"When I'm painting, I try to stay loose," said Maggie Ellis (B.F.A., painting, 2014). "I'm not interested in depicting realistic environments perfectly."

Full of churning energy and a preponderance of purple, her paintings prove her point. The Atlanta-born artist was in the SCAD Museum of Art for a gallery talk with assistant curator Brittany Richmond. The occasion was Ellis's first museum exhibition, The Ride. "We're going to take you on a ride around her show," said Richmond, which sounded a bit meta but felt right.

Indeed, the packed talk became a live-action version of the paintings themselves. Looking at people looking at the work was a manifestation of the artist's objective.

"I was trying to think about a situation where I could paint a crowd where everyone was having an experience collectively," Ellis said. "And within that, the different facial expressions, individually."

Ellis and Richmond stood bracketing the large-scale painting "IMAX." The moviegoers depicted in the painting seem disgruntled, delighted, or drowsy as they sit on a slant in a steeply pitched theater. "I was thinking about the sharp diagonal, cutting the space corner to corner and having the figures recede into the back, all bathed in this light," Ellis explained. "It conveys the feeling of gawking up at this ginormous screen," added Richmond.

“IMAX,” 2021, oil and acrylic on canvas, 34 x 50 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Ellis, who currently lives and works in New York City, has been called "an unflinching observationalist" and is represented by gallerist Charles Moffett. Much of her work feels New York-centric, though not to the exclusion of other worlds. Whether depicting an in-flight crush of airplane passengers ("Turbulence") or a phalanx of bicyclists on a stinky Bushwick street ("Flat Rat"), the paintings all capture crucibles of human drama.

During her talk, the esteemed alum stood in front of her oil-on-linen "The Big Dance" and said: "I was looking a lot at El Greco, his figures in his paintings from the 1500s have very long exaggerated limbs and they're flailing passionately around. I was thinking about putting together a space with limbs and legs and the figures themselves pulled from imagination or people I've seen on the street." (Plus the occasional recognizable celebrity: an old school John Travolta getting down amid the dancing throng.) Curator Richmond gestured towards a young woman in the painting and wondered: "Is she wearing a see-through top or is her body see-through?" Ellis's answer was to nod and smile.

Bits of Bruegelian grotesquerie and Ernie Barnes boogie-downs seem to inform the work. The paintings in The Ride feel both distinct yet part of something greater. As Richmond put it, "You have these master art historical painter influences and you're using what they put out in the world and you're bringing it to 2023 and it feels so fresh."

At that point, the curator and the artist were standing in front of a wall displaying gouache and graphite on paper works with titles like "Scream Study" and "Pizza Party Study." All part of The Ride.

"I see painting as this gigantic lineage, past-present-future," said Ellis. "I'm just here now."

Photo by Charlie Rubin

Maggie Ellis, The Ride, on view at SCAD Museum of Art through Mon. August 28, 2023.

"When looking at a family photo, you might see someone in it who you don’t know and you wonder who they are," artist Sara Wong said during SCAD deFINE ART 2023. "There’s proof that this [passerby or bystander] was there with you, but we usually don’t put our attention on that person. Out of curiosity, we built the whole project out of that."

In "Museum of the Lost (Strangers at Home)," now on display at SCAD MOA, Wong and artistic collaborator Leung Chi Wo re-enact the poses and attire of these unidentified, unaware "minor characters." Their life-sized photographic prints are accompanied by semi-speculative texts about the experiences and personalities of these perfect strangers.

"The project is two parallel series: one is the vintage object you can see, the other is this large photograph which is more like our performance, like a Band-Aid on the black hole of history," said Leung. "On the one hand, they are referencing each other; on the other hand, we see the big photos as the choreography of the accidental pose."

Last week Wong and collaborator Leung Chi Wo joined chief curator of exhibitions Daniel Palmer at the museum for a public gallery talk. The artists stood before their work to enlighten attendees with humor and insight.

"We began the project in Nagoya four years ago," Leung explained. "We visited a small shopping street and talked to shop owners. They all had photo albums of their grandfathers’ and fathers’ activities which were part of the business, but also private family gatherings and activities that involved neighbors." These ancillary characters created room for the artists’ imagination.

