Colorado State University
University Center for the Arts
1778 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1778
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; IMAGES; MEDIA TOOLKIT
April 11, 2022
GREGORY ALLICAR MUSEUM OF ART TO PRESENT ANNUAL MFA THESIS EXHIBITION AND HOST MFA SPEAKS< OPENING RECEPTION ON APRIL 29
Fort Collins, Colorado—Gregory Allicar Museum of Art (GAMA) is honored to present this spring’s MFA Thesis Exhibition 2022, opening April 29 and on view through July 31, 2022. The show features artwork by Justin Price, Alec Schweiger, Mariah Shelby, and Clark Valentine in three concentrations—painting, metalsmithing, and drawing—and is free and open to all.
The annual Master of Fine Arts (MFA) exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Department of Art and Art History at Colorado State University (CSU) and marks the culmination of a three-year degree program in the visual arts. Fostering individual research and creative studio practice, the program invites graduate students to focus on a particular area of study and complete a mature body of work in their chosen field. Artwork is situated within the discourse of contemporary art practice.
“I was initially drawn to the CSU [MFA] program because of the facilities and the opportunity to work and learn under [Associate Professor of Metalsmithing] Haley Bates,” says master’s graduate Mariah Shelby. “This program also created an opportunity for me to learn how to teach in a collegiate setting.”
Visitors are also welcomed to attend the annual MFA Speaks program on Friday, April 29 at 5 p.m., which returns in-person to GAMA’s Robert W. Hoffert Learning Center in the University Center for the Arts after two years as a virtual event following coronavirus precautions. Participating artists Price (painting), Schweiger (metals), Shelby (metals), and Valentine (drawing) will give brief talks followed by a panel discussion moderated by museum Director and Chief Curator Lynn Boland.
The MFA artists will describe their thesis projects and artistic processes, commenting on their time in the program and their final graduate exhibition at GAMA. Audience members are invited to ask questions of the panel and view the artists’ work in the Griffin Foundation Gallery during an opening reception to follow from 6-8 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. MFA Speaks and the MFA Thesis Exhibition 2022 reception are open to the public.
Support for this exhibition and related programming is generously provided by the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, FUNd Endowment at CSU, and Colorado Creative Industries. CCI and its activities are made possible through an annual appropriation from the Colorado General Assembly and federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
###
GREGORY ALLICAR MUSEUM OF ART invites individuals to engage with art and each other to inspire fresh perspectives and wonder. The museum is a catalyst for visual literacy and critical thinking that instills a passion for learning. For updated museum information, go to artmuseum.colostate.edu.