At MassArt, we approach photography as an opportunity for conversation-–a way to express our evolving perspectives on a changing world. Through critique, collaboration, creation, and critical thinking, students strive, together with accomplished faculty, to explore the potent and versatile language of photography. Situated in Boston’s thriving artistic community, the MassArt Photography department offers students boundless resources and opportunities for artistic growth, community, and professional development.
As a MassArt student, I was fortunate to be surrounded by faculty who served as exceptional role models of how to effectively balance life as an artist-educator.Robert Knight ’06 MFA Photography
Ryan Arthurs is a visual artist living in Buffalo, New York. He received his M.F.A. in Photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and holds a B.F.A. in Studio Art from Carleton College. Ryan was a visiting professor at Carleton College, and was a photography teaching assistant at Harvard University. He was a printmaking Artist-In-Residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado and The Bothy Project, Isle of Eigg in Scotland.
Growing up queer in Xiamen, China, Chen found roundabout ways to explore his identity.
At an opera, “I was amazed by a performer who is actually biological female,” he said. “She would dress up like a male character and sing boldly and powerfully on stage.”
Then, “I was obsessed with video games . . . because I can change my character to female. I can also change my character to a male,” he said. “I can change my character to a non-human creature. It just gave me a lot of freedom.”
At MassArt, photography has been Chen’s platform to integrate childhood influences and perform his true, evolving self. In his series “The Factory of Desire,” he said, “I’m trying to bring the unseen desire to the stage.”
April 3 – May 5, 2023
Free and open to the public.
Panopticon Gallery
Hotel Commonwealth
500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
From large universities to smaller colleges, New England is rich with gifted students and scholars. Among these programs, photography has flourished, making this an area celebrated within photo history. Our annual Student Show honors academic diversity and thus features work selected by the schools themselves. The 2023 Student Show celebrates emerging photographers hailing from eight of our Institutional Member schools. This year the exhibition will be presented on-line and in-person at to whom we express deep gratitude for their support and sponsorship.
2023 Student Show Exhibitors:
Emerson College: Hannah Davis, Sophie Jin, Maya Seri
Endicott College: Rachel Cardillo, Kenley Kegler, Allyson LaBonte
Fitchburg State University: Keyloni Jackson, Emily Phillips, Rhina Tiburcio
Lesley University College of Art and Design: Jake Benzinger, Abby Cook, Michael Whitmore
MassArt: Yukai Chen, Alice Romanov, Sam Sturznickel
Northeastern University: Devan Jeffery, Olivia Olson-Roberts, Emma Stoloff
SMFA at Tufts University: Niko Krivanek, Bai Song, Quincey Spagnoletti
Wellesley College: Shawyuan Hsu, Bell Pitkin, Sophie Sebastiani
“Photography is, of course, a form of preservation, an attempt to distill and to keep. Using 19th-century technology in the 21st, I attempt to slow time and open a space for both contemporary facts and imagination.”
Laura McPhee lives alternatively in New York City and rural Idaho and teaches at the public Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.
Read the full article and see more from “River of No Return”
“I’ve been told that no one leaves home from an excess of happiness and comfort. One leaves, because it’s not possible to remain,” said Nosenko.
Her color photography reveals quiet interiors with unexpected details, nostalgic portraits, and a wistful atmosphere.
Nosenko is currently pursuing her MFA in Photography at MassArt. She first studied design in Moscow and worked for an urban planning company before turning to event photography and portraiture.
I’m Glad You’ve Left is on view from March 2 to May 3, and there will be a reception on March 2 at 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
McPhee was born in Manhattan and grew up in New Jersey. After earning a BA from Princeton University and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, she started as a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. McPhee is currently exploring the desert west of the US and is best known for her works that capture complex stories about nature, geology and humankind. McPhee has won numerous awards for her work.
