At Parsons, our faculty of leading artists, designers, and scholars lead change both in the classroom and in their industries. They work directly with you, building your skills and professional networks. And they develop new ways to make online learning productive and classroom communities close. On our Faculty Stories page, you can explore faculty accomplishments and projects with students.


Parsons School of Design is delighted to present Latency, a culminating Thesis Show of the 2026 Photography MFA program cohort.The exhibition will begin August 14th and go until September 17th in the Galleries at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center. The opening reception will be held on August 20th from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm.Through the interdisciplinary practices of the 25 individuals, Latency embodies the lag between materialisation and idea. For them, Latency means creating a space in which a brief pause or a visual lag is turned to tangible realities. The exhibition brings together a cohort that isn’t just taking photos, but actively redefining what photography can be.The show captures the tension of something on the verge of appearing, stretching the boundaries of contemporary art. From video to sculpture, silkscreen to image transfers, materials ranging from glass to metal, the work explores the moments where a message finally comes to view.The exhibition features thesis work by: Suga, Francis Chiang, Nazli Erbes, Andrew Finch, Kaitlyn Garcia, Sarah Gray, Lexi Hide, Jai Jain, Aylin Koç, Madison Lanier, Eugene Lee, He Li, Kyla Liang, Ivo Nagel, Stephen Peng, Tania Quintanilla, Valentina Rangel, Maelle Rudner-Mercier, Bai Song, Leana Spain, Jerry Tang, Sophia Valentino, Yu Wang, Hang Yu, and Miraal Zafar.

We are pleased to welcome Ilaria Resta, Chief Executive Officer of Audemars Piguet, to speak with our students. With nearly three decades of global leadership experience across some of the world's most respected luxury brands, Ilaria has built a career defined by innovation, purpose-driven leadership, and a commitment to empowering people. Since becoming CEO of Audemars Piguet, she has led the Manufacture with a vision that honors its rich heritage while shaping its future through creativity, craftsmanship, and sustainable growth. Guided by the principles of Love, Learn, and Legacy, Ilaria believes leadership is about serving others, fostering curiosity, and creating lasting impact. During her conversation with our students, she will share insights from her leadership journey, discuss the evolving landscape of the luxury industry, and reflect on what it takes to build meaningful careers rooted in purpose, innovation, and excellence.

MFA FASHION DESIGN AND SOCIETYGEN 15SHOWROOMMFA Fashion Design and Society Studios39 West 13th Street, Level 3New York, NY 10011Showroom HoursSaturday, September 12 — 10:00 AM–5:00 PMSunday, September 13 — 10:00 AM–2:00 PM The showroom offers an opportunity to experience the collections at a different pace, see the work in greater detail, and engage more closely with the breadth of practices emerging from this year’s graduating cohort, within the environment in which it was conceived and created.Organized by Matthew LindeThe showroom is open to the public and no appointment is necessary. Press and industry guests are very welcome to visit at any time during these hours.The venue is wheelchair accessible, with elevator access to the MFA Fashion Design and Society studios on Level 3.

The Center for the American Experience invites you to join Rhae Lynn Barnes, Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University, and Jonathan Square, Assistant Professor of Black Visual Culture at Parsons, for a discussion of Barnes's book Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment. Darkology is a major study of the history of blackface minstrelsy in the United States, showing how deeply it shaped American entertainment, institutions, and racial politics from the nineteenth century through the Civil Rights era and beyond. Drawing on extensive archival research, Barnes challenges the idea that blackface was marginal or short-lived, revealing instead how widely it spread across schools, churches, universities, military spaces, and public life.

For New York Textile MonthWith Anette Millington, Travis Fitch, and Ragna FrodaTuesday, September 29th from 12 pm - 2 pmKellen AuditoriumRSVP is required This artist/designer talk focuses on digital embroidery in creative work, expanding industrial applications to uncover unique human sensitivities of the machine stitch. The conversation will bring together Response Patterns, a collaborative project by Anette Millington and Travis Fitch, and artist Ragna Froda, to discuss experimentation, machine collaboration, and embroidered materiality. Response Patterns is a collaborative project that leverages Anette Millington’s expertise in pattern and print, and textile embellishment, with Travis Fitch’s in-depth knowledge of digital tools, geometry, 3D-printed embellishment, and architectural design. The ongoing study of geometric and biological patterning informs their research on machine embroidery. Considering the language of patterning- units, symmetries, and algorithmic scale- they work with the embroidery machine to create tactile symbols and surfaces. Ragna Froda is an Icelandic artist, curator, and educator with a background in fashion/ textile design. Her work focuses on the process of making, working with colors and textures, and the history and culture of symbols and patterns in textiles. Ragna will discuss her “Here we go again” series of digital embroideries. The artwork, originally sketched in ink, undergoes a transformation through embroidery, guided by her assistant Bobby, the embroidery robot. As a team, they explore life events, histories, and dreams. The talk will highlight shared interests in material experimentation to expand the lexicon of machine embroidery and add emotive and temporal qualities. Examples include the use of environmentally responsive materials, such as UV-sensitive threads, and textural substrates made from fabric collage and quilting. The conversation will also focus on interventions and design processes for working with digital embroidery software and improvisation between machine and maker. Presented by MFA Textiles
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