Georgia Reidy  

MFA Studio Art: Sculpture Applicant  

Queens College 

Graduate Admission Essay 

I am applying to the graduate program at Queens College to refine and expand my sculptural practice through rigorous material investigation and interdisciplinary research. I seek an academic environment that will allow me to strengthen my technical skills, clarify my conceptual framework, and advance a materially driven practice grounded in experimentation and process. My approach to making is deeply informed by material labor. I work with reclaimed utility materials alongside clay, wax, light metals, and glass; drawn to their histories of use and structural purpose. By pushing these materials beyond their intended use, I explore the dichotomy between function and non-function, asking what it means to create non-utilitarian work in a culture that prioritizes usefulness and productivity. I am interested in how ordinary materials, particularly those associated with construction and infrastructure, can be transformed into objects of softness, adornment, and care. In this way, familiar systems are re-seen not as purely practical, but as sculptural forms already embedded in daily life.

Queens College’s commitment to direct growth and sustainability as a working artist solidifies it as my first choice for prospective programs. I am  drawn to the program’s open support of an expansive fine art practice. The program’s reputation for prioritizing critical inquiry in fine art over commercial outcomes strongly aligns with my own values as an artist. I plan to contribute meaningfully to this environment through engaged studio critique and material investigation, while continuing to expand both the formal and fine conceptual dimensions of my work.

My practice has been profoundly shaped by nearly five years of work as a studio assistant to sculptor Tamiko Kawata. I was trained in her metal-weaving techniques and immersed in a practice grounded in close attention to material. This mentorship reinforced my belief in teaching as a vital extension of artistic practice. Pursuing an MFA at Queens College will formally prepare and qualify me to teach at the collegiate level, allowing me to contribute meaningfully as an educator while continuing to develop a rigorous, research-driven studio practice. I am eager to engage with academic communities through instruction, mentorship, and curriculum-based learning, and to build a sustainable career that integrates both teaching and studio work.

I am especially excited by the opportunity to work in the bronze foundry at Queens College, a facility that is increasingly rare within graduate studio programs. My introduction to metal casting began through my studies at Marist College and later at Salem Art Works, where I developed a strong interest in the possibilities of bronze and glass. Since returning to New York City,  access to affordable and consistent foundry facilities has been limited. Pursuing my MFA at Queens College will allow me to return to this material with intention and depth, advancing a body of work that I have been eager to fully develop. Access to the foundry would enable me to expand both the technical and conceptual scope of my practice, using bronze as a central material through which to explore form and longevity.

I intend to deepen my engagement with performance and movement-based work, approaching performance as a sensory and spatial extension of sculpture. Dance has long informed my practice, and my continued involvement in the New York City dance community remains central to this exploration. Queens College offers the ideal context to further integrate performance, installation, and material research.

Living and working in New York City has been essential to my development as an artist. The relationships and artistic community I have built here continue to shape my practice, and I value the long-term connections that have grown through engagement with the city’s cultural landscape. Pursuing my MFA at Queens College will allow me to strengthen these relationships while contributing meaningfully through academic exchange and collaboration. I am confident that Queens College is the right environment for this next stage of my growth, and I am excited to further refine my role as both a fine artist and educator within such a well-regarded and supportive institution.