Fall 2026 priority deadline for transfer and graduate studies is January 5.

Fall 2026 priority deadline for transfer and graduate studies is January 5.

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Fall 2026 priority deadline for transfer and graduate studies is January 5.

Program

Our vision

Curriculum →

Mission →

Community

Who we celebrate

Faculty →

Chair →

Staff →

Students →

Work

We strive for

Recent Work →

Ventures →

News →

FAQs →

Apply Now →

Search

people taking part in a class

The Big Box Theory

The Big Box Theory

Date

By Nigel Sielegar

Maira Kalman's MFAD first year New York Schlepping project "gave us the opportunity to break away from our technically driven habits and to get out and explore the city," says Kathleen Fitzgerald.
The goal of the project was to have a collective group of boxes that were tied together through color, but individually spoke to each person and their experiences exploring NYC - without the distractions of technology or stress.
"It was surprising for us to discover what you find when you are more aware and in tune with the city, and most of us have yet to do that before this assignment," Fitzgerald adds.
"We exchanged anonymous directions amongst each other and followed these each week around the city; discovering new places and gathering up our experiences with ephemera and photos. As the class developed, we decided to assign colors to each person to focus on, and in the end we each had a box that symbolized our discoveries."
Here those box makers (from top to bottom): Jenny Rozbruch, Jin Sook Bae, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Makiko Higashi, Maryam Seifi, Samia Kallidis, Thai Thruong, Yeon Soo Kim.

Close-up of coffee beans



McDonald receipt



yellow cabinet



green organizer



purple circle box



red coined box



pink box with photos



textured orange paper

Newsletter

Newsletter

Newsletter

310 East 22nd St - 5th Floor

New York, NY 10010

310 East 22nd St - 5th Floor

New York, NY 10010

310 East 22nd St - 5th Floor

New York, NY 10010

(212) 592-2600

mfadesign@sva.edu

(212) 592-2600

mfadesign@sva.edu

(212) 592-2600

mfadesign@sva.edu