Some of the best illustrators in the country will be exhibiting at the Silpe Gallery this month as the culmination of their work in a one-of-a-kind MFA (Master of Fine Arts) program.

The inaugural MFA in Illustration Thesis Exhibition will take place from July 9–20 in the Silpe Gallery, which is located in the Hartford Art School. There will be an Artists’ Reception at the gallery on Friday, July 20, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public. Silpe Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Last summer, the Hartford Art School (HAS) launched the only limited-residency MFA program in the country dedicated exclusively to illustration. The program is designed for professional illustrators who want to enhance their skills, further their careers, and/or teach at the university level.

The first class of 17 students will be exhibiting their thesis projects and will graduate from the prestigious program on July 20. At the same time, a new class of 21 students will start the program on Monday, July 9.

The program is run by internationally renowned illustrator, educator, and art historian Murray Tinkelman and his wife, Carol, who are effusive in their enthusiasm for the program, the Hartford Art School, and the University of Hartford.

"It’s been even better than I expected," Murray Tinkelman said of the program’s inaugural year. "These students are the best of the best. Their spirit and their talent, combined with the energy of the faculty, was better than I could have hoped for."

The program begins and ends with intensive, two-week summer residencies on the University of Hartford campus, where students take classes with some of the top illustrators in the field. From July 9-20, the graduating class will be completing its final two-week residency, and the class of incoming students will take part in its initial two-week residency.

Students in the program also spend one week in November and one week in March in other parts of the country, meeting with top illustrators and visiting their studios. The 17 students in the inaugural class spent a week in Pasadena, Calif., and a week in Savannah, Ga., and Hilton Head, S.C.

The faculty for the limited residency MFA program are highly acclaimed illustrators from around the country, including several from the Hartford Art School. HAS Associate Professor of Illustration Bill Thomson served as thesis advisor for the inaugural MFA class – but he won’t be able to fill that role for the next class, because he will be a student in the class. Assistant Professor of Illustration Doug Andersen will serve as thesis advisor for the new group. Also on the faculty of the MFA program is HAS Associate Professor of Illustration Dennis Nolan, who team teaches a studio class during the summer residency with noted illustrator and author Alice “Bunny” Carter of San Jose State University in California.

For more information about the limited residency MFA program in illustration, visit www.hartfordillustrationmfa.org, or contact Murray and Carol Tinkelman at 914.737.5960 or tinkelman@hartford.edu.

Written by Q. Cassetti - View Profile | Share This

• FSU Master Craftsman Program
• Summer Artist Residency Project in New York City
• Business Week Magazine - Acme Illustrators