"When you see the original photograph you imagine the shutter clicking in less than a second, but when we were shooting in the studio, we need to hold a posture for minutes or even hours, so it becomes a performative thing to us, a sculptural process as well," pointed out Wong.

Leung mentioned the Italo Calvino short story "The Adventure of the Photographer" as a source of inspiration, as well as ideas regarding presence in Roland Barthes’ Camera Lucida. "Always leave them with a reading list," Palmer said with a smile, as students took notes.

Leung Chi Wo (b. 1968, Hong Kong) and Sara Wong (b. 1968, Hong Kong) have collaborated since 1992. The artists co-founded the arts center Para Site in Hong Kong in 1996. From 1999 to 2000, Leung and Wong participated in a residency in New York, where they premiered City Cookie, their most widely exhibited project, as part of a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council. Leung is an associate professor in the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong. Wong is a practicing landscape architect and the recipient of the Ramon Woon Creative Prize from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"Museum of the Lost (Strangers at Home)" is on view at SCAD Museum of Art through July 3, 2023.

It's a fresh season at the renowned SCAD Museum of Art, with new exhibitions to epitomize change.

The new season unites an international roster of emerging and established artists whose practices reflect vital conversations within contemporary discourse. The diverse slate of shows represents varied mediums, approaches, and contexts, and includes a major presentation of work by Roxy Paine, whose large-scale, multimedia sculptures examine intricate systems, from the biological to the geological to the industrial, ultimately engaging deeply existential themes of humanity and the natural world.

"We are so exited to share these wonderful new exhibitions at the SCAD Museum of Art," said chief curator Daniel S. Palmer. "This fall, we showcase a geographically diverse range of artists who create compelling works varying in media and approach. With an assortment of impressive solo exhibitions and thoughtful group shows, the museum will be buzzing with a dynamism that is sure to inspire creativity and wonder for our students and visitors alike."

SCAD MOA proudly presents the first solo exhibitions in the U.S. for Anna Park, Maria Nepomuceno, and Shi Jinsong, whose practices each uniquely materialize the complexities and contradictions of culture within capitalistic societies. Also featured is the group show Aaron Douglas: Sermons in the museum's Evans Center for African American Studies, exploring the Harlem Renaissance artist's profound influence on creative practice today.

Many of SCAD's top-ranked degree programs — including painting, photography, sculpture, fibers, illustration, animation, and architecture — are reflected in this season's exhibitions and complementary events programming. This includes The Feminist Divine by Gisela Colon, on view through Jan. 2, 2023. Colón's dynamic sculptures offer mutable, perceptual experiences through the refraction, reflection, and emission of light. Generated with advanced production methods such as carbon fiber casting meant for aerospace applications, Colón's curvilinear forms emanate a seductive, iridescent glow. Fluctuating in color based on environmental conditions and where the viewer stands in relation to the work, the sculptures are visible in the Pamela Elaine Poetter Gallery and looking in from the museum's courtyard.

The SCAD Museum of Art features more than 10 dynamic gallery spaces presenting exhibitions and commissioned works by international emerging and established artists. Exhibitions range from painting, sculpture, and photography to digital media, fashion, and jewelry, complementing the artistic disciplines offered at the university. The museum also hosts public programming, including lectures, gallery talks, workshops, and film screenings, to enhance the dynamism of the exhibitions. This demonstrates the museum's continued mission to enrich the high caliber of education and cultural life of the Savannah community and beyond.

An award-winning architectural icon, the museum attracts visitors from around the world to the heart of Savannah's vibrant downtown historic district and incorporates the oldest surviving pre-Civil War railroad depot into its striking contemporary design. Recognized with awards from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the International Interior Design Association, and the Historic Savannah Foundation, the museum received the American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Architecture, a pinnacle achievement. Please visit scadmoa.org.

Banner image: Roxy Paine, "Stratigraphic no. 1" (detail), 2021, wood, epoxy resin, thermoset polymer, lacquer, and oil paint, 36 x 60 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. Courtesy of the artist and Kasmin Gallery, New York.

"There's a reason our planet is called Mother Earth, because it has that energy of life," Gisela Colón said to an auditorium full of eager students and sculpture enthusiasts at SCAD Museum of Art. "To me, that's the genesis of the feminine divine. When you see a little weed breaking through concrete or asphalt, that's the feminine divine that nurtures everything."
 
