phd history of art cambridge

History of Art

The material taught in the History of Art Tripos will appeal to those with a particular interest in the history and criticism of art and architecture in Western Europe. Cambridge is an ideal place in which to study History of Art, since it has a rich legacy of architectural masterpieces. Trinity, in common with other colleges, possesses many fine paintings, illuminated manuscripts, and rare books. The Fitzwilliam Museum, the whose staff contribute to teaching in the Department of History of Art, has a collection of international importance.

The Tripos consists of a one-year Part I and a Part II which may be studied over one or two years; the one-year option is designed for those who have already taken a two-year Part I in another subject. Emphasis throughout the course is placed on first-hand contact with works of art and architecture. Travel is therefore encouraged and the College offers grants for this purpose.

Course Details

A good memory for visual images is needed for success in the subject, but this improves rapidly with practice. Creative artistic ability is not in itself required, although direct experience of techniques such as drawing, painting, print-making, and sculpture is valuable. A reading knowledge of at least one foreign language – especially Italian, German, or French – is essential, and Latin is important for those studying medieval or Renaissance topics.

There are many choices of A-levels that are suitable for History of Art, although Italian, German, Greek, Latin, French, History, or English would all provide a useful preparation for the course. An A-level in History of Art is not necessary: what the interviewers will be looking for in candidates is not specialist knowledge but intellectual potential, visual sensitivity, and evidence of enthusiasm for the subject.

History of Art is one of the smallest subjects at Cambridge and Trinity would expect to accept about two or three applicants each year. The College’s Director of Studies is Professor Alyce Mahon, the Department’s specialist in Modern and Contemporary art. Applicants will normally have a subject-based interview with Dr Mahon and another member of staff.  The typical conditional offer is A*AA.

More information about the Tripos is given in the course brochure; if you would like a copy, please write to the Secretary, Department of History of Art, 1 Scroope Terrace, Cambridge CB2 1PX. You can also visit the departmental website.

• Department of History of Art

Admissions Assessment

All applicants for History of Art are required to take a  written assessment  at interview, if interviewed.

ASSESSMENT FORMAT

• Structured comparison of images (60 minutes)

  History of Art Admissions Assessment Specification

Further details about the format of the assessment and preparatory materials can be found on the  written assessments  page.

You do not need to register or be registered in advance for the assessment at interview – the College will provide details of arrangements in the emails inviting applicants to interview.

Please note that your performance in the assessment at interview will not be considered in isolation, but will be taken into account alongside the other elements of your application.

Teaching Staff

• Professor Alyce Mahon

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History of Art MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

By studying for your graduate research degree at UCL History of Art, you will join prominent researchers in diverse fields and a thriving graduate community. Our students pursue successful academic positions and curating and related careers. They participate in our regular research seminars and produce our journal Object . We also offer opportunities to work as Teaching Assistants in the department.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

• Entry requirements

A UK Master's degree in a relevant discipline (pass of 68% or better), or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Students are normally required to have achieved an upper second-class UK Bachelor’s or its overseas equivalent at first degree level.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

A PhD in the History of Art department will allow you to pursue independent, original research and encourage you to develop work that engages with various historical and contemporary cultural debates. As a PhD student, you will be an essential part of our research community; as such, we invite you to attend our various seminar series and conferences and to be involved in producing the events. We offer opportunities to train as a Teaching Assistant, providing valuable preparation for the demands of an academic career.

Who this course is for

Our MPhil/PhD History of Art is suitable for candidates wishing to pursue research in one of the most dynamic and pioneering centres for the study of art history in the world.

What this course will give you

We have a thriving graduate research community. Students participate in our weekly  graduate seminar and actively organise events for the department's  Past Imperfect  and the  Centre for the Study of Contemporary Art (CSCA) . Research students also write, edit and produce the journal  Object . PhD students are also encouraged to participate in  ReSkIN , a seminar and support scheme for PhD students working in art and architectural histories, as well as visual, cultural and curatorial studies. The programme brings together students from eight institutions: the Bartlett School of Architecture, Birkbeck, the Courtauld Institute, Goldsmiths, SOAS, the Slade School of Art, UCL, and the Warburg Institute.

The foundation of your career

PhD students can work as Teaching Assistants in the department; the combination of research and teaching skills prepares them for the diverse demands of an academic career. Our PhD can also prepare students to take up senior curatorial or management positions in museums or the heritage industry.

