And Then: 2026 Thesis Exhibition

MFA Visual Narrative presents “And Then,” a thesis exhibition of story-driven installations and interactive work by the 2026 Class of MFA Visual Narrative, curated by artists and educators Olivia Li and Brooke Viegut.
 
The exhibition will be on view Thursday, July 2, 2026, through Saturday, July 18, 2026, at the SVA Gramercy Gallery, 209 East 23rd Street, 1st floor, New York City. The SVA Gramercy Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00am–6:00pm.

How do we hold onto each other in worlds that keep trying to tear us apart? What does it mean to finally come home?

And Then brings together work in a variety of media from the eleven intrepid artists of the MFA Visual Narrative Class of 2026. From the depths of the ocean 444 million years ago to last summer in Santo Domingo, from ships navigating dystopian futures to gothic castles to apartment blocks at the end of the world, these works ask what other times and places can teach us about the one we already inhabit.

You are invited to go deep here. Read what is meant to be read, play what is meant to be played, and touch what can be touched. Let these stories sweep you into folklore, fantasy, queer romance, and satire—torn between the desire to escape and the pull to stay, grounded in our deeply human desires for love and something that looks like home.

 
2026 exhibiting artists are Kevin Cadena, Katie Coleman, Kelsey Cretcher, Nikari Dominguez, Shing Yin Khor, Lily Lu, Skye Mahaffie, Abigail Ryan, Ben Simon, Quinton Singer, and Alli Wolf.