Colón was delivering her artist lecture on The Feminist Divine, her new SCAD MOA exhibition of luminous, large-scale sculptures. She stated that it's not often she gets personal, but at the request of associate curator Ben Tollefson (M.F.A., painting, 2014), she would discuss her work from its conception, including the impact of her upbringing in Puerto Rico. She began by addressing the title of her exhibition, noting the use of "feminist" as opposed to "feminine."

"The show is in such a special place," Colón said, referring to the museum's Pamela Elaine Poetter Gallery. "I couldn't be happier with how it turned out."

 
Colón perceives everything as interconnected. Her appreciation for energy, nature, and the abundant life our planet has to offer can be attributed to her home of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Not only is it a lush oasis brimming with native flora and fauna, Colón explained, the island is a melting pot of people and cultures.
 
Her upbringing was rich with the complexities of humanity. "My parents were just human beings, so I told myself I'm going to deal with my life in the hand I was dealt." Gisela's family had significant influence on her artistic practice in wonderfully opposing ways; her mother was a painter, encouraging and helping Gisela pursue the same pastime, while her father, a Ph.D. in chemistry, fueled her scientific curiosities. Her grandmother was a pharmacist, rare for women at the time. "In the closet, she had bottles, syringes, injections, that we would steal. We'd literally go outside and put the syringe in the banana tree and extract the juices," Colón said, garnering laughter from the crowd.
 
As Gisela pursued success—leaving Puerto Rico to become a lawyer in Los Angeles, abandoning law to become a painter—themes began emerging. "I became aware of how history is so important, and that it should inform our future as it does our present," Colón said.
 
Exploring her practice as a painter, she connected with other artists in Los Angeles, specifically those working with materials that transcended the "object in space" experience. This process of reinvention led her to look inward. "I wanted to show my point of view as a woman from Puerto Rico, drawing from nature and viewing everything with this sense of life and movement." She evolved into a three-dimensional practice, experimenting with new materials like carbon fiber.
 
She recalled looking up at the lambent sky in Puerto Rico. She evoked the juncture when her new artistic approach and use of materials had come to fruition. "I had a eureka moment when I saw the light shining back," Colón said, referencing the artist's utopian dream. The blow-molded acrylic, monolithic pod "Ultra Spheroid (Lyra)" embodies her modus operandi.
 
"The word feminist in our time needs to be broader than it has before," Colón concluded. "It's not just about uplifting every gender of humankind, but it also extends to plants, animals, the environment—the planet. Being a feminist today means advocating for the whole 'all' of energy and how it's interconnected." 

Gisela Colón, "Ultra Spheroid (Lyra)," 2022, blow-molded acrylic, 90 x 42 x 12 in. Courtesy of the artist and Gavlak Gallery.

The Feminist Divine is on view at SCAD Museum of Art through Jan. 2, 2023.

"I put glue on my feet and I dance," said Johana Moscoso during her show-opening talk at SCAD MOA. The Bogotá-born artist was referring to an important step—literally—in her process, as she preps fabric for the final addition of metallic foil. The vivid dividends of her footwork dominate her new exhibition, Entre sistemas invisibles.

Moscoso (M.F.A., sculpture, 2009) hand-stitches layers of fabric together using a traditional technique called mola. She explained that the reverse applique method originated with indigenous Latin American communities like the Kuna. Layers of cloth are sewn together, then cut away to reveal designs and symbols. "Their stitching is invisible, because that's how incredible the indigenous work is," Moscoso said, affirming the inspiration for the title of her show.

The gallery talk was a lively conversation between Moscoso and SCAD Museum of Art assistant curator Brittany Richmond. Richmond mentioned that Moscoso, a graduate of SCAD Atlanta, was visiting the university's Savannah campus for the first time, in connection with her exhibition.

A number of SCAD students and alumni inside the single-room gallery were Colombian. Seeing an old classmate across the room, Moscoso spontaneously exclaimed: "Oh my goodness, I know that guy!" She then acknowledged her sweetheart Scott Carter (B.F.A., painting, 2008). Richmond, laughing: "A lot of SCAD love happening here."

Returning to the work, Richmond challenged attendees: "Does anybody see sculpture or what you think of as sculpture in this room?" A couple tepid hands. "I think these works all have a sculptural presence, you can feel their physicality and the materiality in the room," the curator said.

