BFA in Studio Art - Class of 2020

Message from the Chair

For many reasons, you are the most unique cohort of students ever to graduate from the Department of Art. Your year is 2020, a milestone year in the new millennium. The world has endured Brexit, the climate is on a knife-edge and dictators have arisen. And then, out of nowhere, came the coronavirus imposing a cascade of unsolicited restrictions on your lives.

You are, however, not defined by the Covid 19 pandemic, but by the grace and courage with which you have risen to meet the adversity of disrupted routine, mandatory social distancing, no access to your materials and workspaces, an end to corridor conversations, late night studio hang-outs, coffees with peers and studio visits with faculty . This virus took away your exhibition and graduation ceremony but it does not take away your imagination, creativity, or commitment to your art……. all of the faculty and staff here in the department are bursting with pride as we witness your innovations, adaptations, and solutions.

One of the most essential skills to art-making longevity is perseverance. A long time coming to most artists, you have already honed this skill during this crisis. You have understood that education isn’t about living in the moment, but how it opens doors to the future. In closing, your experience embodies these words from Arthur Ashe, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

We will never forget this moment or your triumphs over such adversity.

Congratulations,

Shona Macdonald,
Chair,
Department of Art

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Please congratulate our eight Outstanding Junior Award winners:

Sean Arria - Animation
Tessa Chambers – Printmaking
Aleah Cremer – Integrated Design
Jess Dougherty – Ceramics
Lydia Giangregorio – Painting
Marco Gomez – Intermedia
Daley Miller – Sculpture
Alecia Nunes – Art Education

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Class of 2020

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