School of Visual Arts

09/03/2026

The fall 2026 semester at SVA starts this month, and with it comes a full slate of events and exhibitions, all free and open to the public.

Special shows include light-based installations curated by Kacie Lees (MFA 2012 Fine Arts); a collaboration with renowned Italian publisher Corraini Edizioni; a survey of the late American illustrator (and onetime SVA faculty member) Brad Holland, curated by SVA faculty member and alumnus Jonathan Twingley (MFA 1998 Illustration as Visual Essay); and an electric array of photography by the MPS Digital Photography class of 2026.

Plus, don't miss annual screening events like the SVA After School Special and SVA BFA Animation's Junior Jammies, as well as the 12th edition of Pictoplasma NYC hosted by BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects, BFA Animation, BFA Comics, and BFA Illustration at the SVA Theatre.

Explore the full September 2026 lineup: https://sva.edu/features/september-2026-exhibitions-and-events-at-sva

09/03/2026

BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects student Nat (natlo) shares 5 tips on how to adjust to college life, especially in New York City✨

09/01/2026

Last week, we called our annual back-to-school faculty meeting to make sure we were ready to greet all our new and returning faces for the Fall 2026 semester! We can't wait to see everyone back again. Big love from all of our BFA Animation Staff and Faculty teams! We hope you're ready for US too ;)

09/01/2026

Vanity Fair's fall movie preview includes upcoming features by Zach Cregger (BFA 2004 Computer Art) and Ti West (BFA 2003 Film).

Cregger follows up his acclaimed movie, "Weapons," with a take on Resident Evil—reworking the beloved Capcom franchise with a new story centered on a courier (Austin Abrams) fighting to survive amid the series' signature horrors. And West brings his singular horror sensibility to "A Christmas Carol" with "Ebenezer," featuring Johnny Depp as he transforms into Scrooge for a gothic, ghost-story take on the Dickens classic.

See "Resident Evil" in theaters starting September 18, and "A Christmas Carol" starting November 13.

https://lnkd.in/gXXz3xyD

Photo Credit: Jaap Buitendijk.

08/31/2026

How can play foster connection and creativity across generations?

MFA Design for Social Innovation alumni Sim Hao Jie and Xiaolan Fu brought their thesis project, Aging in Play, to this year's Games for Change Festival.

Aging in Play started with a focus on how older adults connect. What emerged is an accessible, low-barrier game system built around the Aging in Play PlayBox—a starter kit containing adaptable games made from everyday objects, editable rule cards, and facilitation prompts that give players ready-to-go games or the tools to invent their own.

Originally co-created and piloted with older adults in New York City, the project has since traveled far beyond its original audience. From a demo at Games for Change, to an exhibition with the Strother School of Radical Attention in Brooklyn, to "REINVENTION: ALLPLAY" at Singapore Science Park.

Along the way, the team started noticing that the same low-barrier, adaptable design that worked for older adults also sparked connections across generations. Now they're building a website to document and share the game variations players create, so ideas can travel between communities and keep evolving.

Read the full story: https://sva.edu/features/connecting-across-generations-at-games-for-change

08/28/2026

Two weeks into grad school, Souvik Paul's future sister-in-law was in a car accident that left her with a severe spinal cord injury. That moment redirected his entire MFA thesis at Products of Design and became the basis for Unbound, an exploration into how design can address the daily, unseen realities of living with disability. One of those commonly overlooked realities was the catheter.

Around 600,000 Americans rely on intermittent catheters multiple times a day. Standard single-use versions carry a high risk of infection, and safer no-touch alternatives are covered by insurance for fewer than 5% of Medicare patients.

Paul's answer started as a handheld UV sterilizer prototype in his thesis year. Nine years, a stint at Johnson & Johnson, and countless design and business sprints later, it's become the Aurie System—a reusable, no-touch catheter system that delivers premium infection control at the cost of the disposable standard of care.

In May 2026, Aurie received FDA De Novo Class II marketing authorization, making it the first reusable intermittent catheter system ever cleared for market and establishing an entirely new device classification. It will launch at Veterans Health Administration spinal cord injury hospitals in early 2027.

Paul is the first MFA Products of Design alumnus to bring a product through to FDA clearance. In the interview below, he talks about the FDA "gauntlet," why design school's emphasis on asking questions shaped the way he built Aurie, and what he'd tell anyone weighing the value of a design degree today.

Read the full conversation:

SVA Products of Design alumnus Souvik Paul, founder and CEO of Aurie, has received FDA clearance for his reusable intermittent catheter system — a medical device he first developed as his MFA thesis at PoD. The milestone marks a decade-long journey from graduate school concept to FDA-cleared produ...

08/27/2026

Before he became a two-time New York Times, New Yorker, and Vanity Fair illustrator with 11 children's books to his name, Keith Negley (MFA 2013 Fine Arts) felt stuck.

For a decade, he built his editorial career around one consistent style, and it left him frustrated: "It just felt sort of like a McDonald's assembly line... I drew my hands the same way, I drew trees the same way, I drew faces the same way."

Enrolling at SVA in the MFA Fine Arts program changed that. He said grad school taught him "to not care anymore" about maintaining a signature look, and to let his own experiences drive the work instead. That honesty led to some of his most recognized illustrations, and eventually to a second career writing and illustrating children's books on masculinity, mental health, and identity.

As fellow illustrator Brian Rea put it: "When I see Keith's work, I always know that it is his. That's when you know the work is really magical."

Read the full profile in Cascadia Daily News, on the occasion of Negley's newest book, The Beginner's Guide to Being a Wizard: https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/aug/25/he-may-have-illustrated-your-favorite-new-yorker-read-or-your-kids-favorite-book/

08/27/2026

A group exhibition curated by BFA Visual and Critical Studies students Elsa Chen and Petra Kruty, “Troubled Body” explores selfhood through repetition, ritual, and physical labor. In photography, drawing, tattoo imagery, and performance, the body is examined as a site where time, memory, and transformation become visible. Exhibiting artists include BFA Visual and Critical Studies students Elsa Chen, Steph Fethes, Rue Kim, and Petra Kruty.

“Troubled Body” is on view through Sunday, August 30, at the SVA Flatiron Project Space, 133/141 West 21st Street, with a closing reception welcoming the BFA Visual and Critical Studies class of 2030 on Sunday, August 30, 3:30 - 5:30pm. More information at sva.edu/events/troubled-body

08/27/2026

08/26/2026

When the weather is nice, why not do some plein air drawing in the park? SVA Pre-College students visited Central Park this summer to do just that.

Learn more about SVA Pre-college at the link in our bio ✨