Richmond wasn't wrong. The ceiling-hung works addressed but did not touch the walls. The laser-cut textiles featured serpentine embroidery both abstract and representative. The work told stories without dictating fixed narratives. The mandala-like complexity of "Entre camuflados" would've sent Rorschach into apoplexy.

On the floor, three video monitors showed Moscoso's adhesive hoofing in mud and glue. The artist explained the relevance.

Johana Moscoso, "Entre sistemas invisibles," 2022, video still

"Dances are part of my practice," she said. "With my family, every time we meet it's a party. Dance becomes something normal. In Bogotá, we'd take the bus and the driver would be blasting salsa, so it's part of everyday life.

"Making this work, I was dancing to Celia Cruz. In the 1970s she was with Pacheco and all the Fania musicians in New York, playing cha-cha and mambo in all the clubs. In classic salsa, the male was the one who got the majority of the attention. The only woman among them was Celia Cruz, so the music I danced to all over my pieces with glue, and foil transfers, was Celia Cruz."

An immigrant to the United States, Moscoso has lived and worked in the U.S. for the past 14 years. She grew up during a time of unrest in Colombia, and it will be fascinating to see how her forthcoming work reflects Colombia's promising new political reality, including the recent election of President Gustavo Petro and Vice-President Francia Márquez, the first Afro-Colombian woman elected to high office.

One imagines she will continue to dance.

Experience Entre sistemas invisibles at SCAD MOA through Oct. 31, 2022.

SCAD Museum of Art hosted a momentous gala event on Thursday, April 21, 2022, celebrating the institution's 10-year anniversary, with over 300 attendees enjoying a suitably gorgeous Savannah evening. The celebration took place al fresco in the museum's Alex Townsend Memorial Courtyard and included performances, film screenings, and a three-course dinner by award winning hospitality group Daniel Reed.

The evening was hosted by SCAD President Paula Wallace, SCAD VP of brand experience Kari Herrin, and industrial design student Aniekanabasi Asanga. The event was co-chaired by creative leaders, sisters, and close friends of the university Wendy Goodman and Tonne Goodman. The gala host committee included Ellen and Jeep Bolch, MD, Arnika and Stephen Dawkins, MD, Katie Holderness, Melissa Rowan, Justice Leah Ward Sears, Anita and Michael Thomas, Michael Bishop and Shane Thomas.

The evening featured multiple, unique artistic delights. Accomplished actor and SCAD performing arts professor Isaiah Johnson and elite SCAD vocal ensemble The Honeybees both performed, as well as a DJ set by alumni Jose Ray (B.F.A., painting, 2011). Guests also experienced the debut of a short film celebrating SCAD Museums of Art's artful first decade and the institution's award winning historic preservation. Alumni artists' creative work was showcased, including hand-painted linens by alumni and associate curator at SCAD MOA Ben Tollefson (M.F.A., painting, 2014), and floral designs by alumna Audrey Wagner King (M.F.A., fibers, 2011).

Other notable guests included Domenico and Eleanore De Sole, Bob and Alice Jepson, Walter and Linda Evans, Gale Singer, Greg Parker, Ginny Brewer, Chiara Visconti di Modrone, David Paddison, and Lori Judge.

As a center for cultural dialogue, the SCAD Museum of Art engages students and communities through dynamic interdisciplinary educational experiences. A growing international roster of artists provides opportunities for students from all majors to learn about wide-ranging artistic practices and worldviews.

The museum has presented exhibitions by artists including Jane Alexander, Radcliffe Bailey, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Subodh Gupta, Alfredo Jaar, Sigalit Landau, Liza Lou, Ebony G. Patterson, Robin Rhode, Bill Viola, Carrie Mae Weems, Kehinde Wiley and Fred Wilson, as well as site-specific installations by Daniel Arsham, Kendall Buster, Jose Dávila, Michael Joo, Odili Donald Odita and others. The museum's permanent collection includes the Walter O. Evans Collection of African American Art, the Modern and Contemporary Art Collection, the Earle W. Newton Collection of British and American Art, the 19th- and 20th-century Photography Collection and the SCAD Costume Collection.