Recent graduates have been awarded prestigious postdoctoral fellowships and secured academic positions at top universities and research institutes in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia. Many have also pursued successful curatorial careers at major museums and collections in Britain, including the Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Barbican Art Gallery and many more, including museums and galleries abroad. Others work as art journalists or in publishing.

Employability

The PhD in the History of Art requires independent, self-motivated research and will teach students to formulate and convey their ideas to specialised and broader audiences. It will enable students to develop original thinking on all aspects of visual culture, drawing on historical and contemporary cultural debates. Students gain experience working in different kinds of archives and with different approaches to visual material.

The History of Art Department hosts extensive research seminars, conferences, public lectures, and workshops with external contributors and partners. First-year students participate in the Research Skills Intercollegiate Network (ReSkIN), which brings together students and research staff in history of art, architecture, fine art, and visual culture across London’s universities for networking and conferences. Research students are directly involved in organising events for the department’s research groups, including Past Imperfect and the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Art, and contribute to creating the Object journal. Visits to museums, galleries, archives, and collections throughout London and beyond are integral to our research culture.

Teaching and learning

Most of the years during which you are studying for your PhD will be spent engaging in independent research in consultation with your supervisor. Regular meetings with this supervisor will inform the structure and timescale of your research.

All students working toward a PhD are initially registered for the MPhil degree; this is changed to PhD registration upon satisfactory completion of the upgrade procedure. PhD students will then produce a thesis of no more than 100,000 words. 

Meetings with supervisors will be regular but arranged on an individual basis. Predominantly, students will be engaged in self-directed study.

Research areas and structure

• Art theory and the history of the discipline
• European art and architecture c. 1700–1945
• Art, architecture, and aesthetics of the Global South
• Cross-cultural studies and globalisation
• Materials, objects and practices of art history
• Modern and contemporary art
• Medieval and early modern studies
• The history of the body and the relationship between art and science
• The history of visual technologies (print, photography, time-based media).

Research environment

UCL History of Art is a world-leading centre of scholarship consisting of a diverse community of researchers. The department ranked 1st in London and 3rd in the UK for Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 (overall GPA rankings). The research culture of the department is vibrant, a place where the challenge and excitement of thinking about visual form and material practices in their historical, social and political dimensions are never forgotten. More than a set of degree programmes and research outputs, the department is a community of scholars committed to pushing the boundaries of the critical and scholarly study of all art forms.

You will join ReSkIN, the UCL-founded intercollegiate network that brings together students from across London institutions where the History of Art and Visual Culture is studied. This offers you a chance to meet other PhD researchers across London and participate in discussions led by research staff in the field.

Throughout your time with us, the department will encourage you to present and share your work in various ways. Typically, this has included a third-year symposium and the Object journal, where you can submit your work for publication and serve on the editorial board.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is three years for full-time and five years for part-time. However, most students take up to one more year, or up to two years part-time, to submit, during which time they are registered as completing research status (CRS) students.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transferring to a PhD after successfully completing an upgrade viva nine months (15 months part-time) after initial registration.

In your first year, you will embark on the first steps of your research - you will undertake mandatory skills training and begin to update your research student log to track your initial progress in the department. You will be expected to meet with your supervisor regularly and define your research project's basic structure and timelines. You will also prepare your upgrade paper and presentation, and upon the successful competition of this upgrade, you will move from an MPhil to a PhD. This upgrade paper is typically the basis for the first chapter of your thesis.

Your second year is primarily devoted to carrying out archival and library-based research, which is then developed through further writing. This is also often the year in which you may travel to other locations and institutions to further your breadth of research. 

In your third year, you will be expected to focus on completing the full draft of the dissertation. Then, you will prepare for submission - mainly through fine-tuning your research apparatus, such as referencing, bibliography and other supporting material. You will also usually present your work in a third-year student symposium. If you are not ready to submit at the end of the third year, you will be able to register for completing research student status (CRS) while you write up your thesis, assuming other criteria have been met.

You can complete your PhD over five years on a part-time basis. You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transferring to the PhD after successfully completing an upgrade viva 15 months after initial registration (nine months for full-time).

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees .

Additional costs

Additional research costs associated with PhD research vary depending on the project. Some students may need to complete research trips, both in the UK and overseas, depending on the scope of their research.

Students whose PhD is being funded by an external body will likely receive a research allowance as part of their award. The department also offers all PhD students the opportunity to apply for some limited funding to support their research once a year - however, this is not guaranteed.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

The majority of our research students receive funding for their studies. There are several sources of funding, including awards offered centrally by UCL.

