Features

This week’s roundup of press highlights includes an impressive array of SVA alumni, faculty, and former artists-in-residence making waves in independent film, the music business, comedy, and fiber arts. 

1. Joining the ranks of notable SVA alumni comedians like Murray Hill (MFA 1997 Photography and Related Media), Julie Klausner (MFA 2007 Illustration as Visual Essay), and the late Trevor Moore (BFA 2003 Film and Video) is Brennan Lee Mulligan (BFA 2009 Film and Video), best known for his show Dimension 20, in which he plays tabletop roleplaying games with a rotating series of guest players, which airs on the popular streaming platform Dropout. Dimension 20 boats more than 1.6 million social followers and Mulligan was recently included in Vulture’s prestigious annual roundup of best new comedians, ahead of his live Dungeons & Dragons show coming to Madison Square Garden next year.

“He brings an endearing try-hard energy to his appearances on other Dropout comedy game shows as well,” Vulture notes. “The perfect comic foil for contestants with more of a kids-in-the-back-of-the-classroom mentality.”

2. A wide-ranging international artist collective called Teleportal—which originated in an SVA residency program in 2021—has come together for a new exhibition at the TAC Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A continuation of the work they began at the College just a few years ago, Homeward is a collaborative quilt created by 18 artists in the collective from places such as Austria, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, Peru, and Uruguay. Also included in the exhibition is Teleportal Zine, a publication that dives deeper into the creative process behind the quilt. ​“At a time when it is easier to find things that divide us,” a statement from Teleportal reads, “Homeward accepts the differences and embraces similarities in this universal experience of home.” Via Independent Review Crew.

3. “A lot of my practice is about trying to make physical something that is very emotional, personal, or difficult to say with words,” says Hanna Washburn (MFA 2018 Fine Arts) in a new interview with poet and visual artist Mary Kathryn Jablonski in Tupelo Quarterly’s small series on fiber arts. The Beacon, New York-based Washburn, also a curator, is known for her unconventional sculptures created with utilitarian items like household odds and ends, fabrics, and furniture. In the interview, she discusses the muscle memory she’s developed in her method of sculpture-making, the tension she strives for in the contrast of her materials, and the way she hopes viewers will process her work.

4. Neil Sabatino (BFA 1998 Animation) proves that an SVA degree can lead to some of the most unexpected places. In a post-college journey that began in animation and graphic design and eventually led to special education, Sabatino also found time to start a band, create comics, and design album art. But perhaps most notably, Sabatino founded his own record label, Mint 400 Records, which has grown from a roster of just one band (his own, Fairmont) to 150 artists across the U.S., Canada, and the UK, totaling more than 600 releases. In an interview with northjersey.com, Sabatino praises his roots, saying, “There have been bands that I have engineered, produced, mixed, mastered, designed album art, and directed and edited videos for all without the band needing to pay for anything. It helps when you have an art-school background and are familiar with sound engineering, film, and illustration.”

5. Former SVA faculty member Paul Cronin first got hip to the work of filmmaker Simon Hacker (BFA 2015 Film and Video) while teaching him at SVA. Now, on the occasion of the release of Hacker’s new indie film, Cronin interviews him for Filmmaker about his early experiences on the fringes of the industry working for the Safdie brothers, the production company he co-founded with NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward, field producing on HBO’s How To with John Wilson, and of course, his road to making his own feature, Notice to Quit, out now.

“When I came to SVA as a transfer from the University of Florida, I was burning with anxiety and an innate desire to get on with telling stories and become a filmmaker,” Hacker tells Cronin. “I envisioned some kind of roadmap that I needed to create for myself, which from the start included learning how to make films but also, in parallel, how to make sure people would see them.”