UNLV Department of Art MFA Thesis Artist Talks Spring 2023
Wednesday April 19
6:30 p.m. Reception
7-9 p.m. Artist Talks
Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium
About the program
The University of Nevada Las Vegas Department of Art three-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program is studio-based and research-focused with an emphasis on creative practice, interdisciplinary, community engagement, and professional development. Throughout the program students conduct practice and text-based research, presenting their work in studio visits, exhibitions, MFA Open Studios, and group critique with faculty, peers, visiting artists, curators, scholars, and community members.
As the culmination of the program MFA Candidates present a public solo thesis exhibition project at the Donna Beam Gallery and a public artist talk their final semester.
Cida de Aragon (MA Goldsmiths '18) is a Brazilian-Italian media artist and photographer who uses electronic, sound, and digital image technology to create immersive installations that envelop the viewer.
Since 1993, the artist has created architectural video installations, large format multimedia works, and immersive sound environments. De Aragon has worked extensively in Berlin, London, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Las Vegas. These frequent moves enabled her to experience life in various contexts and urban settings, and to learn from diverse cosmopolitan lifestyles that led to a strong interest in public space and neglected urban sites. The recurring themes in her work and research are influenced by the variety of cities she lived and worked in, focusing on aspects of surveillance of public spaces; expression of body movement; and migration and language.
An internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist and designer, her artwork has been published in three monographs and exhibited at notable venues and galleries in the U.S., Germany, Australia, Singapore, and the UK.
Keeva Lough is a lens-based artist born in the great state of Texas. She was raised in rural Oklahoma, a preacher’s daughter in a family of public school educators. In her photographic art she utilizes appropriated texts and images to mutate institutionalized forms into queer subversion. Through body-based performance she creates small-scale spectaculars. Her methods are absolutely scientific. Lough’s photographs and videos have been shown in venues such as the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art (Nevada), FORMAT Photography Festival (United Kingdom), Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival (France), and Momentum New Media Festival (Oklahoma). She holds a BA in Film and Media Studies from the University of Oklahoma.
Lyssa Park is an illustrator and fabric artist based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She graduated with a BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts. During her studies at UNLV, Park’s practice has expanded from editorial illustrations to large-scale fabric tapestries and interactive soft sculptures. Through her utilization of fabric, Park questions the Korean feminine mystique and unveils the unmentioned customs of motherhood. Park’s recent research into the U.S. Military base has opened a myriad of ideas for her.
Her works can be found at Penguin Random House Young Readers, Zoom & Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, The Verge, Eater SF, Believer Magazine, Orion Magazine, and La Cocina SF. She also exhibited fiber works in A Common Thread (2021) and Two Cultures, One Family (2022) at the Marjorie Barrick Museum.
She enjoys collecting vintage glass and eating persimmons in the Fall.