2026 VCUarts MFA Thesis Exhibition, Round 1

The 2026 VCUarts MFA Thesis Exhibition will premiere cutting-edge works from twenty-eight emerging artists and designers, representing the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts departments of Craft/Material Studies, Graphic Design, Kinetic Imaging, Painting + Printmaking, Photography + Film, and Sculpture + Extended Media.

Presented over two rounds at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU’s Markel Center, the thesis exhibition is the culmination of two years of intensive research and practice, showcasing the creativity, dynamism, exploration, and invention that make VCUarts one of the nation’s leading schools of art and design.

This exhibition was curated by Egbert Vongmalaithong, assistant curator of the ICA, and guest curator Taylor Jasper, Susan and Rob White Associate Curator of Visual Arts of the Walker Art Center. The exhibition identity was designed by Charles O’Leary.

MFA Performances and Screenings Schedule

Round 1

Friday March 20, MFA Exhibition Round 1 Opening, 5 pm – 9 pm

5-9 pm Miri Sluis The Authority of My Experience (20-40 mins, continuous loop) (Auditorium)
7 pm Kevin Hopkins, All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand (20-30 mins) (Gallery 2/3)

Saturday, March 21, MFA Listening Experience 4 pm – 5 pm

4 pm Miri Sluis, The Authority of my Experience (audio, 20-40 mins) (Auditorium)

Round 1 Featured Artists and Designers
Erin B Ehren
Cole Kamerick Alfelt-Eller
Nathaniel Newcomb
Daša Kulikova
Frances Adair Mckenzie
Colin Goodpasture
Kevin Hopkins
Megan Koeppel
Eva Foldy
kodiCrone (a.k.a. Miri Sluis)
Catie Leonard
Tori Mitchell
Hammet Reavis (also in True Farr Luck Gallery)

Round 2 of the exhibition will take place May 1–17.