May 10–June 2, 2013
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) presents its 112thAnnual Student Exhibition (ASE), May 10–June 2, in PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building at 128 N. Broad Street, in Philadelphia. The largest and longest-standing exhibition of its kind, the Annual Student Exhibition is known as one of the best student group shows in the country, as well as a collector’s dream: the opportunity to view and purchase early works by the art world’s next big stars. This year’s ASE features almost 1,450 works by 139 PAFA students, and opens to the public on Friday, May 10, 5–8pm.
The road to the Annual Student Exhibition is a long but exciting one for PAFA’s graduating BFA and MFA students, as well as 3rd- and 4th- year students in the School’s venerable Certificate Program. Many of the pieces featured in ASE are first viewed by the public during PAFA’s Open Studio Night in February. Students spend the rest of the spring semester completing their work with feedback from faculty members and critics.
Once students return from spring break, they submit their work to be considered for one of PAFA’s spring and travel awards, representing over $170,000 in prizes & scholarships, including the coveted Cresson Award, the Richard C. Von Hess Memorial Scholarship and Travel Award, and the Women’s Board Travel Scholarships. The award-winning works will be on view in the Annual Student Exhibition.
Former winners of PAFA’s travel awards include Orit Hofshi, Alex Kanevsky, the late Ellen Powell Tiberino, Billy Blaise Dufala of the Dufala Brothers and newcomer Mariel Capanna, who used the Cresson Award she won last year to tour Europe. “I sold almost all of my work at ASE last year,” says Capanna. An alumna of Germantown Friends School, Capanna said that ASE both boosted and shook her confidence. “It’s a blessing and a curse. But the gold stars do help.”
Current students who now await the eyes of the art-buying public also speak of the mixed emotions brought on by ASE. “The ASE signifies the closing of my time at PAFA and a beginning of a new journey-that’s why I’m so anxious and excited,” says Arcmanoro Niles, a graduating BFA student and Washington, DC native. “For the exhibition, I wanted to construct paintings that were interesting and complex, which invites further looking and analysis. It seems to me that’s what good art always does.”
The exhibition kicks off with a Preview Party, hosted by PAFA’s Women’s Board, on Thursday, May 9, from 4 to 8:30pm. The Preview Party allows guests the exclusive opportunity to purchase artwork before the exhibition opens to the public, and gives them the chance to meet the artists and speak with them about their work. All proceeds from the Preview Party support student scholarships. For information regarding sponsorship opportunities or tickets for the Preview Party, call 215 972 0550. Tickets may also be purchased online by visiting www.pafa.org/asepreview.
Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is America’s first school of fine arts and museum. A recipient of the 2005 National Medal of Arts presented by the President of the United States, PAFA is a recognized leader in fine arts education. Nearly every major American artist has taught, studied, or exhibited at the Academy. The institution’s world-class collection of American art continues to grow and provides what only a few other art institutions in the world offer: the rare combination of an outstanding museum and an extraordinary faculty known for its commitment to students and for the stature and quality of its artistic work.
