We are interviewing some of the generous MFA alumni who donated to our MFA 2020 Fund, which will support scholarships for future Black, Indigenous, and people of color MFA students.

Our new goal is to raise $40,000 by March 2022, allowing us to increase the size of the yearly grant to match the other MFA merit awards.

Please join us in learning more about Elissa Cedarleaf Dahl ’07 and her creative practice.

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Which year did you graduate and what brought you to MCAD for your MFA? Could you speak a little bit about your background?

I am a 2007 MFA grad with a background in Spanish translating and K-12 Arts Integration. I went to five different undergrad colleges and ended up getting my Bachelor’s Degree from Macalester. Art runs through my veins and is a big part of our family’s culture. I chose MCAD for my MFA because it allowed me to continue working in my school while pursuing my degree. The local connections I made at MCAD are still beneficial to this day! I was able to take my MFA coursework and combine it with my K-12 translating and Arts Integration experience and to earn an Art License via Portfolio from the State of Minnesota.

How did your art change while you were at MCAD?

While I was at MCAD, I thoroughly enjoyed access to the various facilities to build, print, design and create whatever artwork I could imagine. It felt freeing and fleetingly special to have the support from the various departments and immerse myself in art-making. While I was at MCAD, I moved from predominantly painting into more sculptural interpretations of the translating and language work I was doing in the schools. I started dabbling more in muralism and formally declaring myself a community artist. I taught Community Art as an Adjunct at MCAD for about six years after my MFA and appreciated deepening my relationship with the college and its students.

How has your work evolved since your time at MCAD?

Since MCAD I have become a licensed K-12 Art Educator and frequently lead collaborative community mural projects with my own students and groups of people around the world. I still do smaller commissioned oil paintings but the majority of my time is spent educating young artists in Minneapolis- around 400 of them each year!

What is next? Any new projects or jobs that are in the pipeline?

I am pursuing a Fulbright Distinguished Educator Program for 2023 with the hopes of going to Colombia to study and work on murals with students and the Comuna 13 community in Medellín. I just completed a mural for the Center for Neurobehavioral Development at the U of M’s Masonic Center for the Developing Brain and I am now working on an illustrative map for them.

You donated to support our MFA 2020 Fund, which benefits future Black, Indigenous, and People of Color MFA students – thank you! What motivated you to contribute to this scholarship effort?

I see that Racial Equity work in education is a daily, necessary investment and that the effort needs to be brought forth by white people who have benefitted from our privilege and cultural dominance. BIPOC voices in the art world are our guiding compass and need to be uplifted and supported. If the MFA 2020 Fund can financially assist these students, that is one less barrier to their sense of belonging and ability to succeed in a higher education institution like MCAD.