Role: Founder & Curator
Date: 2013
Date: 2013
Art Curation
Social design
Social design
School of Visual Arts All-Staff Art Show
An annual art exhibition showcasing artwork made by staff at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
About
The SVA All-Staff Art Show is an annual exhibition of works in various media made by staff members at the School of Visual Arts. The idea for the staff art show emerged during my senior year of college following an impromptu conversation with a campus security guard, where he unveiled his identity as an artist while guiding me through his portfolio. The surprise of this discovery motivated me to find other staff members across campus whose daytime roles concealed their artistic passions. After presenting my proposal to the department chairs and ultimately to the president of SVA, David Rhodes, I was able to bring the idea of the staff art show into fruition.
The photos on this page are from the opening night of the inaugural show on July 17, 2013 at the SVA Gramercy Gallery in Chelsea, showcasing the work of 72 artists and the community that gathered to celebrate them.
︎︎︎ (Slideshow) Harry Sookhai, campus security guard, sparked the idea for the staff art show. His work was publicly displayed for the first time in the 2013 inaugural show.
︎︎︎ Ray Trotman, a security guard at SVA’s printmaking building on E 21st St., works in puppetry and ventriloquism. He sews and makes his own dolls and costumes, and has also spent a number of years traveling and performing with his puppets. Since the All-Staff Art Show, he’s received greater attention and recognition as an artist on campus. In his own words: "I feel like a celebrity now! Everyone knows who I am now! And they come up to me and ask, 'Aren't you Ray, the guy with the puppets?'"