The MFA Program has articulated the following agreements and priorities. We share these publicly and during orientation, so everyone begins their MFA journey with an understanding of these foundational ideas. 

• We want to respectfully acknowledge that the land we are occupying in Minneapolis is unceded territory, the ancestral homelands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples. We acknowledge the grave harm that colonialism brought to these lands, in particular the erasure of both indigenous and African identities not only under genocide and slavery, but via racist laws that have segregated all people. We honor those who have lived– and do live, now– at these intersections of identity and experience.
  
• We create a collective, equitable, inclusive, and accessible community for an interdisciplinary and diverse group of makers. We want every student to have a place and purpose in this tight-knit program, supported by a strong cohort and the MCAD community.
• We normalize discussion of anti-racism, gender, disability, age (and the many other markers of privilege and difference), and systems of power and oppression as they relate to individuals’ creative practices.
• We are accommodating to all religions and practices and offer spaces to students if need be.
• We support each other’s health and safety, both physically and mentally. This includes support for victims of abuse or harassment. See Title IX resources.
• We value transparency and patience in communication between peers, and between students and the institution. We provide opportunities and time for everyone to communicate.
• We promote engagement with, and questioning of, contemporary discourses and contexts in students’ respective fields of study. We promote expansive; brave and courageous boundary-breaking.
• We promote discourse with mentors, faculty, staff, undergraduates, visiting makers, and community members. We value peer review and iteration as forms of community. We acknowledge the difference between intent and impact during discussion, and know that trust takes time to build.
• We celebrate blurring boundaries across disciplines and the fluid practices formed at the intersection of many creative modes, bodies of knowledge, and communities (mirroring real world creative practices).
• We value personal change, evolution, and discovery throughout students’ time in the program and are open to shifting and growing practices in new and exciting ways.
• We facilitate setting personalized creative goals, promoting self-determination, curiosity, and responsible research paths.
• We invest in our graduates’ success after graduation, and believe ongoing community development in combination with learning tangible professional development skills builds sustainability and financial health, which is a social justice issue.
• We provide value to a community beyond just the MCAD MFA Program through outreach in the form of public artist talks, workshops, and exhibitions. We value this community outreach.
• We value the ways in which art and design play a vital role in a healthy, functioning, and compassionate society. By promoting creativity and fun, we help keep perspective on what we are doing in the academy.