Class of 2025 first year MFA exhibition

The Columbia University School of the Arts Visual Arts Program presents the Class of 2025’s First Year MFA Exhibition in collaboration with the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery at the Lenfest Center for the Arts. This exhibition encompasses work by the 30 artists who will complete their first year of the Visual Arts MFA Program this May and is curated by Amy Sadao.

Opening reception: Friday, March 22, 6–8pm
Exhibition dates: March 21–April 7, 2024
Gallery hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 12–6pm

Participating artists
Sound artists: Yueyang Luo, Andrea Moreno, and Miles Scharff. Visual artists: Magali, a Cult; Ahzel; Giorgia Alliata; Andrius Alvarez-Backus; Emerita Baik; Francisca Brunet Bayon; Daniel Castro; Devon Pin Chen; Isaiah Davis; Maya Dixon; Cloris (Han) Dong; Rama Ghanem; Javier Griffey; Calhan Hale; KeKeZ; Joanne Kim; Leena Kim; Christina Yuna Ko; Sharon Cheuk Wun Lee; In June Park; Wenhui Quan; Ridwana Rahman; Grethell Rasua; Zelmira Rizo-Patron; Liz Schneider; Annika Tucksmith; and Antonio Vidal de Lascurain

About the curator
Amy Sadao is a curator and a strategist. Her firm, Sadao Ghosh, was founded to help museums and arts organizations operationalize racial justice. She is part of the curatorial team for FotoFest 2022, Houston and is organizing an exhibition on the Feminist Art Program for REDCAT. She is the curator of Columbia University’s MFA exhibitions 2020, 2021 and 2022. Previously she was the Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. Sadao fulfilled a plan focused on ICA’s audience, local and global partnerships, staffing, and programming reflected the racial demographics of Philadelphia and secured the largest gift in the museum’s history: a $10 million endowment extending curatorial research. Sadao also served for ten years as Executive Director of Visual AIDS in New York City, leading the organization through its first strategic planning process and reestablishing its exhibition, publication, and artist-edition programs while diversifying its income stream with unique, branded events.

Sadao is Board Chair of Asian Arts Initiative, Board Secretary of the Leeway Foundation, and is a Director Emeritus of Visual AIDS. She earned an MA in comparative ethnic studies from the University of California, Berkeley, a BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art, and began her career as an intern at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Philip Morris branch.

Columbia University School of the Arts land acknowledgement.