Let’s Be Dragons
Syracuse University: Fall 2017
“Let’s Be Dragons,” the master of fine arts (M.F.A.) exhibition of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), will open in five different venues in Syracuse and New York City in April.
The exhibition features work by 29 M.F.A. candidates from VPA’s School of Art, School of Design and Department of Transmedia. In Syracuse, the exhibition is divided among four of the University’s exhibition spaces: Point of Contact Gallery, SUArt Galleries, Community Folk Art Center and 914Works. “Let’s Be Dragons” functions as the overarching show title, while each venue has its own individual chapter title intended to unify the work exhibited at each location.
The exhibition’s guest curator is DJ Hellerman, curator of art and programs at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse.
Referencing Octavia E. Butler’s 1980 science-fiction novel “These Wild Seeds,” the exhibition brings together a selection of artists interested in undermining or tinkering with superstructures designed to engineer social order and temper radical individuality. Altogether, the artists in “Wild Seeds” point and nudge our focus toward institutions with power and control. The works present questions about who has the agency to manipulate our subjectivity and they attempt to craft histories that open the possibility of forging against the currents of dominant culture.
Decidedly, these artworks and art practices are acts of resistance and revision, often rejected or dismissed, that help us envision a future that is unlike our past. “Let’s Be Dragons” organizer DJ Hellerman states, “It has been a privilege to work with such a committed group of artists. As they leave the M.F.A. program, I have high expectations for their contributions to the world. We all need engaged artists making challenging work, especially now.”
This year, the M.F.A. exhibition is divided among four Syracuse University exhibition spaces, and features 29 artists. “Let’s Be Dragons” is the overarching exhibition title and each venue acts as an individual chapter, unifying the work shown at each location. The participating venues include SUArt Galleries (“Wild Seeds”), Point of Contact Gallery (“Serpents Inside”), Community Folk Art Center (“Strangers in a Strange Land”), and 914 Works (“Hardwired to Connect”).
The exhibition schedule is as follows. All events are free and open to the public.
Let’s Be Dragons: Serpents Inside
Point of Contact Gallery, the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, 350 West Fayette St.
April 4-May 14
“Let’s Be Dragons: Serpents Inside” features the artwork of Zhongwen (Lisa) Hu, Courtney Asztalos, Evan Deuitch, Todd Lauther, Ssu Ya Hsiung and Chelsea Jones. Through their presentations, a variety of themes and media including painting, photography and site-specific installations will be explored.
Let’s Be Dragons: Wild Seeds
Syracuse University Art Galleries, Shaffer Art Building
April 6-May 14
“Let’s Be Dragons: Wild Seeds” features the artwork of Chris Zacher, Chunlin Yang, Gang Chen, Loren Bartnicke, Munjal Yagnik, Owen Drysdale, Peter Smith, Rachel Fein-Smolinski and Shiwen Su. Through their presentations, a variety of themes and media including painting, photography, ceramics, video art, illustration and site-specific installations will be explored.
Let’s Be Dragons: Strangers in a Strange Land
Community Folk Art Center, 805 East Genesee St.
April 11-May 14
“Let’s Be Dragons: Strangers in a Strange Land” will be an experiment in diverse environments. Each artist will create immersive artworks through different mediums that include prints, sculpture and film. Artists exhibiting are Justin Hill, Maria Spiess, Landon Perkins, Taro Takizawa, Adam Devkota, Ioana Turcan and Dontato Rossi.
Let’s Be Dragons: Hardwired to Connect
914Works, 914 East Genesee St.
April 14-May 14
“Let’s Be Dragons: Hardwired to Connect” will feature product design projects by collaborative design students. Designers exhibiting are Asal Andarzipour, Shaojia Chen, Ran Jing, Ke Huang, Wei Yuying, Donna Greene and Kathryn Detwiler.
Let’s Be Dragons
ArtHelix, 289 Meserole St., Brooklyn
April 21-22
The New York City exhibition of “Let’s Be Dragons” will feature work by M.F.A. candidates from the School of Art and Department of Transmedia.