October 3 kicked off the much awaited New York City trip for MCAD graduate students. The MFA and MA programs came together to visit some iconic artists, designers, and art spaces in NYC, where many MCAD alumni now reside. The field trip was organized by our director Ellen Mueller who said, "We selected New York City for this fall because NYC is one of the largest pockets of MCAD alumni in the country. We wanted to provide students with a better sense of their industries and to help students to envision themselves in their fields." According to Mueller, the abundance of cultural resources of NYC made it a good fit. Besides the organized tours to places listed below, our students visited other museums such as the The American Museum of Natural History, American Folk Art Museum, Guggenheim, among others. International MFA student Xintong Yang said, "The trip was pretty great. I went to see a lot of galleries, on and off the trip. We met Mike Perry and all the alumni at his party which really helped connect and build a community for us outside Minneapolis. Furthermore, the visit to the personal and private print shop gave me insights into how people run a studio and company in a big city." Speaking about her experience, second year student Emma Beatrez said, "Big cities can be intimidating sometimes. But meeting our alumni and talking to them about how they navigated their way to where they are, made the big city more accessible. The dream became more realistic." The MFA program places emphasis on field trips where faculty and students alike are encouraged to use resources locally, as well as nationally to further their practice. We asked Mueller about other big field trip plans for the future. She said, "We are working on plans for a similar trip to Los Angeles for next fall - details forthcoming!" Here is a list of places in NYC where private meetings and tours were organized with artists, designers, and organizations: Paperless Post Regensia Urban Tech Hub McCall Associates Red Paper Heart Eddie Perrote Lisa Martin: The Women's Dark Room + Gallery Communal Objects Rob Fischer Studio Mike Perry Studio Pace Editions Private tour of Whitney Museum of American Art Photos contributed by Ellen Mueller and students For more information, events and updates about the MFA program, visit our: Official Website Facebook Page Instagram Categories All Alumni Events Field Trips Student Activities