MFA DSI 2026 Thesis projects find power in proximity.
MFA DSI Class of 2026 presents their thesis projects, responding to the social issues that ring true today and will shape tomorrow, including: media literacy, water access, transit inequality, overconsumption, community displacement, education, gender inequality, aging, and social isolation.
Through innovations in game design, play, advocacy, craft, astronomy, and emerging tech, with communities and partnerships, in rhythms and beats, these MFA DSI projects find power in proximity.
“When you get proximate, you hear the songs. And those melodies in those songs will empower you, they will inspire you, and they will teach you what doing justice and loving mercy is all about.”
– Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative
This year’s keynote speaker, Tamika Abaka-Wood, is the founder of CornerBooth and Dial-An-Ancestor. Tamika is a London-born, NYC-based cultural anthropologist, researcher and social practice artist whose work sits at the intersection of human behavior, deep time humility, and collective futures.
Thesis Show 2026 was livestreamed on May 12, 2026, with live captioning.