Thesis Exhibitions Give MFA Fine Arts Students a Chance to Present, Perform, and Discuss Their Work

Over the course of their graduate school careers at Otis College of Art and Design, MFA Fine Arts students share their work on campus through group and thesis exhibitions as well as open studios. These public presentations offer opportunities for the students to not only show their work, but to discuss it and see how viewers—faculty, artists, curators, gallerists, and fellow students—engage with it.

Most recently, during the campus-wide O-Launch weekend on May 10-12, 2024, MFA Fine Arts and MFA Graphic Design students hosted open studios, offering an intimate view of their workspaces and creative output. The graduating Fine Arts students also presented a selection of works in a group exhibition in the Bolsky Gallery. 

Earlier in the year, first-year MFA Fine Arts students took part in their mid-residency show, Nobody’s Everything. The annual mid-residency exhibition showcases and introduces the work of first-year graduate students to the Otis community, greater Los Angeles, and beyond. 

However, the capstone to the graduate students’ time at Otis is their thesis exhibitions, which are presented during the spring of their second and final year. These thesis exhibitions are installed throughout the Spring semester, and students are available to discuss their work during in-person receptions held during their respective exhibitions. After the exhibitions close, photo documentation is available for online viewing in virtual galleries.

Below is a selection of installation views from each exhibition. 

Photographs by Jess Star/Otis College of Art and Design.

Related News