2025 MFA Thesis Exhibition Part 1: Access Denied Gallery Hours

Pratt Fine Arts looks forward to welcoming you to the first of two 2025 MFA Thesis Exhibitions at our new MFA program location, Dock 72 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Access Denied, curated by Dejá Belardo.
March 31st - April 11th

Exhibiting artists: Yilin Chen, Yeonji Chung, kate evans, Eric Geithner, Eliza Gooding, Claire Heidinger, Jay, Yeon Jeong, William Kim, Ingrid Yi-Chen Lu, Isabelle Friedrich McTwigan, Molly Miller, Alice Shi Minghui, Siha Park, K Rawald, Yedda Ye, Ayoung Yoo, Wei Yuan

Art is often experienced as a visual language that helps the artist or viewer connect and reveal something about themselves. Through abstraction, symbolism, and material intervention, each of these artists makes deliberate choices about what they choose to reveal and what remains unseen.

Access Denied explores the multiple dimensions of opacity and access—both physical and conceptual—as artists navigate the delicate balance between revelation and concealment. Within this selection, works become vessels of hidden meaning, coded language, and emotional depth, inviting the viewer to decipher, question, or accept what is withheld.

Some works function as barriers—offering glimpses yet refusing full disclosure—while others challenge the notion that understanding requires clarity. The exhibition becomes a dynamic interplay between artist and audience, where access is granted not through direct exposition, but through intuition, empathy, and layered interpretation.

What happens when knowledge is fragmented, when emotions are encrypted, or when entry is restricted? Access Denied reminds us that meaning is not always given freely; sometimes, it must be sought, negotiated, or simply left in the realm of the unknown.

--Dejá Belardo

Dejá Belardo, (she, they) is a curator and painter based in New York City. They were born and raised in St.Croix, U.S Virgin Islands. Their diverse cultural background influences their commitment to the social and cultural power of art. The duality of being an artist and an arts professional allows Dejá to have a dynamic knowledge of how to serve the best interests and growing needs of artists. Deja's goal as a curator is to support boundary pushing artists as they establish themselves in the art historical canon, especially those who have been historically marginalized. Currently, they hold the position of Assistant Curator, Visual Art and Civic Programs at The Shed, NYC. Dejá's professional experience has included major arts institutions in New York City like the Whitney Museum of American Art, Pace Gallery and they also completed the Museum Professionals Seminar with The Studio Museum in Harlem and was recently a part of the Arts Leadership Praxis at Studio. They have participated in jury panels for residencies, spoke in public program panels and have worked on independent projects with various emerging artists, galleries and non profits in the Caribbean, New York and across the U.S, as well as maintaining a studio practice of their own.

Image: Dejá Belardo photographed by Benjamin Epstein

Images: Fall 2024 MFA Open Studios at Dock 72

IMPORTANT ACCESS INFORMATION

Access to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Dock 72 is strictly limited to those with a visitor pass. All RSVPs will receive an email with instructions on how to obtain a Visitor QR Code Pass, which will be issued on the morning of the event.

You will receive a digital QR pass from DOCK 72 Visitor Check-in(noreply@ng1.angus.mrisoftware.com) valid only for the event date.

Please register each attendee with their email to ensure they receive their unique QR pass.

NOTE: On-site parking is unavailable; however, taxi/ride share drop-offs are allowed. The building is conveniently located next to the NYC Ferry, Citibike stations, and shuttle services to/from nearby MTA subway stops. For additional details, please visit Dock 72 Getting There.