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 Jocelyn Suzuka Figuero ’21 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 graduated last year in 2021. I received my BFA from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia—a school that manages to be even smaller than MCAD! There I was a painter obsessed with making really big work. I fed that impulse by painting murals with the artist collective Amber Art and Design right after graduation. Changes in my personal life suddenly brought me to move to Minnesota, where I found MCAD and the tight-knit community of creatives in the MFA program.

How did your art change while you were at MCAD?

When I first arrived I wanted to jump on the momentum I gained in Philadelphia: murals and very large paintings. But upon interviewing potential mentors, it became clear that I had to choose between two different paths: making Public Art, or personal work. I realized I needed to work through my own identity and sense of self before attempting to serve others in my work, so my practice was completely rerouted to develop an internal voice. I began maintaining a writing practice concurrent with my artistic one, and the form of my work changed as a result: slower, softer, and more deeply rooted.

How has your work evolved since your time at MCAD?

It has been a little over half a year, so I can’t say that the shifts are drastic yet! But I’ve taken the questions I began to ask in the MFA program, and I’m trying to push them a little farther. I now have the time to see who I am as an artist outside of the program—what my different practices are, and how they grow at their own paces.

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

I’m just going to keep on going! I’m very grateful to have received a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the MN State Arts Board this year, and am very excited by the possibility this offers. It will allow me to take the internal voice I’ve developed in my personal work and use it externally to center others’ stories. It’s a transition I’m excited to make.

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?

The connections and intellectual resources provided by the MFA program are invaluable. But those are only strong because it’s built upon the people within the community. When people from all backgrounds are able to have a seat at the table, the program as a whole will be stronger. More importantly, we need to support the BIPOC artists that want to join the MCAD MFA family and actively eliminate the barriers they face. I think it’s our responsibility to do so.