On the first Friday of March this year, Open Studio Night 2016 marked the debut of the MFA program’s new home at 2201 First Avenue South. This expanded 23,000 square foot facility gives students room to really flex their creative muscles and supports the rigor and vitality that make MCAD’s MFA program one of the best environments in the nation to pursue advanced studies in art and design.

MFA Program Director Tom DeBiaso highlighted, “The building hosts over 50 studios, a computer lab, a 3-D shop, a smart classroom, a spectacular 3,200 square foot state of the art gallery with beautiful natural light, a stage, and a black box space for new media and installation work.” Designed by a team of MCAD staff, graduate faculty, and lead architect Patrick Regan of noted local firm James Dayton Architects, the new facility repurposes a previously underutilized building near the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and MCAD’s main campus. The MFA program is excited to build relationships with its new neighbors and eagerly anticipates the creative cross-pollination this proximity affords.

All were invited to an evening of creativity and community at Open Studio Night 2016. Attendees were able to check out work by the newest generation of emerging talent, meet the artists, get a behind-the-scenes look at their studios, and rub elbows with others in Minnesota’s creative community. Candidates in MCAD’s interdisciplinary MFA program explore a vast array of ideas through a multitude of media including animation, comic arts, drawing, design, fiber arts, filmmaking, installation, interactive media, painting, paper and book arts, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and sound. There’s something intriguing for everyone here.