Artdayme: "SYNTHESIS: 2023 MFA Graduate" Show presents the work of graduate students completing the two-year Master of Fine Arts in Art and Media at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). 

Marking the second year of collaboration between 421 and NYUAD, the exhibition showcases the research and experimentation of the inaugural MFA cohort who visualize questions and ideas in expansive ways and provides valuable insights into our contemporary global condition. SYNTHESIS features projects by Elizabeth Dorazio, Liane Al Ghusain, Majd Alloush, Mahra AlFalahi, and Fabiola Chiminazzo. 

For Elizabeth Dorazio, nature is the central subject in the Cosmic Forest in which she questions transforming matter that is random, unpredictable and in constant movement through drawing, a cornerstone of her practice. In I Would Tread Lightly, Liane Al Ghusain presents artworks related to being a Palestinian in the diaspora, which include geometric embroidery, serial sculptures, non-narrative videos, and performances for processing emotional trauma, both individually and collectively. In Mapscapes Majd Alloush examines the intersection of art and technology, exploring the transformation of pixels into tangible objects through printmaking, moving image, and digital fabrication with the aim of documenting the often-overlooked urban and absurd landscapes that exist all around us. Working with textiles, Mahra AlFalahi’s Folded Stories is rooted in exploring the effect of memories of storytelling drawn from her own childhood in which she highlights societal norms and expectations that are nurtured through such narratives. Fabiola Chiminazzo’s work investigates our society's excess imagery using archival images from photos, books,  prints and museum catalogs as a critical tool to propose thinking with and through images in her Encounter Museum.

This collaboration between 421 and NYUAD aims to support the production of emergent contemporary practices from the region by facilitating explorations by the MFA cohort of public spaces as sites of community engagement and critical dialogue that allow them to work towards an expansive studio practice beyond purely academic or institutional environments.