Graduating Student Exhibition

The 2023 Graduating Student Exhibition presents the work of more than 600 student graduates in 16 areas of study from the School of Art and Design. The work is the culmination of each student’s unique experience in FIT’s diverse, challenging, and demanding undergraduate art and design programs. Featuring juried, award-winning, and thesis projects, this presentation is the manifestation of several years of research, experimentation, critical thinking, and artistic proficiency. The Graduating Student Exhibition advances the college’s philosophy that integrates practice in industry with theory and teaching inside the studio. 

The exhibition will be on view in several spaces on FIT’s campus on West 27th Street.

Exhibition Map (PDF)

Exhibitions

The Museum at FIT, Gallery FIT

The next creative revolution is underway. Technology has unleashed new possibilities for how we communicate and how we connect. The digital age calls for new creatives who can develop ideas that are meaningful and powerful, amplified by the possibilities of new technologies. Ideas that shape culture rather than merely reflect it. Ideas that spark conversations. Ideas that can make a difference. As you will see in the Graduating Student Exhibition, the Advertising and Digital Design BFA curriculum has prepared students to work in the new creative partnership of art director, writer, and experience designer at advertising and digital agencies in the 2020s.

Pomerantz Center, Art and Design Gallery, Second Floor Studio

Animation and interaction design were once two separate but related disciplines that have become integrated in ways that turn static environments into interactive experiences. Students draw on their core skills and the availability of new technology design in ways that enable audience participation in various forms, such as apps, games, and environments. Each year, students graduating from the Animation, Interactive Media, and Game Design BFA program complete a thesis project that represents some aspect of their studies that is of particular interest. Students draw on the many disciplines they have been exposed to throughout their two years in the program. The projects often reflect their backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and dreams, which will help inform their development in their chosen fields.

Pomerantz Center, Art and Design Gallery

The Fabric Styling major provides students with a strong foundation in research, concept development, and trend forecasting. Targeting specific markets with a special emphasis on color and textiles, students develop their design skills to create strong presentations based on a variety of references that range from historical and cultural trends to the current socioeconomic climate. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary learning with courses in fashion history, design, and textile construction, as well as electives in photography, business development, and marketing. This exhibition showcases the collaborative work of senior BFA students in their thesis capstone course.

Goodman Resource Center Lobby

These stunning and visionary design illustrations and garments display the talent and skill of Fashion Design graduating students, achieved through focused dedication and industrious work. During their four years in the rigorous Fashion Design program, the students develop individual aesthetics and proficiency in garment construction. Industry critics provided mentorship alongside our dedicated faculty in the classrooms enabling students to conceptualize, design and produce the exceptional work that is on display. These professional-quality looks and illustrations are selected by a panel of industry judges and faculty from four of the specializations—Sportswear, Special Occasion, Knitwear, and Intimate Apparel.

The Museum at FIT, Special Exhibitions Gallery (Painting)

John E. Reeves Great Hall (Sculpture)

Reception: Tuesday, May 16, 5–8 pm

How does a young artist create work that is relevant in our contemporary culture? In our ever-changing and interconnected culture, further altered by the pandemic, students considered multiple social, cultural, and political influences within their creative practices, while forging a formal visual language uniquely their own. This year, FIT’s Fine Arts thesis students grappled with these issues and responded with works that reflect a range of expanded perspectives. Cultural themes of heritage and identity, personal versus public persona, and race relations are on the minds of many FIT seniors. Students examined our reliance on technology and the increasing role it plays in our lives, as well as ecological issues including the impact of society on nature and climate change. The creativity of our students manifested in a myriad of ways, including painting, mixed-media work, book arts, and both freestanding as well as wall-mounted sculptures. Because of FIT’s proximity to New York’s art galleries and museums, these students have developed a greater awareness of how their own ideas relate to both their creative predecessors and today’s contemporary dialogue.

Feldman Center, Lobby Showcase and Balcony

Graduating students in the Footwear and Accessories Design AAS and BFA programs designed their collections around their interpretations of what the future holds. They were encouraged to do in-depth research before producing their collections, fully exploring their inspirations through their customers and season. The students’ designs feature a wide variety of materials, including plastics, wood, textiles, upcycled materials, pearls, metals, 3D printings, and leather. Each student had the choice to specialize in footwear, handbags, or art. The works were conceived and created entirely by the students and were selected for the exhibition by faculty members and industry critics.

Pomerantz Center, Back Lobby

Graphic designers are active participants in the public discourse. They offer thoughtful perspectives in our globalized and technologically advanced society. Students of our program focus on the study of intercultural issues. They explore the shifting practice of receiving words and images on screens and in print and, in turn, immerse themselves in research that leads to new insights. In the final semester, they engage in the robust conceptual development of a chosen subject and apply rigorous experimentation in diverse graphic media. Their profound studies lead to a vast variety of professional opportunities with cultural institutions, global corporations, political organizations, the entertainment industry, and niche studios. Our alumni are active participants in shaping the visual voice of our society.

The Museum at FIT, Special Exhibitions Gallery

Illustration students at FIT learn the application of art, technology, and entrepreneurship. The program prepares students for careers in the competitive graphic arts business. Students integrate traditional and digital art media and techniques as well as engage in creative problem-solving processes to produce imagery for commercial applications that effectively communicate information and target specific markets. During their time at FIT, students develop their personal style, technique, and expression, creating a strong body of work that culminates in the end-of-year exhibition. The high quality of work reflects their talent, persistence, and experience and represents the initial step for each artist in his or her career endeavor.

