2. Expanding Your Professional Network
From renowned visiting artists and faculty to peers who can push you to higher levels, you never know who you will meet during your MFA program.
“Getting an MFA opened up opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” says Crystal Foss '16. Pursuing an MFA led Crystal to an international curating experience, and later, to a position teaching photography at Olympic College in Washington.
Crystal was one of four students chosen for an internship with visiting artist and scholar Alison Nordström, the former Senior Curator of Photographs and Director of Exhibitions at George Eastman Museum, the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography. Crystal worked on research and presentation projects for artists who’d be considered for Fotofestiwal, an international festival of photography in Lodz, Poland.
The internship grew into a second appointment where Crystal assisted Alison in exhibition design remotely from Cambridge, culminating in her spending a month in Poland for installation and opening receptions. One of the main exhibitions she worked on for the festival, Displaced, focused on the influx of Syrian refugees to Europe.
"My favorite part of the MFA program was its difficulty and intensity," Crystal says. "Along with the number of networking opportunities that came with the visiting faculty, I developed strong connections with many of my mentors. Combined with the regular faculty keeping you on your toes in favor of hard work over everything else, I had a truly life changing experience."
From the series Magnetism (2016) by Crystal Foss. "The Magnetism Series is an autobiographical exploration of how I fit into the world, with my physical size as the largest inhibitor to a secure sense of belonging and barrier to emotional intimacy; this digital triptych shows the degrees at which I alter myself to literally and metaphorically fit in perceived ideals. All in hopes of receiving affection often symbolized with objects. (ie. flowers, jewelry, etc.)."
3. Growing Your Creative Practice
An MFA program can give you the freedom to explore, break the rules, and discover your own path as an artist. At least that was EV Krebs’ '15 experience.
EV had wanted to become a photographer since she was 13 years old, and so she structured her undergraduate education around that goal. She earned her BFA in 2012 and knew that continuing her education was the natural next step.
“Pursuing an MFA in photography pushed me out of my comfort zone, allowing for growth in my creative and personal practice. The concepts I learned during my time in the program continue to influence me today,” she says. “It’s unlike anything you’ll ever experience. Your life becomes your art.”
EV says that getting an MFA not only helped her as an artist but also helped pave a career path via connections she made in the program. She now works as an imaging technician at Harvard University libraries where she assists in producing digital images of materials to be included in Harvard’s digital archive.
untitled journal entry // just girly things by EV Krebs ‘15