Friday, May 3rd, was the annual spring showcase of in-progress work by the first-year students of the ICP-Bard MFA program. Riffing off the theme of the photographic slide, a myriad of mediums including film, digital, video and performance were shown. The audience was invited to a pop-up exhibition, a half-hour video presentation of collaborative work, a visual photo conversation between the students (over six months) displayed as a looped video, an hour of presentations about their art in development, and a table of zines, books and postcards.
Moderated by Marvin Heiferman, the event was an opportunity for students to articulate their processes to a public audience, as well as gain solid experience of how to pull together a show from beginning to end as a team of artists. Reflecting on their first two semesters and, in some cases, on earlier photography before embarking on the program, the students had to dig deep, asking themselves, “Why do we make photographs?”
Backed by faculty, family and friends, the class used the opportunity to show gratitude to those who have supported them by sharing personal insights of graduate scholarship.
Nayland Blake introduced the event with affirmation for the students and recognition of this milestone—the midway mark of the program. The evening’s exhibition, charged with creative excitement for the students, represented a stepping stone towards the second year of the program.
Several of the students endorsed the inspired nature of the evening:
“Sharing my experience of this past year with a room full of people made me feel validated. I felt like everything I have been working on connects somehow, and I’m looking forward to exploring more next year.” – Genevieve Fournier
“I thought Slidefest 2018 was a wonderful opportunity to both demonstrate and celebrate the hard work we’ve put in during our first year of the MFA program. It was incredible to see how each student has grown and changed in a few short months.” – Michael McFadden
The following students were involved:
Samantha Box – @samantha.box
Ali DiLuccia – @alidiluccia
Genevieve Fournier – @gen_fournier
Avijit Halder – @avijithalder
Pippa Hetherington – @pippa_hetherington
Eugene Lee – @eugenevoyeur
Andrea Martucci – @artistandreamartucci
Michael McFadden – @mcfaddenphoto
Tomo Morisawa – @tomomorisawa
Lily Mott – @spillylily
Freddie Rankin – @flrsglobal
David Tu Sun Song – @davidtusunsong
EYE TO EYE 
Wish I could have been there, well done Pippa
Wish I could have been there, well done Pippa