Artist Melissa Joseph (MFA '18) has focused her work on gun violence and the difficult task of healing while studying at PAFA. For three days, Joseph invited anyone to join her in the Broad Street Studio to wash and talk, as part of her Expunge project.
PAFA's student-run Visiting Artists Program brings an outstanding roster of local, national and international artists to PAFA each semester. Students get the opportunity to experience one-on-one private critiques with artists such as Amy Sherald, Njideka Akunyili, and Cosmo Whyte.
Growing up in the New York City area, MFA student Melanie Delach thought she already was where she needed to be as an artist. But her undergraduate professors encouraged her to branch out. Now about to enter her second year in the MFA program, Delach spoke about how a change of scenery has impacted…
Bodu Yang decided to make museums her main subject in her paintings, as PAFA’s museum was a critical factor in her artistic development. “I really value the relationship between artwork and exhibition spaces.”
Usually Christine Belton (MFA ’21) is leading a class but this past summer she traded her regular role of teacher for a seat as a student.
“I love to teach. For me, my personal practice supports my teaching and my teaching supports my personal practice and it makes this fantastic circle,” she said…
Sara Havekotte initially came to Philadelphia in 2018 to study painting and making paintings for collage. But as Havekotte took classes, her work stayed in a material and textile base. She now weaves and sculpts with found objects.
“Things began to sort of compact in a singularity of home and…
Critiques are integral to the learning and curricular experience at PAFA, designed to push students and make the most of their time while in school. Second-year MFA student Jess Aquino discusses her experiences with the critique process, and how they have shaped the work she makes.
PAFA students Justine Ditto '17 and Alyssa Ebinger '18 have been accepted into the prestigious lithography program at the Tamarind Institute in New Mexico. Each year, eight students are accepted into the program; this year, two of the eight selected are from PAFA. Tamarind’s Printer Training Program…
Whether you taste her homemade tahini honey ice cream or her take on the banana split or wander through one of her labyrinths, Marie Manski wants people to put themselves in her work. It isn’t enough to just look at her art—she wants you to experience it. As an admissions counselor for PAFA’s MFA…
“One of my favorite things about the program in my time here was that I was able to sort of make the mistakes that maybe I wouldn’t have been able to do as freely if I were at another program. The faculty and my peers were open to sharing ideas and having a dialogue. I thought that was really…
“I liked the location [of PAFA], and I liked the museum history paired with contemporary context. People encourage you to push the boundaries of your ideas."
“The lure of PAFA was its connection to Philly, and how this would provide a sort of bedrock to my early professional years as an artist. Reflecting on this, I felt charged by the atmosphere of Philly, and found something very special in the intimacy and legacy of PAFA. Upon visiting the MFA program…
When Abigail Gray Swartz’s illustration of a reimagined Rosie the Riveter graced the cover of The New Yorker in 2017, friends and family kept saying she had won the artist lottery.
Jon Laidacker was the lead muralist on the 85,000-square-foot "How Philly Moves" image that graces the Philadelphia International Airport parking garage walls near Interstate 95.