AHRC Scholarships The department has typically secured 2-4 AHRC scholarships each year. AHRC scholarships are awarded and administered by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) . Applicants for these scholarships must apply to the UCL History of Art research degree before applying for funding via LAHP.

In addition, there are some sources of funding offered by the department each year. Please check the departmental website for details and deadlines.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

UCL Research Opportunity Scholarship (ROS)

Deadline: 12 January 2024 Value: UK rate fees, a maintenance stipend, conference costs and professional development package (3 years) Criteria Based on both academic merit and financial need Eligibility: UK

Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements; check with the department to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation. You should identify and contact potential supervisors or consult with the departmental Graduate Tutor before making your application. For more information, see the How to apply page.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2024-2025

Got questions get in touch.

History of Art

[email protected]

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From its earliest beginning in 1874 as one of Harvard’s twelve divisions, the Department has expanded its variety of fields to comprise expertise that spans the globe and ranges from antiquity to contemporary art. Our Faculty supports cross-regional, transnational, and transcultural modes of analysis built around the principle of contact zones between cultures. Another priority of our Department concerns the material specificity of works of art across all media, as well as in the various processes and technologies of their production. In this we are well served by partnerships with the Harvard Art Museums, Fine Arts Library, Graduate School of Design, Houghton Library, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Visual and Environmental Studies, whose rich collections and facilities are an integral part of what we do in our innovative undergraduate and graduate teaching and research.

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Undergraduate .

Anti-Racist Statement from the Department of History of Art and Architecture (April 2021)

Black lives matter statement from the department of history of art and architecture (june 2020), professor sarah lewis' vision and justice publishing initiative featured on a new york times article.

Cécile Fromont Appointed as new HAA Professor and as First Faculty Director of the Cooper Gallery of African and African American Art at the Hutchins Center

Hescah talk of mothers, wives, and goddesses: looking for women in the art of the himalayas, houghton-medieval studies workshop in early book history, the map is not the territory: critical geovisualization on the armenian border, colonial networks: remapping the “paris” art world in a 1786 map of saint domingue.

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PhD in History

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The PhD in History is an advanced research degree, awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral viva voce examination. The primary purpose of the PhD is the preparation and presentation of a substantial piece of independent and original academic research, completed in three or four years if studying full-time and five years if studying part-time.

Every PhD student in the Faculty of History is supported by a supervisor (or in some cases, supervisors). Supervisors are experts in their field of study and support students throughout the PhD. Students will also benefit from the advice and support of other academic members of the Faculty who will be involved in progression through the various stages of the PhD, from the registration assessment exercise at the end of the first year through to the completion of the thesis.

Most of our PhD students study here full-time but each year we admit a number of students who wish to study on a part-time basis. Part-time study can be ideal for those who are looking to gain a postgraduate qualification without leaving employment and wish to develop their careers while they continue earning, or for those who are home-based for whatever reason and wish to develop their skills. However, it’s important to note that the part-time PhD at Cambridge is not a distance-learning course. Part-time students are expected to fully engage with the Faculty, to integrate into the research culture of the University and to attend the University on a regular basis for supervision, study, skills training, research seminars and workshops.

Throughout their time at the Faculty, PhD students are encouraged to attend one or more of the Faculty’s postgraduate workshops in their subject group or area of research. These workshops are spaces for PhD students to share their work and collaborate with visiting speakers, academic and peers. 

Learning Outcomes

The Cambridge PhD is designed as structured, flexible and individual preparation for becoming a professional researcher. It will help students develop the core skills needed by arts, humanities or social sciences professional researcher of the future, which are valued by both academic and non-academic employers.

The Faculty’s MPhil programmes provide excellent preparation for doctoral study and many of our MPhil students choose to stay at Cambridge to pursue a Cambridge PhD.

Students wishing to continue to the PhD are normally expected to achieve an overall average of 70 in their MPhil with a mark of at least 70 in their dissertation.

Admission to the PhD is always subject to the availability of a suitable supervisor.

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, faculty of history, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, michaelmas 2024.

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Funding Deadlines

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• Economic and Social History MPhil
• Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Japanese Studies) MPhil
• Early Modern History MPhil
• American History MPhil
• Network of Life (Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme) PhD

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Art & Art History News - April 9, 2024

Upcoming events.