An award-winning, architectural icon, SCAD MOA incorporates the oldest surviving antebellum railroad depot in the U.S. into its striking design. Nestled in the heart of Savannah's vibrant historic downtown district, the museum attracts visitors from around the globe. It has been recognized by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the International Interior Design Association and the Historic Savannah Foundation, and received the American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Architecture, a pinnacle achievement.

Joël Díaz, director of the Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies, brightens the gala.

For more information on SCAD Museum of Art and the current exhibitions on view, visit scadmoa.org.

SCAD Museum of Art would like to thank event partners Ghost Coast Distillery, Service Brewing Co., and Johnnie Ganem's Package Shop.

"How does the paint behave?" asked Katharina Grosse, from the stage of the Trustees Theater. The potential answers seem as limitless as the artist's own works.

SCAD deFINE Art 2022 came to a stirring conclusion as Grosse, this year's honoree, engaged in hourlong exchange of ideas, discussing her career from her student days in Düsseldorf to her deft new exhibition Chill Seeping at SCAD MOA.

Alumna Bethani Blake (B.F.A., painting, 2021) presented Grosse (b. 1961, Freiburg/Breisgau, Germany) with the deFINE award from the historic Trustees proscenium. "Challenging our perceptions of surfaces and ideas of spectatorship, she creates rich connections between colors, shapes, and elements of architecture and landscape," Blake said of Grosse. "The artist's unique creative process, which involves the use of an industrial spray gun, and the resulting gestures and movement coalesce in otherworldly installations that expand the dimensions of painting."

Though Grosse has worked and traveled extensively in the United States, it was her first time in the city of Savannah. "To see the work in the context of the artists in the other galleries, which I would never be able to see staying home, gives you the feeling of being and belonging to a larger field of other artists being honored, that you have taken inspiration from and that you are grateful for," Grosse said. "To have the work here is important for me. It was a great process to think about the show for this very dramatic space."

The space Grosse spoke of is the Pamela Poetter Gallery at SCAD MOA, where her large-scale acrylic on canvas paintings and diaphanous drapeworks transform the corridor-shaped gallery.

"I am grateful to [curator] Humberto [Moro] for going through this process of developing the show," Grosse said. "I would love to thank SCAD for having me here tonight, to share my thoughts and stories."

In front of a theater filled predominantly with SCAD students, Grosse was joined on stage by arts writer and educator Dan Cameron, who asked Grosse to speak about her own days as a student.

"I started to paint really late in life, when I was 20 years old. I thought I would be a psychologist," Grosse said, getting a laugh. As a student, Grosse took classes from major artists including Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, and Nam Jun Paik. "Bit by bit I started to develop a method of questioning my work. Of asking small questions. I realized it was raw color that was the leading agent in my work. So, I decided to reset it all and start again and only use those raw colors, without any kind of idea or concept that I would paint something I saw, or imagined I saw."

Grosse determined her painting would be aggressive, "but not aggressive in negativity—aggressive in getting very close to your system."

She has achieved this by her gallery work, as well as painting directly on dirt, houses, roads, beaches, and other public spaces to expand and explore perceptions of where and how painting can and should exist.

"Monet and his large water lily paintings were a real epiphany about how to relate the image to the surface," Grosse said. "Maybe the image he paints is bigger than the canvas, so its relationship to the edge of the canvas is open."

Cameron asked Grosse if she meant that the edges of a painting can be ambiguous. Her response went deeper, asking us to consider a work as a worldview:

"The painting is the membrane perforated by the necessities or conditions of the everyday life."

Katharina Grosse, "Untitled," 2021, acrylic on canvas, 117 3/4 x 387 in. © 2022 Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy of Gagosian. Photo by Jens Ziehe.

A special thank you to honoree Katharina Grosse, and everyone who attended SCAD deFINE Art 2022.

Starting Mon. Feb. 28, and continuing through Wed. March 2, SCAD deFINE ART 2022 comes alive with in-person and streaming events in Savannah and Atlanta. The 13th edition of the university's annual program features conversations, curated experiences, and exhibitions at the SCAD Museum of Art, including a special appearance at Trustees Theater by visionary artist Katharina Grosse, this year's honoree. In Atlanta, a keynote address will be delivered by master of photography Duane Michals.

