Virtual Spring Exhibitions

The coronavirus pandemic led to countless event cancellations around RIT in the spring of 2020, including our thesis, capstone and other end-of-year exhibitions — annual events that celebrate students' creative and innovative spirit. While students couldn't showcase their artwork in physical spaces this year, it's featured here.

Schools of Art and American Crafts (BFA)

An illustration of a girl with a cookie around her head, surrounded by a background of other desserts.

Illustration

Our Illustration hosts a walkthrough event to showcase graduating students' completed portfolios every spring. Work by Deanna Campagnola.

See portfolio pieces from the Class of 2020

Medical Illustration

Our Medical Illustration BFA program and the Medical Illustration MFA in the College of Health Sciences and Technology, in partnership with Rochester Regional Health, organize an exhibition of student work every May. The show, traditionally held in Rochester General Hospital's Werner Medical Library, features anatomical and surgical sketches used for instructional illustrations, courtroom exhibitions, computer graphics and much more. Below are illustrations that were to be displayed in the 2020 exhibition. More of the work can be found on our Instagram.

An illustration of neurons.

Wenrong He

An educational illustration of the common kingfisher bird.

Hannah Goerner

An educational illustration of tooth decay.

Steven Carranco

Studio Arts/Fine Arts Studio

As a graduation requirement, BFA candidates in Ceramics, Expanded Forms, Furniture Design, Glass, Metals and Jewelry Design, Painting, Printmaking and Sculpture exhibit their final body of work in an RIT exhibition space every spring. This year's BFA capstone exhibitions were scheduled to take place at RIT City Art Space in downtown Rochester.

Below is a sample of the artists' work — more can be found on their exhibition website.

Fire consumes a clock on the wall.

Xinming Cai (Fine Arts Studio)

An artful quilt with flowers and many colors.

Saralee DaPonte (Fine Arts Studio)

The back of a chair is held up by a hand for a photograph.

Nathan DeFreest (Furniture Design)

A mannequin dressed up in exquisite and colorful designs.

Jaclyn O'dell (Fine Arts Studio)

A print of rodents and traps.

Dominique Pickett (Fine Arts Studio)

A photo of a colorful accessory piece.

Maddy Schoenfeld (Metals and Jewelry Design)

A fan made out of lace and steel mesh.

Alix Soule (Metals and Jewelry Design)

A close look at glass powder.

Rachael Strittmatter (Glass)

A mask with red, wire-like material strung around it.

Sinee Tangkijngamwong (Metals and Jewelry Design)

Sterling silver earrings with freshwater pearls.

Megan Werner (Metals and Jewelry Design)

A painting of three women wearing dresses.

Jakiria Williams (Fine Arts Studio)

A painting of a hairy, large animal with two smaller ones laying next to it.

Vivian Trettenbach (Fine Arts Studio)

Two models wear dresses and accessory pieces designed by Seungyun Yoo

Seungyeon Yoo (Metals and Jewelry Design)

An intricate table design.

Qingying Zhao (Furniture Design)

Schools of Art and American Crafts MFA/MST

As a graduation requirement, MFA candidates in programs in the Schools of Art and American Crafts exhibit their final body of work in an RIT exhibition space. This year's MFA thesis shows — featuring the work of students in Fine Arts Studio, Furniture Design, Glass and Metals and Jewelry Design — were scheduled to be held in Bevier Gallery.

A sculpture hangs from a gallery wall.

Drishti Bhandari (Metals and Jewelry Design)

Six frames of a person standing behind glass.

Kayla Cantu (Glass)

A finely crafted chair with dark and lighter tones of wood.

Yahui Gao (Furniture Design)

Abstract designs within circle are suspended from the ceiling.

Laural Hartman (Fine Arts Studio)

A sculpture of screen prints found objects and fabricated steel.

Kathleen Johnson (Fine Arts Studio)

Sculpted toys sit atop a sculpture.

Jeff Leavitt (Fine Arts Studio)

An installation of a white object hanging on a wall.

YeaSeul Lee (Fine Arts Studio)

A gallery installation of a broom on a canvas figuratively sweeping broken glass.

Kerina Mangiaracina (Fine Arts Studio)

hands on a complex spiral of glass strands.