King Awards Ceremony & Exhibition

Awards Ceremony & Reception: THIS FRIDAY!! April 12, 2024, 4:00-6:00PM Exhibition in the Visual Arts Complex: Wednesday, April 10 - April 19, 2024 

Undergraduate Finalists: Lisa An, Annabelle Farris, Sarah Mak, Alice Neild, Brooke Schuh

Graduate Finalists: Dati Alsaedi, Ana González Barragán, Cody Norton, Silvia Alejandra Saldivar Romero, Natalie Thedford

View online exhibition

Image: Lisa An,  Untitled, October 2023, photographic print on matte paper, 20in x 30in with borders

Setsuko and Hiroki Morinoue: Visiting Artist Lecture

Monday, April 22 at 4:00 PM Visual Arts Complex, Auditorium 1B20

Born in 1947, in Holualoa on the Island of Hawaii, Hiroki Morinoue received his BFA degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA) in 1973. For Hiroki the landscape of Hawaii, its light, rocks, skies, and water has deeply influenced his work alongside the aesthetic of Japanese arts, crafts and landscaped gardens, which is prevalent in his work. In all of Morinoue's work there is a compelling sense of place, curiosity and dialogue between the art and its viewer. He transcends these observations in various mediums, including watercolor, oil, acrylic and mixed media paintings, monotypes, sculptures, photography, ceramics and Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock prints). He has completed several major public art commissions, including projects at the Honolulu Public Library, and for the Hawaii Convention Center. Hiroki's work is represented in art collections around the world.

Born in Kanagawa, Japan, Setsuko began her interest in art through photography in high school. Later it transformed into the love for fiber art in Kusaki and Roketsu-zome, a Japanese natural dye with wax resist. She began her journey with clay at the Kona Arts Center in Holualoa. Setsuko is mainly self-taught by exploring and experimenting while taking many workshops throughout her career by well-established artists. She has participated in numerous group shows in Japan, Hawaii, and the US Mainland. Her works are in numerous private, public and corporate collections.

Hiroki and Setsuko Morinoue established Studio 7 Fine Arts Gallery in November 1979, as the first and now longest-standing contemporary art gallery in Hawaii. A humble space in a small village with a charmed history, the gallery holds an open-ended mission: to create and promote Contemporary Art.

Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions

Currently on View at CU Art Museum [Round 1] April 6–18, 2024 Artists featured: Brianna Autin, Erin Hyunhee Kang, Dani Wasserman, Elisa Wolcott

Next exhibition: April 27–May 11 [Round 2]  Opening reception: Fri. April 26 from 4–6 PM Artists featured: Natalie Thedford, Noa Fodrie, Aunna Moriarty, Cody Norton 

Spring 2024 Art History Graduate Student Symposium

Visual Arts Complex, Rm 303 Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 9:00-10:45 AM

9:00 AM — Welcome, introductions, Albert Alhadeff, Director of Graduate Studies, Art History 9:15-9:30 — Brittany Ashley, Collections as Medium 9:30-9:45 — Kat Bertram, Manga Introduction to Nichiren: Unveiling Nichiren Buddhism through Manga Study Aids 9:45-10:00 — Natalie Ginez, Hybridity and Indigeneity in Colonial Ecuador BREAK 10:15-10:30 — Sam Hensley, Gathering for Tea: Modernity, Material Culture, and Tea Ceremony in Japan and Abroad 10:30-10:45 — Taite Shomo, Theatre of the Horrible: Self-Immolation, Violence, and Representation 10:45-11:00 — Bella Malherbe, Bhekisisa, Sakouli Beach, Mayotte: The Black Queer Figure as an Apoptotic Agent of the Anthropocene

The 2024 Art History Showcase

Join us on  Tuesday, April 16, 3:30 - 4:30pm in the 3rd floor lobby  of the Visual Arts Complex for a reception celebrating the  Art History Showcase . This exhibition highlights Art History students’ research and coursework, raises the visibility of their scholarship, and honors their accomplishments. Refreshments will be served. The exhibition will be on view April 15-19, 2024.

Participants include  M.A. candidate Kat Bertram  ( Manga Introduction to Nichiren: Unveiling Nichiren Buddhism through Manga Study Aids ) and  B.A. with Honors candidate Bella Malherbe  ( Bhekisisa, Sakouli Beach, Mayotte: The Black Queer Figure as an Apoptotic Agent of the Anthropocene ), as well as students in Professor Brianne Cohen's capstone seminar: Photo and Political Violence, who have collaborated to create the "Waging Peace Through AI" exhibition.

