Laura Nova, JJ Manford, Cecilia Lu: Art Alumni Panel

Laura Nova (B.F.A. ’96) is an artist, educator, and activator who lives and works on New York’s Lower East Side, connecting generations and diverse communities around public health and the environment. The first Public Artist in Residence to be embedded in New York City’s Department for the Aging, Nova brings expertise and empathy to her projects and actions, designing each element to enhance social wellness and decrease social isolation. Working in festivals, public monuments, and the city street, Nova delivers stories to homebound New Yorkers, organizes an older adult cheerleading squad, and designs crafting kits, guides, and costumes that help nurture emerging activists of all ages. She is currently designing and teaching in the CareLab at The New School and is an Urban Field Station Collaborative Arts fellow advocating for the care and longevity of humans and trees.

JJ Manford (B.F.A. ’06, b. 1983, Boston) received his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and Art History from Cornell University before earning a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Master of Fine Art in Painting from Hunter College. Utilizing oil stick, oil pastel, and Flashe paint on burlap stretched over canvas, Manford curates imagined domestic spaces filled with an array of historic artworks, objects, textiles, furniture, and animals. Recent solo shows include Jaune Brilliant at Galeria Marta Cervera in Madrid, Fifth Season at V1 Gallery in Copenhagen, and Hayden Rowe Street at Derek Eller Gallery in New York City, which was reviewed by Donald Kuspit in Artforum. His work can be found in public collections at the Brooklyn Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami, and the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. He lives and works in Brooklyn, where he is a founding member of Underdonk and Tappeto Volante Projects.

Z. Cecilia Lu (B.F.A. ’22) is a Chinese-American artist based in Upstate New York. Her art practice engages multi-generational and familial histories in the context of mourning and non-western practices of medicine and care. She works primarily in installations composed of ceramics, video, and participation. She was formerly the curatorial assistant at Wave Hill (Bronx, NY) and is currently working as a product designer.