Pomerantz Center, Art and Design Gallery

The mission of the Interior Design program at FIT is to educate the next generation of environmentally and socially responsible, creative, and globally relevant interior design professionals. To achieve this mission, the two-year AAS and two-year BFA degree programs strive to nurture students’ artistic potential and assist in the development of an aesthetic sense. Students are challenged to utilize evidence-based design and innovate, collaborate, and experiment in an effort to transform the built environments in which we live, work, learn, and play. We strive to empower students with sound design methodologies for success and leadership positions in the profession.

Goodman Resource Center Lobby

Our Jewelry Design students will enter an industry that requires them to strike a dynamic balance between product design, craft, business practices, sustainability, and social responsibility. The 2023 Graduating Student Exhibition presents their visions as they balance these factors and find their voices. The unspoken statement of ornament is a powerful one, and this power is explored, harnessed, and released by our students. The exhibition has been curated to demonstrate the range of talent in each student. The ideas expressed, the materials used, and the construction methods employed are both ancient and modern. Our students’ creative voices make a powerful comment on their moment in time.

Goodman Resource Center Lobby

The Fashion Design department proudly showcases these garments created by Menswear students in their fourth-semester capstone classes. All graduating student garments are first designed in their third-semester portfolio presentation class. Students construct their muslin prototypes, conduct fittings, and refine their garments prior to making final patterns. Once these fully sewn muslin prototypes, or “toiles,” have been perfected, students cut each item using their final fabrications. Every original garment incorporates construction details as well as tailoring techniques that are refined and perfected throughout the entire Menswear program. A recognized and respected designer critiques each student’s design and selects the best of these original submissions for display in the FIT Graduating Student Exhibition. Past critics have included Robert Stock (founder of Chaps), Ben Stubbington of Theory, Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein, Doug and Ben Burkman, John Bartlett, Tim Hamilton, David Hart, Abasi and Rosborough, Robert Stock, and John Varvatos.

Goodman Resource Center Lobby

The Packaging Design BFA is the only one of its kind in the United States. Our graduates play a commanding role in the ecosystem of consumer brand companies around the globe. In a highly competitive and complex marketplace, designing for consumer brands is strategic in developing an experiential brand world on and off pack, which requires a vast array of knowledge and creative skill sets. The ability to apply design thinking toward innovation, e-commerce, socialism, globalism, brand loyalty, sustainability, and the circular economy is essential. In the current brand and packaging design sphere, customization, subscription, and direct-to-consumer delivery add to the immense opportunities for brands to make lasting impressions. The diverse array of projects in the Graduating Senior Exhibition display cases reflects a small sampling of the impressive talent of this graduating class of students.

The Museum at FIT, Special Exhibitions Gallery

Reception: Tuesday, May 16, 5–8 pm

Our world is saturated with the photographic image—from personal experiences to the latest fashion trends, photography helps to define the culture of a particular place and time. With each new generation of image-makers, new technological advances, new stories, and new ways of seeing arise. The exhibition from the graduating class of the Photography and Related Media department is just a microcosm of a larger photographic universe, one that is constantly evolving. The artists represented in this show span a range of mediums, from traditional photographic techniques to experimentation with video and modern technology.

Pomerantz Center, Art and Design Gallery, Back Gallery

Explorable experiences combining storytelling and worldbuilding are transforming the world of design. This combination of extraordinary visual display, interactive design, environmental graphics, architecture, and digital technology is reshaping brand activations, exhibitions, events, and pop-ups. Graduating students in the Spatial Experience Design BFA program create experiences and activations. Experiences that can tell stories about a brand or advocate for a cause. Places that can improve the way we learn or reinforce activities that can improve our lives. The capstone design project is the culmination of a two-year journey; students find their voices through research, concept design, advanced visualization, and physical construction. They take ownership of their ideas through interviews with industry leaders, the development of their own storytelling approach, and the fabrication of an inspiring design in a public space.

Pomerantz Center, Art and Design Gallery

By developing students’ intellectual, aesthetic, analytical, and technological abilities, the Textile/Surface Design major offers students the opportunity to create painted, woven, and printed textile designs while integrating new and emerging technologies. Students acquire an understanding of design methods and principles while learning to implement ideas into products. They explore historical and contemporary source material and experiment as they establish their personal artistic style. Within the commercial requirements of the textile industry, students push the boundaries of design. The student work highlights the strong relationship between creativity, technique, and marketability.

The Museum at FIT, Gallery FIT

Toy Design work in the Graduating Student Exhibition recognizes imagination as a tool in the development of self-image. It encourages a healthy lifestyle and active play as essential, vital parts of childhood. Trusting their abilities helps children build critical-thinking skills that lead to positive life choices. Students invent toys and games that provide open-ended exploration and play. They give children room to think and breathe. They connect children with nature and the world around them. Some products and concepts encourage positive communication between children through their social networks. Toy Design students write and illustrate storybooks that acknowledge the power of creativity. Some use the imagination to devise creative ways to problem-solve real-world issues. Others address matters of community and cultural heritage. This year, the Toy Design Graduating Student Exhibition focuses on the importance of a mindful design process to guide the journey in which toy products develop from a spark of imagination, through manufacture, and into the enthusiastic, unassuming grasp of a child. 

Exhibition Hours

 The Museum at FIT:
Wednesdays-Fridays: Noon–8 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10 am–5 pm

All other campus locations:
Daily: 9 am–5 pm