Waging Peace Through AI This exhibition investigates the potential of generating AI-based images to advocate for peace. Each artwork has been created using AI-generating software, and students have conceived the artworks in the context of an undergraduate course, Photography and Political Violence. In the seminar, we have examined photographic histories of more visible violence from centuries of wars and genocide (e.g. WWII and the Holocaust, the Vietnam War) as well as more invisible, structural violence (e.g. racism in the U.S. prison system, the AIDS epidemic). The title of the exhibition is an homage to another contemporary, widely circulating exhibition, “Waging Peace in Vietnam,” about the efforts of U.S. soldiers and veterans who opposed the war.

Image caption: Audrey Lebsack,  The Vietnam American War

Department Announcements

Art & Environments Field School

Registration is now open!

Art & Environments Field School Summer 2024 — June 10-28 ARTS 4444 6 Credits, 3 weeks in the field & 3 weeks asynchronous online

Field Instructor: Aaron Treher Artist and Exhibitions Developer, CU Museum of Natural History Visiting Artist: Nina Elder, Interdisciplinary Artist and Researcher Field Technician: Delaney Gardner-Sweeney, Installation Artist and Researcher Program Director I Online: Richard Saxton,  lnterdiscipinary Artist and Researcher 

Please email [email protected] or [email protected]

Marina Kassianidou, Assistant Professor, Painting & Drawing

A Partial History Solo exhibition by Marina Kassianidou

NARS Foundation Brooklyn, NY

Opening: April 12, 6:00 - 8:00 pm Duration: April 12 – May 15, 2024 https://www.narsfoundation.org/2024-exhibitions/marina-kassianidou-a-partial-history

A Partial History  unfolds histories/stories of touch, movement, language, and translation. The artist recreates books from her late grandmother’s library, focusing on marks of use and time on the books’ pages. She then makes drawings that magnify and superimpose the marks from the books, compressing time while potentially expanding space. The recreated books and drawings become alternative history books and maps, recording shared histories and spaces of handling and holding.

Megan O'Grady, Assistant Professor, Critical and Curatorial Studies

O'Grady's book review of  CHASING BEAUTY: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner,  by Natalie Dykstra was recently published in the New York Times

An Exquisite Biography of a Gilded Age Legend Link to read the full review

Art & Art History Department Commencement

Friday, May 10 at 10:00am to 12:00pm ​Visual Arts Complex, Plaza — in front of the building 1085 18th Street, Boulder, CO 80309

Join us from 10 AM-12 Noon for the Art & Art History graduation on the Visual Arts Complex plaza. The ceremony is from 10-11 AM followed by morning refreshments served from 11AM-12PM.

Seating is limited! Please consider 2-4 guests per student.

IMPORTANT: Students should check in with their advisors about all graduation details!!! Are you registered to graduate?  CLICK HERE  to register. CLICK HERE  to order regalia If you are graduating this Summer or Fall and want to participate in the Spring 2024 Art & Art History graduation ceremony you will need to contact  [email protected]  in advance to be included in the event. 

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Solarium 2024 celebrates creations by MFA students in studio art and design

Published: March 22, 2024

Author: Mary Hendriksen

In what has become a spring semester tradition, the Graduate School’s light-filled suite of offices in Bond Hall is once again a gallery space displaying the works of talented Notre Dame master of fine arts (MFA) students in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design.

For the students, the works on view in the Solarium 24  show are individual artistic expressions derived from years refining the skills important to their particular creative process—whether that be drawing, painting, sculpture, or photography.

And, as with all visual artistic expression, there is both what we see and what lies beneath.

“Within the context of a research university, art is an intellectual pursuit as well as a visual one,” says Jason Lahr , associate professor, painting and drawing, and director of graduate studies for the MFA programs in studio art and design. “The art is how our MFA students engage with the world. The way we articulate our research is through form, materials, images, and objects.”

The works on display this year reveal some of the troublesome issues of contemporary life with which the students are engaged. Those issues include our deteriorating environment, the experience of anxiety and how one might confront or escape it, the pressure exerted on women to both perform and conform, and how we choose to remain—or not—connected to our families and our past.

