MFA visiting artists

MFA candidates collaborate with renowned interdisciplinary artists during eight-week summer intensive in Portland.

Daniela Rivera, a visual artist, focuses on understanding the object quality of images. Jarrett Earnest, an author, editor, and contemporary art critic, creates conversations on the status of art with the important thinkers of our time. Paul Mpagi Sepuya, a photographer, embraces the medium’s potential for fragmentation and connection. Josh Dihle, a painter, carver and curator, spends months or years layering imagery into pieces to reflect the reliquaries that inform them. Shirley Tse, an artist working in sculpture, installation, photography, and text, deconstructs the world of synthetic objects that carry paradoxical meanings and constructs models in which differences might come together.

These are just a few of the carefully selected visiting artists who will participate in the 2022 Summer Intensive for the MFA in Studio Art program at Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D).   

Each year, MFA graduate candidates at the start and midway point of the MECA&D program descend on the city of Portland for an eight-week summer intensive to bond as an artistic cohort and challenge their projects. 

“Art is not a singular focus; it is a field and a conversation,” explained Rachel Katz, Administrative Director of Graduate Programs at MECA&D. “Part of what sets our program apart is that we offer an interdisciplinary approach that gives our artists the freedom and flexibility to follow their work where it needs to go and make something they never expected to create along the way. The thinkers and makers we bring into our summer intensives are selected because of the talent, success, and leadership they demonstrate in interdisciplinary work.”

Throughout the summer intensive, MFA candidates participate in intimate exchanges with the prestigious Visiting Artists on site each week for lectures, critiques, and studio visits. In 2021, the MFA Visiting Artists list featured names, such as: Sam Cady; Jeffrey Dell; Adriane Herman; Lucy Kim; Carl Pope; Yumi Roth; and, Deborah Wing-Sproul. 

Rolling admissions for the MFA program at MECA&D continue through May 2, 2022 (as space permits). Program begins in June 2022. To learn more and apply, visit here.

Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art
Supported by renowned local, national, and international faculty, visiting artists and carefully selected graduate advisors, the MFA in Studio Art curriculum emphasizes the intersection of production, individual research, and critical analysis. Students choose either a Low or Full Residency option. MECA&D’s Full Residency MFA provides 24/7 access to private studios and staffed fabrication facilities where students work alongside peers and with local faculty. Among the first programs in the country, MECA&D’s low residency MFA combines intense periods of on-campus instruction with the freedom and independence of working from any home location, anywhere in the world. This program will accept applications through Monday, May 2, 2022 (as space permits) to start summer 2022.

Graduate programs at Maine College of Art & Design
Maine College of Art & Design offers a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art (MFA), Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), and a Salt Graduate Certificate in Documentary Studies. MECA&D’s community is diverse, and each new student adds immeasurably to the vibrancy of our community. Applications are evaluated individually, with consideration given to the strength of the portfolio and academic achievement.