News 2014: Nine UMass Dartmouth CVPA Students Selected to Participate in Boston Young Contemporaries Exhibition

News 2014: Nine UMass Dartmouth CVPA Students Selected to Participate in Boston Young Contemporaries Exhibition
Nine UMass Dartmouth CVPA Students Selected to Participate in Boston Young Contemporaries Exhibition

Exceptional Works from UMass Dartmouth MFA Students and Recent Graduates Selected Among MFA Programs Across New England

Nine students and recent graduates from UMass Dartmouth's College of Visual & Performing Arts Master of Fine Arts program have been selected to participate in the 2014 Boston Young Contemporaries Exhibition. Jessica Benzaquen, Monica Guerra, Jessica Heikes, Jo Anna Hickman, Amanda Kralovic, Leslie Macklin, Xi Nan, Cuong Sy, and Jennifer Woods are among 75 students whose works were selected as most exceptional by the juried exhibition, which considers submissions across New England.

"This exhibition is seen as a critical gateway into the professional visual arts field for students from MFA programs in New England," said CVPA Dean Adrian Tio. "Considering the competition, UMass Dartmouth appears to be well represented."

The Exhibition will be showcased July 18 to August 22. The gallery is open to the public 2:00-5:00 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

In addition to UMass Dartmouth, the work was juried from MFA programs across New England, including Boston University, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Lesley University, Rhode Island School of Design, UMass Amherst, Yale University, Brandeis University, Maine College of Art, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and University of New Hampshire.

Now in its ninth year, Boston Young Contemporaries is an annual juried exhibition, which highlights the exceptional work from MFA students across the New England area. This year BYC was honored to welcome Josephine Halvorson, Pieranna Cavalchini and Kenji Nakayama as our 2014 jurors.

UMass Dartmouth's CVPA MFA program offers degrees in Artisanry (Ceramics, Fibers, Jewelry/Metals, Wood/Furniture), Fine Arts (Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture), and Visual Design (Digital Media, Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography, Typography). Grounded in the philosophy that significant achievement in the visual arts is the product of inspired conception, critical dialogue, individualized attention to students, and maturing skill, the MFA program is housed in state of the art facilities which support the level of creative innovation and challenge expected of committed graduate students.