“The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” —Muriel Rukeyser

“FIND YOUR STORY” is the mission of the MFA Visual Narrative program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Our students evolve their voices as both creative writers and visual artists, utilizing the strengths of all media, from traditional visual arts, animation and film to games and digital narrative platforms.

These students found their stories. Find yours.

With story at our core, this interdisciplinary, low-residency program includes three summer intensive sessions at SVA, linked by two academic years of flexible online study. Chaired by Nathan Fox, an accomplished artist and illustrator, the MFAVN program prepares students to respond to the art and commercial markets’ growing demand for visual storytellers. To date, thesis projects include books, games, comics, an interactive audio narrative, animated shorts, photography and found objects. A project’s viability is considered during the approval process, but we have no limitations on which storytelling platforms our students choose.

To carry out this vision, the faculty is drawn from a range of creative fields and includes critic/editor Bill Kartalopoulos (The Best American Comics), theatre director Christina Roussos, comic artist/writer Jim Rugg (Street Angel), author Lisa Cron (Story Genius and Wired for Story), photographer Stacy Renee Morrison, designer/animator Tim Szetela, children’s literature critic/curator Leonard Marcus, author/game producer Ben Zackheim, and TV writer Ed Valentine (Fairly OddParents, Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man).

Applications for Summer 2017 are currently open. In order to be considered for departmental merit-based scholarships, applications must be received by February 1, 2017. We will then continue to accept applications on a rolling basis as space allows.

MFAVN’s expanded capabilities include the RisoLAB, a hub of small scale and experimental printing and publishing activity. It offers continuing ed classes throughout the year.

Start the application process now or ask us questions.