This year, deFINE ART brings together an international roster of vital voices in art and design from countries including Canada, Cameroon, Germany, Iraq, South Korea, and the U.S. These artists' thought-provoking work and ideas encourage deeper engagement with inherited histories, creating spaces in the present moment to envision a future full of opportunity.

New exhibitions whose openings align with deFINE include a site-specific installation by Elaine Cameron-Weir (b. 1985, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada); recent works by Matthew Angelo Harrison (b. 1989, Detroit) in the museum's Evans Center for African American Studies; new works by artist Norbert Bisky (b. 1970, Leipzig, Germany) and designer Sang Hoon Kim (b. 1979, South Korea); recent paintings by Hayv Kahraman (b. 1981, Baghdad, Iraq); new large-scale commissions by Doreen Lynette Garner (b. 1986, Philadelphia); a survey of work by Barthélémy Toguo (b. 1967, Mbalmayo, Cameroon); and the first museum exhibition for SCAD alum Carter Flachbarth (b. 1996, Atlanta; B.F.A., painting, 2020).

This year's honoree, Kartharina Grosse (b. 1961, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany), will be represented by an expansive site-related textile installation as well as large-scale works on canvas created between 2006 and the present. Exhibitions programming also includes the group photography shows Icons Only and Taking Shape.

"Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the opening of the SCAD Museum of Art, the world's finest teaching museum, this year's SCAD deFINE ART promises special magic," said SCAD President Paula Wallace. "From honoree Katharina Grosse's extraordinary paintings of incendiary color to Matthew Angelo Harrison's sculptures that explore diasporic identities, SCAD deFINE ART 2022 both interrogates the zeitgeist and begets boundless beauty."

Many of the university's top-ranked degree programs, including sculpture, painting, fibers, and furniture design, are represented in the signature event's exhibitions and programming. SCAD students and community members can interact with the artists during the three-day event through gallery talks, conversations, master classes, collaborations, and public art.

Experience SCAD deFINE ART 2022.

Katharina Grosse, "Untitled," 2021, acrylic on canvas, 117 3/4 x 387 in. © 2022 Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Courtesy of Gagosian.

Photo by Jens Ziehe.

Famed American designer Christian Siriano's first solo museum exhibition, People Are People, honors the undisputed industry leader's electrifying contributions to fashion. Drawn from his extensive archive, the exhibition features bold creations from Siriano's decade-plus career, celebrating self-expression for every body at every age.

People Are People is on view through January 30, 2022 at the SCAD Museum of Art. The exhibition showcases over 35 sensational creations and statement-making red carpet gowns from the designer's decade-plus career. People Are People is a highlight of SCAD MOA 10th anniversary programming and festivities, celebrating the cultural impact of the university's premier contemporary art museum.

On October 22, Christian Siriano will be fêted at a gala reception at SCAD Museum of Art in attendance with celebrity supporters and loyal friends who have worn some of his most signature designs over the past decade. The People Are People reception weekend also coincides with the 24th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the largest university-run film festival in the world and a distinguished stop on the awards circuit, showcasing cinematic creativity from both award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. On October 23, 3 p.m, "In Conversation with Christian Siriano" will take place as both an in-person and live streaming event.

Since the launch of his eponymous luxury fashion house in New York in 2008, Siriano's star has soared. He is beloved for his statement-making looks that combine fantasy with expert craftsmanship and a bold point-of-view, endearing him to the fashion industry, celebrities, and public alike. Recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year 2018, Siriano has consistently been an industry-leading champion of body positivity, diversity and inclusivity, having integrated social responsibility into the ethos of the Christian Siriano brand from the very beginning.

People Are People honors Siriano's electrifying contributions to fashion design and features collection highlights of glamourous show-stopping creations worn by the world's brightest stars and style trailblazers.

"No designer understands people as well as Christian Siriano," said SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. "Celebs love his designs—Billy Porter, Amy Adams, Zendaya, and Lizzo all sing his praises. But what sets Christian apart is his belief that fashion is for everyone—and when we zip up a Siriano design, we are all stars."

