Pratt Institute’s 2025 Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibitions Now on View at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Celebrating MFA Talent: Pratt Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions at Dock 72, Brooklyn Navy Yard
This spring, the Pratt Institute’s MFA in Fine Arts program proudly presents a dynamic two-part thesis exhibition at its new state-of-the-art facilities housed within Dock 72 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Curated by Dejá Belardo, the exhibitions showcase the culminating projects of graduating MFA students across various disciplines, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and integrated media practices.
A hallmark of Pratt Shows 2025, these thesis exhibitions are more than just a conclusion to advanced academic study — they highlight each artist’s rigorous experimentation, conceptual development, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of contemporary art practice.
MFA Thesis Exhibition Part 1: Access Denied (March 31 – April 11, 2025)
Opening with a reception on Monday, March 31, from 6–8 p.m. EDT, Access Denied invites audience members into a conceptual landscape of encrypted meaning and visual obscuration. The exhibit is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 12 to 6 p.m. (registration required to visit).
Curator Dejá Belardo describes Access Denied as an exploration of opacity — both physical and metaphorical — where artists examine what it means to restrict, fracture, or conceal access to knowledge and emotion. The featured works utilize layered materials, coded language, and abstract expression to reflect complex internal narratives and inaccessible histories.
Featured Artists in Part 1:
Yilin Chen, Yeonji Chung, kate evans, Eric Geithner, Eliza Gooding, Claire Heidinger, Jay, Yeon Jeong, William Kim, Ingrid Yi-Chen Lu, Isabelle Friedrich McTwigan, Molly Miller, Alice Shi Minghui, Siha Park, K Rawald, Yedda Ye, Ayoung Yoo, and Wei Yuan
These artists challenge the viewer to decipher meaning where it is not readily offered — where visual and conceptual elements serve as thresholds rather than windows. Their works emphasize gaps, silences, and enigmas, reminding us that not all meaning is freely accessed; some must be carefully uncovered or deliberately withheld.
MFA Thesis Exhibition Part 2: Inside/Out (April 28 – May 9, 2025)
Opening Monday, April 28, Inside/Out serves as a counterpoint to Part 1 — turning inward processes outward and reconsidering power structures embedded within art-making itself. Gallery hours remain Monday through Friday, 12 to 6 p.m. (registration required).
This second installment continues Belardo’s curatorial exploration of complexity, presenting works that transform artmaking into an act of resistance, revelation, and renewal. Inside/Out interrogates systems both internal and external, with artists leveraging abstraction, material intervention, and conceptual frameworks to reimagine what is often taken for granted in contemporary artworks.
Featured Artists in Part 2:
Zakariya Abdul-Qadir, Dana-Marie Bullock, Monique Kevita Edwards, Danielle Gadus, Tony Griego, Herok, Rob Hill Art, HYUN, Ariadne Manuel, Shivani Mithbaokar, Yerang Moon, Mouet, Morgan Petitpas, Agnes Questionmark, Greta Schneider, Avery Schuster, and Leda Tsoutreli
In these works, traditional hierarchies collapse, structures teeter, and meaning reshapes itself through chance and critique. Artists reveal as much through the process as through the final piece — engaging with systems of control and chaos to question dominant histories, mediums, and identities.
A New Creative Hub: Dock 72 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Both exhibitions are housed in Pratt’s newly inaugurated MFA Studio spaces at Dock 72 — a cutting-edge facility fostering interdisciplinary collaboration within the historical and industrial backdrop of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This space, ushering in a new era for Pratt Fine Arts, offers MFA candidates expanded room for studio experimentation, critique, and public engagement.
The exhibitions at Dock 72 mark the debut of this dynamic venue, further strengthening Pratt’s mission to provide its art students with access to unparalleled resources, critical dialogue, and vibrant engagement with New York’s evolving creative scenes.
About Pratt’s MFA in Fine Arts
Pratt’s MFA in Fine Arts program is known for its interdisciplinary flexibility, rigorous curriculum, and emphasis on critical inquiry and research-based practice. Students engage in studio work while participating in seminars, critiques, and discussions that situate them within broader cultural and transdisciplinary contexts.
Guided by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and scholars, MFA candidates receive individualized mentorship, preparing them for careers that contribute to and shape the direction of contemporary art.
Part of Pratt Shows 2025
These exhibitions are a cornerstone of Pratt Shows 2025 — a series that celebrates the achievements of graduating students across disciplines including architecture, design, information, and liberal arts and sciences. Pratt Shows highlight the diverse voices, methodologies, and conceptual breakthroughs of students as they approach Commencement