SVA MFA Photo, Video and Related Media

✨Thesis Spotlight✨⁣
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Luke Wu⁣
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Luke Wu explores the performance of bureaucracy in his project A Greater Enemy of⁣ Truth than Lies. Identifying specific tendencies in Chinese business and government offices, Wu highlights the paperwork, symbolic gestures, and other forms of “red tape” that foster a form of social compliance ultimately devoid of actual productivity.⁣
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Through a minimal and highly formal arrangement of objects, gestures, and color, his photographs and videos offer an absurdist critique of a culture that treats bureaucracy⁣ as an end unto itself.⁣
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Please join us on Tuesday, June 30, from 6:00-8:00 PM for the opening reception of the 2026 SVA MFA Photography, Video, and Related Media Thesis Exhibition.⁣
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SVA Chelsea gallery⁣
601 W. 26th Street⁣
Suite 1502⁣
New York, NY 10001

✨Thesis Spotlight✨⁣
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Lisa Chen⁣
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In Afterlight, Lisa Chen reimagines a 19 th -century spectacle through a contemporary⁣
lens, creating an evocative multimedia installation that suggests a world at the edge of visibility. Each of the objects in the project centers on a “Pepper’s Ghost” illusion,⁣
combining photography, video, and light. For the six smaller sculptures, Chen has used⁣
AI to transform her original photographs into looping videos; in the large central column,⁣
the video has been generated entirely through AI. These moving images intersect with⁣ silhouettes printed on transparent film and mounted to frosted acrylic, yielding the effect⁣ of ghostly forms that float in space. These works’ exploration of records and traces is⁣ further extended by a glowing, translucent artist book. The resulting environment tests⁣ the limits of perception, conjuring the fluid, ephemeral nature of memory.⁣
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Please join us on Tuesday, June 30, from 6:00-8:00 PM for the opening reception of the 2026 SVA MFA Photography, Video, and Related Media Thesis Exhibition.⁣
⁣
SVA Chelsea gallery⁣
601 W. 26th Street⁣
Suite 1502⁣
New York, NY 10001

We are thrilled to congratulate department alumni, Brian M. Cassidy (‘07) & Melanie Shatzky (‘07) on receiving 2026 Guggenheim Fellowships!

Brian M. Cassidy & Melanie Shatzky are collaborative artists working at the intersection of narrative and documentary cinema. Known for their hyper-intimate films about individuals in post-industrial landscapes, their works explore themes of loss, incarceration, mental illness, environmental upheaval, and the human-animal bond.

Their films have screened at festivals and museums around the world including Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, Locarno and Rotterdam film festivals, The Museum of Modern Art, The National Gallery of Art, Le Musée de la Civilisation, ICA London, The Museum of the Moving Image, The Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art, and Lincoln Center.

Cassidy & Shatzky are 2026 Guggenheim Fellows and have also held fellowships at MacDowell and Yaddo.

2025 Alum, Ari Temkin, is teaching a new course through SVA’s Continuing Education department. 👀

Experimental Artmaking with AI
Faculty: Ari Temkin
June 10 - July 29, 2026

This course invites artists to take control of emerging Al systems and build their own creative workflows. Instead of following software trends, students will learn how to design adaptable systems that connect tools such as RunwayML, Luma Al, DeepMotion, Kaiber, Pika, Avaturn, ElevenLabs, and other evolving platforms into living, flexible pipelines for artmaking.
The focus is on building systems of making that turn fragmented Al programs into unified processes supporting each artist’s vision. Through experimentation with text-to-image, video synthesis, 3D modeling, voice generation, and machine-seeing tools, we will explore how to shape Al technologies rather than be shaped by them. Each student will produce a video, animation, or image-based project that demonstrates what it means to collaborate with machines in creative, critical, and personal ways.

Link to register in bio!

OPENING TOMORROW 2/21 6-9 PM

We are thrilled to highlight an exhibition organized by current student

ENCICRLES

An exhibition at the Bushwick Comminity Darkroom

334 Himrod St.
Brooklyn, NY 11237

Featuring work by:
Ryan Ally
James Hastur
Savannah Spirit
Sean Rosenthal
Robert (Haomo) Yan

Don’t miss it!

The Crossed Purposes Foundation (501(c)(3)) is excited to announce the winners of the 2025/26 Crossed Purposes Critical Writing Grant, which funds the research and writing of new essays on the lens and screen arts. This grant is part of the foundation’s broader goal to expand public dialogue about issues in the history and criticism of photography and the role of socially and politically engaged art in the world at large.

All essays will be published by The Brooklyn Rail in 2026. Congratulations to all the winners!

Crossed Purposes Grant
Emily Goff (USA)
Charlotte Jensen (UK)

Writer’s Support Grant
Jelene Sofronijevic (UK)

Finalist
Amari-Grey Johnson (NY)

This grant has been made possible by the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at the School of Visual Arts in collaboration with the Crossed Purposes Foundation.

✨Happy New Year!*✨

The application deadline for the Fall 2026 semester is January 15th!

Elevate your creative practice across lens and screen arts with an MFA in Photography, Video & Related Media at . Immerse yourself in an interdisciplinary program with globally respected curriculum led by renowned faculty, supported by state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge
technology. With the freedom to experiment, push boundaries, and hone your artistic vision, you will strengthen and refine a distinctive artistic voice during our 2 or 3 year programs.

Join our incredible community and apply today! Link in bio. 🔗

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions: [email protected]

✨Happy New Year!✨

The application deadline for the Fall 2026 semester is January 15th!

Elevate your creative practice across lens and screen arts with an MFA in Photography, Video & Related Media at . Immerse yourself in an interdisciplinary program with globally respected curriculum led by renowned faculty, supported by state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge technology. With the freedom to experiment, push boundaries, and hone your artistic vision, you will strengthen and refine a distinctive artistic voice during our 2 or 3 year programs.

Join our incredible community and apply today! Link in bio.🔗

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions at [email protected]

💥💥THIS FRIDAY💥💥

6-9 PM // 214 E. 21st St.
NY, NY

✨2025 MFA Photo Video Fall Salon ✨

Join us for a wonderful evening celebrating current work by our students. The department will be open to the public with student projects throughout the space as well as music and light refreshments. This will be an incredible night you won’t want to miss!

RSVP link in bio!