The MCAD MFA Program embraces and encourages fluid boundaries between various media, with emphasis on concept and experience. We offer and support opportunities for collaborative work. Our MFA students bring a diversity of voices, backgrounds, areas of expertise, and perspectives, and their work reflects that plurality. Working with our mentors, faculty, and visiting artists, students can gain further knowledge and skills to advance their practices.

Allison Bolah ’14 and mentor Katherine Turczan

MENTORS / FACULTY

Students can select their mentors from the MCAD faculty and/or the professional community of the Twin Cities. See the Current Mentor Roster to get a sense of who our students are working with.

Twin Cities Resources:

• Walker Art Center —internationally recognized multidisciplinary contemporary art center
• Minneapolis Institute of Art —comprehensive art museum showcasing the world’s diverse cultures
• McKnight Discussion Series —each spring visiting critics pair with McKnight Visual Artist Fellows for public discussion
• Art Shanty Projects —each winter, using lake ice as a relatively unregulated public space to expand the notions of what art can be.
• Forecast Public Art —fosters dynamic, inclusive and resilient communities through public art, community-engaged design and transformative placemaking; also publishes Public Art Review
• Public Art St. Paul — places artists in leading community roles to help shape public spaces, improve city systems, and deepen civic engagement.

Regional Funding

Additionally, MCAD’s MFA program can help you apply to several regional sources of funding. For some awards, you can apply during the summer between your first and second year to receive funding in the months after graduating.

• Jerome Foundation Grants
• Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program
• Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Grants
• McKnight Foundation Grants
• Midway Contemporary Art Visual Arts Fund
• Silverwood Park Annual Call
• Creative City Challenge
• Red Eye’s Works-In-Progress Program
• and more (the funding environment in MN is ever-evolving and growing)

Equipment, Space, Facilities

M/LAB is a 13,282-square-foot space fostering innovation and collaboration. It contains:

• Black Box Gallery
• Analog and digital print studios
• Film and animation production studios
• Digital photo lab
• Sound recording and mixing studio
• Web and multimedia studio
• High-tech classrooms
• 2 multi-use production studios

Visiting Artists/Designers/Critics 

Visiting artists, designers, and critics are a central element of Graduate Critique Seminar. Each week a visitor is invited to present their work and critique 2-3 students’ work during class. By the time a student has completed the MFA Program, they will have seen at least 30 different visiting critics. Additionally, the MFA Program regularly invites artists for clusters of studio visits.

Selection of Recent Alumni Working Across Disciplines

• Hallie Bahn
• Allison Bolah
• Kelsey Bosch
• Zoe Cinel
• Preston Drum
• Essma Imady
• Donna Meyer
• Nick Rivers
• Christopher Selleck
• Peng Wu

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