The five fellows have been chosen by the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) to take part in a one-year Post-Graduate Teaching Fellowship at participating AICAD universities for the 2022–2023 academic year. 13 fellows from the class of 2021/22 will also stay in their positions for an additional year.
The fellowship program aims to increase the racial and cultural diversity of the faculty at these institutions while also giving high-achieving alumni who have just graduated from AICAD member schools the chance to gain practical experience. Institutions affiliated with AICAD strive to foster a culture that sees diversity as essential to the quality of art and design education and values it.
Along with direct teaching experience, health insurance, and other financial supports, AICAD fellowships offer both scheduled and unstructured mentoring and professional development opportunities.
Christopher Williams (MFA, 2020, San Francisco Art Institute) placed at Moore College of Art and Design. Williams is a visual artist whose practice utilizes portraiture and figurative painting to convey complex narratives, including that of race and gender, originating for a deep empathy with his subjects.
Moon(Yuezhu) Wang (MFA, Experimental Animation, 2022, California Institute of the Arts) placed at Otis College of Art and Design. Wang is a Chinese animator and illustrator who’s work mainly focuses on family, love, social issues and gender awareness. Previous to their MFA, they earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in architecture from Tongji University, Shanghai.
Lipika Bhargava (MFA, Fine Arts, 2022, Parsons School of Design) placed at Pratt Institute. Bhargava is a multi-media artist working across drawing, painting, textile, sculpture, 2D and 3D animation. Her work explores different themes of sexuality, death, love, identity, fear, and political satire. Her practice is process-oriented and performative in mark-making drawing from her background in Indian classical and contemporary dance.
Dairys Escoto De León (MFA, Experimental Animation, 2022, California Institute of the Arts) placed at University of the Arts. Escoto De León is an animator and fine artist rooted in bringing her experiences as a Dominican American to the cinematic world. She challenges multiple genres and mediums, such as documentary, experimental, and even sci-fi, and explores ideas of immigration, multi-racial love, misogyny, and culture.
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