Philadelphia, PA — Six degree candidates in Moore College of Art & Design’s Graduate Studies program in Socially Engaged Art present their work in Collected Departures: The 2022 MFA Thesis Exhibition, on view from April 2–16, 2022 in The Galleries at Moore, 1916 Race Street, located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The public is invited to see the work and celebrate with our graduates at a free and ADA-accessible opening reception on Friday, April 1 from 5:30–7:30 pm.
Collected Departures provides a glimpse into the pressing social issues that Moore's Socially Engaged Art graduate students are exploring through their work, including digital surveillance, generational memory, vacant space and community reclamation in Philadelphia neighborhoods, and self-portraiture as a form of social practice. The exhibition reinforces the College’s ongoing commitment to showcasing the diversity of work produced by its community.
The 2022 exhibition artists are Socially Engaged Studio Art MFA candidates Destiny Garner, Elizabeth Kelly, Regan McGrory, Katy Molinaro and Dafna Steinberg.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the above candidates and Socially Engaged Art MA candidate Ayrial King will host "Lived Thesis" events in April 2022, which will be free and open to the public. More information about these upcoming events can be found at Moore's online events calendar: moore.edu/events.
MORE ABOUT THE FEATURED ARTISTS:
Destiny Garner is a multidisciplinary problem solver, born and raised in Philadelphia. In 2019, she received her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design with a major in Fashion Design and a minor in Business. Her work is driven by a passion for community change and engagement, a focus on social and environmental issues, and the experience of being a mother. She is currently exploring the ways in which fostering creative environments can provide Black communities with options and opportunities to thrive within their own lived experiences, and the ways in which vacant spaces can be reclaimed in neighborhoods.
Elizabeth Kelly is a photographer and art educator working primarily in traditional- and alternative-process photographic techniques. Her artistic and theoretical work has a substantial focus in the ethics of portraiture and expanding access to traditional photo education, which is integrated into her personal practice through collaboration and community work based in teaching and traditional photography.
Ayrial King was born and raised in West Philadelphia. After living in North Carolina for a year and Atlanta for five years, she considers Philadelphia home. At 25, she completed a short memoir about the events leading up to her name change at age 17. An avid writer and reader, her love of words has helped shape her into an author and screenwriter.
Regan McGrory is a conceptual artist who works in sculpture and installations. She received a BA in political science from Saint Joseph's University and a BA in art (sculpture). Her work has been exhibited at Rutgers University and Parsons School of Design, and she has exhibited over the past 14 years at Art All Night-Trenton, a 24-hour local entertainment event and community art show. She was a member of the first all-women's team to represent Rutgers University at the Biodesign Challenge, an annual international competition held at the Parsons School of Design and the Museum of Modern Art. She lives and works in her hometown of Trenton, NJ.
Katy Molinaro (she/they) is an emerging visual artist from Allentown, PA. She holds a BA from Muhlenberg College in cultural anthropology. Queer, neuro-divergent and a tenacious problem solver, her lifelong artistic practice has evolved through many mutations, spanning drawing and painting, craft and decorative art, video and performance art, digital media and crochet. As an artist, she is driven by a desire to serve and delight her community.
Dafna Steinberg is a lens-based artist living and working in Philadelphia. Originally from Washington, DC, she has had an extensive national exhibition career. Her work embodies themes such as grief, personal intimacy and gender. She is currently researching how artists can use photographic self-portraiture as a form of social practice. Before tackling her MFA, Steinberg worked as an adjunct studio art and photography professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
ALSO ON VIEW: BFA STUDENT EXHIBITION
Throughout The Galleries at Moore, Moore’s first-year students, sophomores and juniors will exhibit their best work in Art Education, Animation & Game Arts, and Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Foundation, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design and Photography. Art collectors, art enthusiasts and advocates, designers and internship hosts can purchase student work through The Art Shop and preview emerging talent. The free and ADA-accessible exhibition show runs alongside Collected Departures: The 2022 MFA Thesis Exhibition, from April 2–16, 2022. For more information, visit thegalleriesatmoore.edu.
The Galleries at Moore hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. Walk-ins are welcome. More information can be found on Moore’s visitors page. Please visit thegalleriesatmoore.edu for any updates or changes to exhibition-related programming due to COVID-19.
For press inquiries:
Stephanie Fanelli, Signature 57
stephanie.g.fanelli@gmail.com | 484.213.5968
Above image: Katy Molinaro MFA '22, Swanfruit Psychedelia, 2021, digital collage. Image courtesy of the artist. Other images available upon request.
