Gaby Moreno is a Boston-based Salvadoran-American artist who aspires to be an art therapist at a children’s hospital.

Moreno is an Artward Bound alumna and like many of her peers, she is also a first-generation college student.

When she enrolled at MassArt she found support through the Academic Compass Program, which connects and supports undergraduate students with mentors, faculty, and staff. Through these programs, Moreno has found a sense of belonging and support. 

“My favorite thing about MassArt has to be the community, because the people are from everywhere,” says Moreno, “I don’t feel alone. I don’t feel like an outsider. Everyone is different and we all accept that. That’s beautiful. You don’t see that everywhere.”

Like most MassArt undergraduate students, Moreno also receives critical financial support. “Having this scholarship,” she notes, “is an opportunity, but it’s also a dream come true. If it wasn’t for it, I don’t think I’d be here.”

Flipping the World Upside Down

Prolific multimedia artist Cicely Carew has shown her work across Massachusetts and around the world. She was awarded the prestigious James and Audrey Foster Prize by Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art in 2023, in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the city’s art scene. Many of Carew’s larger installations are multimedia “flying paintings” constructed from layers of painted mesh and other found materials. She says that through her work — which is characterized by seemingly spontaneous abstract forms and vibrant colors — she aims to evoke a sense of “radical joy and liberation” in all who experience it.

On the podcast I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists, Curators and Collectors, hosted by Erica B. Hess, Stanley discusses how his own practice informs his teaching.

Have a Listen to James Stanley

James Everett Stanley is a New England-based painter whose work has been exhibited most recently at Sean Horton Presents, New York (2023); Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York (2023); Provincetown Arts Society, Provincetown (2023); EXPO Chicago (2022); Art Basel Miami Beach (2021); Gaa Gallery, Provincetown (2020); and his work is included in the permanent collection of The Studio Museum in Harlem. A graduate of the MFA program at Columbia University, Stanley is the recipient of fellowships from the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. He is associate professor of painting at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, Massachusetts.

jameseverettstanley.com