In this exhibition, SCAD MOA presents extraordinary gowns and red carpet looks from the Christian Siriano archives, featuring garments worn by the world's biggest stars and luminaries including Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey; legendary divas Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Celine Dion; LGBTQ+ heroes Billy Porter, Laverne Cox, Michael Urie and Jonathan Van Ness; leading ladies Sarah Jessica Parker, Amy Adams, Lucy Liu, and Danielle Brooks; pop icons Janelle Monáe, Lizzo, Ariana Grande, Sia, and Cardi B; and international top models Heidi Klum, Naomi Campbell, Coco Rocha and Ashley Graham.

"It is such an unbelievable honor to follow in the footsteps of so many great designers who have exhibited their work at SCAD," Siriano said. "As a young designer it has always been my dream to create and inspire others, especially a young generation, and I truly hope this exhibit does that. This exhibition is a celebration of people in all of their beauty."

SCAD students and alumni from an array of the university's top ranked degree programs including fashion design, accessory, jewelry, film & television, fibers, and luxury fashion management will have the opportunity to view and explore these iconic designs and interact with Siriano with exclusive programming throughout the academic year.

"It is an honor to dedicate an exhibition at SCAD MOA to Christian Siriano's incredible body of work and highlight the undeniable impact he has had on the fashion industry," said Rafael Gomes, director of fashion exhibitions at SCAD and curator for People Are People. "His stunning creations are vibrant, whimsical, and combine beautiful craftsmanship with a unique point of view and upbeat positivity. We are proud to recognize Christian during this momentous year for SCAD Museum of Art."

Purchase tickets and passes to "In Person with Christian Siriano" here.

SCAD is pleased to announce the launch of a digital art exhibition showcasing the legacy of Savannah painter, educator, museum founder, and civil rights activist Virginia Jackson Kiah, Ph.D. "'Live Your Vision: An Online Exhibition" is on view now at the SCAD Museum of Art website.

"Live Your Vision" brings together a wide range of Kiah's figurative works, from casual self-portraits to regal military portrayals to life drawings. Using an array of media — oil, watercolor, and graphite on supports including canvas, Masonite, and paper — Kiah captured the essence of family, friends, celebrities, and strangers alike. Individually, these portraits are acts of attention, focus, and dignity. Taken as a whole, the exhibition reflects Kiah's deep belief in humanity and the vital role of inspiration and creativity in re-envisioning our future.

"Virginia Jackson Kiah believed in the power of creativity, imagination, and dreaming to change the world," says SCAD MOA curator DJ Hellerman. "Her artwork is an important record of what she cared about and paid attention to. Her collection of portraits shows deep engagement with her community and her skill as a portrait painter.  Dr. Kiah donated her collection to SCAD so that future generations could be inspired to 'live their vision.' This online exhibition is intended to offer anyone who can access our website an opportunity to do the same."

Born in 1911, Kiah grew up in Baltimore, and spent her formative years working alongside her parents at voter registration drives and other community-based, political activation events. Kiah was a trained portrait painter and arts educator, but as a young artist she was prohibited from entering museums and exhibiting her work solely because of exclusionary and racist practices. Committed to creating spaces of open access, she opened the Kiah Museum as a "museum for the masses" in 1959, just eight years after moving to Savannah.

Kiah had a close, decades-long relationship with SCAD and cared deeply about creating a positive and accepting environment for students to learn and create. In 1986, SCAD awarded her an honorary doctorate of humanities. A year later, she was appointed to the SCAD Board of Trustees where she would serve until 1997. Interested in fostering young artists' work, Kiah created the Kiah Painting Endowed Scholarship, which is still active today.

In 1993, honoring Kiah's lifelong dedication to creating equity in the arts and support for emerging artists, SCAD renamed a prominent SCAD Museum of Art building in her honor. That same year, Kiah donated a selection of her paintings and drawings to the museum. In her donation letter, she explained, "It is my desire that the Kiah collection serve as an inspiration to future artists so that they, too, may live their vision."

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Virginia Jackson Kiah, Ph.D. (b. June 3, 1911 - d. Dec. 28, 2001) was an artist, educator, civil rights activist, museum founder, philanthropist, and nationally acclaimed portrait painter. She studied portraiture at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art and, in 1931, she graduated with honors. Kiah continued her studies at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Art Students League of New York. In 1950 she received her master's degree from Columbia University. Her work was exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art; the Baltimore Women's Civic League; the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh; the first National Council of Negro Women's Conference; the Eggleston Galleries, New York; and the SCAD Museum of Art.