May 1–20, 2012
www.newschool.edu/parsons/festival
Signature event celebrates next generation of art and design leaders through exhibitions, public programs, workshops, and special events.
Parsons The New School for Design will present its the second annual Parsons Festival, taking place May 1 through 20, and featuring exhibitions, symposia, panel discussions, critiques, and special projects that celebrate the next generation of artists and designers working in a range of disciplines.
The following are a selection of events featured in the Parsons Festival, including exhibitions of graduating student work. For more information, including a full schedule of events, please click here.
MFA Design and Technology Exhibition
May 5–20, 2012
Opening Reception: Sunday, May 6, 7–10pm
Symposium: May 15 and 16. Please visit the festival website for locations and times.
Location: Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 2 West 13th Street
A two-week exhibition featuring installations and performances, objects and apps, games and video, and interactive experiences that explore the dynamic role of technology in our current lives. These 74 projects, produced by graduates of the MFA Design and Technology program at Parsons, explore issues related to technology—including its value—invoking the playful, the informative, the empowering, the critical, and the subversive to investigate emerging issues and provoke discussion.
Parts & Labor II: MFA Photography Exhibition
May 7–20, 2012
Opening Reception: Monday, May 14, 6–8pm
Location: The New School Student Study Center, 90 Fifth Avenue
This exhibition features works by first and second year students in the MFA Photography program at Parsons, which seeks to redefine the creative role of photographer within contemporary culture. The featured works represent a wide range of interests, inquiries, methodologies, and approaches by these emerging photographic artists, and push the boundaries of the medium and the limits of creative vision.
MFA Fine Arts Exhibition
May 11–18, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 10, 6–8pm
Location: The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, New York
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 12–6pm; Saturday 11–6pm
Parsons presents work by graduating students in the MFA Fine Arts program, a cross-disciplinary program with student practices spanning a wide range of genres and fields of research. The exhibition is curated by Jane Panetta, an independent art historian currently working at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Veronica Roberts, a curator, writer, and teacher of modern and contemporary art who has worked at numerous museums, including the Museum of Modern Art.
INTERACT: a Forum on Collaboration, Civic Engagement, and Social Innovation
May 12, 9–6pm
This all-day forum explores civic engagement and social innovation activities at the university that incorporate art and design. Investigating the complexities of establishing resilient collaborations with community partners, public sector agencies and institutions in collaborative education-based projects will be the focus of the day’s discussions. Co-sponsored by the Parsons Dean’s Office and the University-wide Social Innovation Initiative.
Five Sixty 7th Ave: School of Fashion Exhibition
May 12–20, 2012
Location: David M. Schwartz Fashion Education Center, 560 7th Avenue, Second floor
The School of Fashion at Parsons presents an exhibition of thesis work from across the fashion disciplines including menswear, women’s wear, children’s wear, accessories, and multimedia installations. Selected sponsored projects are also on view, including Allen Edmonds, Amicale, Coach, Swarovski, Saga Furs, Solstiss, and The Shoe Polytechnic.
Thesis Exhibition: School of Constructed Environments
May 15–20, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 17, 2012 4–6pm
Location: Parsons East Building, 25 East 13th Street, Second Floor Studios
An exhibition of work by graduate students in the School of Constructed Environments at Parsons, the country’s only integrated school of architecture, interior design, lighting design, and product design. Drawings, models, and prototypes will be exhibited in the studio space created by the Parsons Design Workshop—its signature design-build program—where work desks and adjacent spaces convert to exhibition space.
Parsons Festival is sponsored in part by Blick Art Materials.