The seven MFA students in the 2024 juried show:

• Franceska Alvarado —Painting
• Norah Amstutz —Ceramics/Pottery
• Thomas Callahan —Photography
• Lily Dorian —Sculpture
• Riley Fichter —Sculpture
• Joseph Matty —Photography
• Emma Ryan —Painting

Alvarado, Amstutz, and Dorian claim awards

At the opening reception on Wednesday, March 6, Michael Hildreth, Ph.D. , dean of the Graduate School; associate provost and vice president for graduate studies; and professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, welcomed the artists and visitors. He announced three awards, each conveying not only recognition and honor, but a $1,000 prize:

Best Artist Award: Franceska Alvarado

“Above all, I intend to put my audience in a surreal atmosphere that stimulates raw emotion and blurs the threshold between imagination and reality.”

Franceska’s work explores the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of the human condition from the perspective of a young woman. That young woman is very specifically herself and, even more specifically, that self experiencing anxiety. Using a surreal lens, in the painting Storm Before the Calm , she explores how various organs feel when she is anxious—for example, the phrase “butterflies in my stomach” is given literal representation, while a raven is included as a symbol of foreboding.

Within this painting, Franceska also explores the role of peer pressure in engendering anxiety. Barely extinguished cigarettes in a lung and a writhing snake for intestines represent the uneasy feelings that arise when friends or social media promote a risky activity.

Franceska is not afraid of revealing the anxious feelings that are part of the human condition. “I deal with anxiety by personifying it. The very act of painting is therapeutic,” she says.

Her second painting in the Solarium show, Burnt Out , delves into feelings created by the constant pressure exerted on an artist to create. “What am I without my art?” is the poignant question her image of an attenuated hand explores.

People’s Choice Award: Norah Amstutz

“With an urn covered with strawberries that change from gleaming red to paler red to brown, I turn a critical eye to the propaganda of accessibility that has come to define the American Dream.”

A large pot prominently featuring a curved middle to represent a swelling belly and named We Will Soon Be Rotten is Norah’s critique of the American food industry—particularly its prioritizing of profit and convenience over health.

Completed over the span of two months, every square inch of this 3 ½ ft. tall urn was hand-carved and hand-painted by the artist. Its creation springs from her passion for social justice and her experience of growing up in a rich culinary culture.

It is of utmost significance that Norah chose strawberries to cover the urn from top to bottom.

“The strawberry is a fruit that becomes ripe naturally for only a brief moment each summer; yet, it has been chemically altered to be available all year long,” she says. “In this way, we have been trained to expect access to whatever we want whenever we want it. And that has led to a decline in the nutritional value of our food, substandard wages for workers in the mega-food industry, and the near-extinction of small farms, as well as environmental calamity.”

Appearing also on the urn are seven distinct “story” images. One is a John Deere combine. Another reproduces a sign stuck on the side of a road during yet another California wildfire. It shows how many miles to both the Getty Museum and to “Certain Extinction.”

Best of Show Award: Lily Dorian

“I breathe rhythm and movement back into objects that might seem to have completed their journey. I stage a finale for them, acting as the final hand in folding them into the present.”

The installation Nothing’s Precious is an exploration of Lily’s personal inheritance. In the attic of her family home in Louisiana, she sorted through dozens of boxes of her mother’s and grandmother’s possessions—cataloging and organizing their contents. From discarded Mardi Gras beads to multiple pairs of gloves, paper dolls, embroidered handkerchiefs, ribbons, plaster architectural fragments, and even a broken clock with exposed gears—each of the objects in the installation was precious to its owner at one time.

Yes, a precious object at one time, worthy of being kept, but then essentially forgotten for decades.

“For me, these objects introduce conflicting emotions,” Lily says. “There is tension between the impulse to liberate them and an emotional tethering to precious artifacts that lay dormant.”

Lily notes that she has sought out none of the objects. They are an inheritance that, whether taken singly or together, tell a story. She is the storyteller, bringing them back into the spotlight.

How the show comes together and how it can be viewed

In addition to the students and their professors, the Solarium exhibition owes much to  Aaron Bell , the Graduate School’s graphic designer and communications specialist.

All MFA studio art and design students are invited to submit art for consideration in the show, and a small contingent of judges visits the studios to select pieces. Bell connects with the students, and together they assess what might be ready for an exhibition and, given the constraints of Bond Hall, what might display well in the Solarium exhibition space.

"This show has definitely become my favorite event on our calendar each year,” says Bell. “Being an artist myself, it’s very gratifying to be able to play a role in supporting and amplifying the work of these talented artists while also having the opportunity to beautify our campus space.”

The Solarium show is located in the Graduate School offices at 117 Bond Hall. Interested members of the Notre Dame community are invited to view the exhibition during regular office hours.

Originally published by Mary Hendriksen at graduateschool.nd.edu on March 22, 2024 .