Graduate students notoriously keep to themselves, but students in the MFA program will open up, leaving their studios accessible as an exhibit.
Studios at Seigfred Hall and in Building 19 at The Ridges will host the participating artists.
Andrew McPherson, a third-year graduate student studying painting and one of the artists, said working in The Ridges is certainly interesting.
The bygone insane asylum still has scratches traced in the windowsills of the centuries-old building and provides a stimulating space for the artists to operate.
“People here are joking around, saying that we are not actually studying our master’s in this place,” McPherson said.
In his art, McPherson often finds himself enticed by surrealism and has been exploring how to find his own voice within that genre.
“Currently what I’m doing is all about money,” McPherson said.
His room in The Ridges reflects this with thumbnail-sized foreign cash images on a hanging piece of paper and an authentic two-dollar bill pasted on the wall.
This is not the first time School of Art graduates have opened up their studios, but it is the only time in recent memory, said Jena Seiler, a graduate student studying painting. She is also the coordinator of the event.
Seiler said the students wanted to be more engaged with the public and that opening up their studios was an inherited idea that gained esteem among the other artists.
“Some students don’t limit themselves to only one area. They come up with an idea or concept first, then try to express them through a mix of artistic forms,” Seiler said.
McPherson added that last year students in the School of Film visited fine arts students’ studios and were impressed by their work. Actually going to their workspace helped them feel intensely connected.
“I hope people come back this year,” McPherson said.
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