Carnegie Mellon University School of Art 1st and 2nd Year MFA Exhibition

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Carnegie Mellon University are pleased to present an exhibition featuring the work of first- and second-year MFA students from Carnegie Mellon’s School of Art. This exhibition highlights a dynamic range of contemporary art practices from emerging artists experimenting across media, concepts, and themes. This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to engage with the next generation of influential artists as they expand their creative practices within Pittsburgh’s vibrant cultural landscape.

Following obsessions and trains of thought, The End That Never Was brings together eight artists from Carnegie Mellon School of Art Master of Fine Arts program. This collection of new works addresses contemporary notions of memory, orientation, and play. Informed by their varied studio practices which utilize film, sound, virtual space, and tactile media, this exhibition parses iterative and generative attempts at answering sometimes unanswerable questions. Broadly, the works explore fan culture, language acquisition, memory, affect, disembodiment, as well as the occupation of the peripheral.

Artists

Naomi Chambers (MFA ‘26)
Anne Chen (MFA ‘27)
Aleena Akbar Khan (MFA ‘27)
Logan Larsen (MFA ‘27)
Bulumko Mbete (MFA ‘26)
Afrooz Partovi (MFA ‘26)
Ashley A. Ross (MFA ‘27)
Morgan Thomas Shankweiler (MFA ‘27)

Opening Reception

Friday, February 21, 2025, 5-7pm

Free and open and to the public

The End That Never Was is presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University. Special thanks to MFA Director Katherine Hubbard, Assistant Director Wendy Willis, Head of the School of Art Charlie White, and the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. Additional thanks to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust team: Davine Byon, George Dun, Kennedy Deen, Jacquet Kehm, Josh Rievel, and Chris Korch.

Photo: Courtesy the artists