Madeline Rile Smith (Glass)

A display of plastic mannequins in a gallery.

Yajing Yan (Metals and Jewelry Design)

A bunch of glass-encased fruit.

Chenyue Yang (Glass)

Visual Arts-All Grades (MST in Art Education)

The program's annual artist educator exhibition is a showcase of art created by the regional K-12 students who MST candidates taught during student-teaching placements — highlights of which can be seen below.

An MST candidate sits down and teaches two young students.

Rachel Manhardt

An artist educator talks with a student one-on-one.

Christina Davis

An MST candidate poses for a photo with two of her students.

Emily Burke

A student-teacher instructs a young student.

Marissa Dreibelbis

Dan Emerson instructs a student in a classroom.

Dan Emerson

Katie Quinlisk talks to a student who is making art.

Katie Quinlisk

Brook Tisdale poses with a student and her artwork.

Brooke Tisdale

Jacob Tschiderer points to a piece of art one of his students is working on.

Jacob Tschiderer

School of Design

3D Digital Design

The program live-streamed senior capstone projects at the end of the spring semester. 

Graphic Design

Seniors in our Graphic Design program were scheduled to exhibit their capstone work in a space adjacent to RIT City Art Space, the College of Art and Design's downtown Rochester exhibition and event venue. They moved their showcase to Instagram (@long_distance2020). Design by Richie Campagnola.

See all projects

An overhead shot of table settings and food.

Industrial Design (BFA)

The annual Industrial Design capstone exhibition scheduled for University Gallery moved online to miro.com. Above work by Yuke Liu.

See all projects

Industrial Design (MFA)

Candidates in the Industrial Design MFA program exhibit their thesis projects in University Gallery every year — with the 2020 showcase shifting to miro.com. "Shared Kitchen" by Qian Liu.

See all projects

Interior Design

During the spring 2020 semester, 14 Interior Design seniors worked with Philadelphia-based Corbett, Inc. and two nonprofit organizations — the Dove Block Restoration Group and Dove Tribute Group — to propose designs for a historic building undergoing renovation in downtown Geneva, N.Y. Students presented design concepts for a first-floor community gallery space and third-floor experience center for Corbett, the prospective new owner of Geneva’s Dove Block building. 
 

A rendering of a new community gallery space in Geneva, N.Y.

Chris Beckley

A rendering of an experience center for Corbett.

Caroline Pedrotti

people in a rendering interact with the design of a proposed experience center.

Stefani Schultz

Visual Communication Design (MFA)

Graduating Visual Communication Design students exhibit and demonstrate their thesis work in University Gallery near the end of each spring semester. The program’s annual thesis showcase can also be found online. 

See all projects

School of Photographic Arts and Sciences

Fine Art Photography

For the first time in 2020, the annual group Fine Art Photography capstone exhibition was a dual-venue event. The work of 13 seniors was showcased at RIT City Art Space and William Harris Gallery. The “Not Far From Here” exhibition, and scheduled artist talks, were cut short due to COVID-19, however.

See the artists' work

A poster outlining the implementation of a digital asset management system using human-centered design.

Media Arts and Technology (MS)

The final research project for this one-year graduate program is designed to prepare students to be innovators in the rapidly evolving media landscape.

See more projects from the Class of 2020

Photographic Sciences

Each year, our Photographic Sciences program hosts a poster session exhibiting graduating students' capstone projects. This year, the show moved online. Poster by Danny Heitmann.

See all projects

Photography and Related Media

"Fractured Horizon" is a thesis exhibition featuring work by candidates in RIT's MFA in Photography and Related Media program. The show was originally scheduled for William Harris Gallery. Full documentation and information about the artists can be found on the exhibition website.

A portrait of someone with arms raised to a colorful night sky.

Granville Carroll

A man climbs a structure covered with art.

Carlos Tobon Franco

A photo of a black-and-grey photo within a frame.

Jiageng Lin

A series of photos sit on a mount in William Harris Gallery.

Hugo Teixeira

Visual Media

Graduating Visual Media students conclude their seniors years with a walkthrough event showcasing their capstone projects. This year, their end-of-study work was highlighted on a website developed by students Noah Bryant and Sara Collins.

See all projects