driven by exploration and enriched by the abundance and inspiration of New York City, Pratt’s critically engaged faculty respond to each student’s individual practice, fostering their development within the diverse cultures and myriad practices of contemporary art-making.  Faculty and students build close relationships through structured studio visits, seminars, and informal conversations. These relationships create a vital community and supportive network that endures long after graduation.

The curriculum is both rigorous and flexible, offering wide latitude for exploration while fostering critical perspectives and a deeper understanding of the histories, issues, cultural and transdisciplinary contexts that inform art practices today. With the art world on our doorstep, there are many opportunities to meet influential contemporary curators, critics, and cultural producers. Professional practice education is integrated throughout the program, providing students the tools they need to make their way as professional artists and cultural innovators after graduation.

About Pratt Institute MFA in Photography
Pratt Institute’s MFA in Photography is a two-year (four-semester) terminal degree program. We serve students with interests in contemporary art practices—of all varieties—that rely heavily on the role of photographic imagery and imaging. This includes artists who use lens-based cameras; photosensitive materials and/or sensors; re-photography, aggregation, and quotation; and all approaches that fall under the umbrella of the photographic—including research and critical positions with relation to the histories and practices of photography, both still and moving.

Our pedagogy encompasses both lens- and print-based technologies alongside the history and context for the making of photographic images, objects, and installations in the 21st century. Fluency in the language and currency of images in our cultural and media landscapes is a core value of our program.