Graduate News & Announcements
October 2025
Department Recognizes Grad Student
Congrats to graduate student Maryam Ghasempour for their recent exhibitions, publications, and awards! Maryam is a second grad student focusing on Photography. Prior to immigrating to the U.S., she worked in journalism, focusing on documentary photography that captures authentic, intimate moments, particularly the lives of older women and men under Islamic regime in northern Iran, and addressing issues of social justice and child labor.
Since moving to the United States, Maryam has navigated the complexities of dual identity, experiencing the emotional tension of living between her homeland and her new environment. This liminal space has deeply informed her artistic practice, shaping her perspective as both an insider and an outsider.
Her current work documents the American experience through the lens of someone coming from an Islamic country with a unique cultural background. At the same time, she revisits and reinterprets her archival documentary photographs to explore women’s lives, both in Iran and after migration. Through her photography, Maryam seeks to illuminate the challenges women face globally, highlighting the resilience required of immigrant women as they navigate the delicate balance between two worlds.
In 2025 Maryam has participated in the following,
Exhibitions:
- Small Works: 47th Harper College National Juried Exhibition, Martha Bell Gallery
- Remixed: SPE Members Exhibition, Tyler School of Art & Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Botanicals, Online Photo Juried Exhibition, Decagon Gallery, New York
- CFC Juried Exhibition, Society of Photographic Educaiton Contingent Faculty Caucus (to be exhibited at the SPE National Conference, 2026)
- SPE Members Exhibition at the Scarab Club, Michigan. Juror Kat Goffnett
- Places and Spaces, Online Photo Juried Exhibition, Decagon Gallery, New York
- Interiors- Spaces that Define Our Lives, Online Photo Juried Exhibtion, Decagon Gallery, New York
- 17th Annual National Juried Art Exhibtion, Goggle Works Center for the Arts, Pennsylvania
Publications:
- Suboart Magazine No. 44
- Artdose Magazine Weekly
- Bold Journey Magazine
- Mistake House Magazine
Awards & Scholarships
- Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards, People/Self-Portrait
- Full Scholarship, Anderson Ranch Center Workshop
- Third Place, Decagon Gallery, $200 Prize, Honorable Mention
- Mistake House Magazine Editor's Prize for Photography
February 2025
MFA Grad Student Group Exhibition
Exhibit Location: Manhattan Arts Center
Exhibit Dates: February 11 - March 7, 2025
Meet the Artist Reception: Friday, February 28, 5-7 pm
This exhibition showcases the work of the K-State Art Department's Masters of Fine Arts candidates. The event offers a unique opportunity to experience a diverse collection of artistic expressions from the following artists:
- Gabriel Dwomoh
- Maddison Edwards
- Danielle Fisher
- Maryam Ghasempour
- Aaron Joel Stefan
- Ariana Swann
KSU Art Department Proudly Recognizes Grad Student
The KSU Department of Art is proud to recognize the accomplishments of graduate student Maryam Ghasempour, who recently completed an artist residency at the Bunnell Art Center in Homer, Alaska, from December 31 to January 13. This residency was supported by the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. During her time in Alaska, Maryam taught two printmaking workshops at Kachemak Bay College—one on monotype techniques and another on linoleum cut. She also gave two presentations to the local community.
Additionally, Maryam has been featured in two prestigious exhibitions:
- Positive/Negative 40 National Juried Art Exhibition: Her piece "Bound Yet Free" was selected by juror Nandini Makrandi, Chief Curator at the Hunter Museum of American Art, from 124 submissions across the nation.
- 2025 SPE Members Exhibition: Two of her works, "Lost and Becoming" and "Bound Yet Free", were selected for the exhibition at Sierra Arts in Reno, Nevada, running from March 3 to 26, 2025. The juror for this show is C. Rose Smith, Assistant Curator of Photography at the Brooks Museum of Art.
Congrats to Maryam for these incredible accomplishments!
October 2024
Congratulations Maryam (Nilu) Ghasempour
Congratulations to graduate student Maryam (Nilu) Ghasempour for presenting her research poster on "Intersection of Feminism, Immigration, and Identity in Contemporary Photography" at the Research and the State event at K-State Union! With over 90 graduate students from diverse disciplines across campus participating, Maryam’s work stands out as a powerful exploration of identity and social issues through the lens of contemporary photography. Well done, Maryam!
Grad Student Recieves Award
Ariana Swann, a second-year MFA Program student, has been awarded a prestigious $1,000 AAUW Branch Scholarship. This scholarship is sponsored by the Manhattan Chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in partnership with the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. It is awarded to no more than four women students at Kansas State University (K-State) each year who have pursued a nontraditional path in their education.
Ariana's accomplishment highlights her dedication and hard work. Congratulations, Ariana, on this well-deserved recognition!
The Revisitation Room
March 2024
Exhibition by Kyra Litwin
The Kansas State University Department of Art will present the exhibition, “Disintegrating Permanence,” by MFA Candidate Kyra Litwin from March 18-22 in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery in Willard Hall, Kansas State University campus. A reception will be held from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm on Friday, March 22 in the gallery. Events are free and open to the public.
Kyra Litwin is originally from Appleton, Wisconsin and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, with a major in art and minor in archeology. She has participated in numerous regional exhibitions and has won several awards for her drawings and prints.
In her exhibition, Kyra explores her family history, and the palpable impact of generational exchange through drawing and printmaking processes. Her charcoal drawings, dry pigment screen prints, and three-dimensional works created by printing dry, unbound pigment onto sand emulate the passage of time and the concurrent, fading of memory wherein certain details are retained and immortalized, while others deteriorate, becoming blurred, distorted, and forgotten with time. Printing with dry unbound pigments, images are clear, concise, and intact in their initial state. When subjected to time and handling, they begin to distort and blur, becoming at times, reincorporated into the background of the page all together. Extending the conversation of her prints and drawings further, dry, unbound pigments are printed onto sand, producing sharp but transient impressions that will last only for the duration of the show. As the particles break down and the imagery becomes indiscernible, only its essence, and that of the moment remain.
Instagram: @kstatemfaart • @kyralitwin
Support for this show was provided in part by the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Small Grant Program for K-State Graduate Students, and funding by KSU SGA Fine Arts Fee.
The Mark A. Chapman Gallery on the first floor of Willard Hall opened in 2005. Cheryl Mellenthin and Mark Chapman fundeda complete renovation of the former Willard Hall Gallery, increasing the exhibition space to over 1,400 square feet along with400 square feet dedicated to exhibition preparation and kitchen facilities. The Department of Art hosts BFA and MFA studentexhibitions in the gallery as part of graduation requirements each semester. The technology friendly gallery serves not onlyexhibition purposes, but also provides a location for an active Visiting Artist lecture program.
March 2023
Bryan Raymundo
The Kansas State University Department of Art will present the exhibition, These Things Happen At Night, by MFA Candidate Bryan Raymundo from March 20-24 in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery, in Willard Hall. A reception will be held from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm on Friday, March 24 in the gallery. Events are free and open to the public.
Bryan Raymundo is originally from Wichita, Kansas and earned his BFA in Studio Art with an emphasis in Printmaking from Wichita State University. He has participated in regional solo and group exhibitions nationwide and has won multiple awards for his prints. While an undergraduate student at WSU, he organized three steamroller events which brought art and local communities together.
As a first generation Mexican American, Bryan Raymundo uses his own personal experience to reflect on notions of cultural displacement and stereotype. Portraiture and representations of the human figure combine with a rich range of images combed from Mexico and America in both the prints and ceramic sculptures. Dissecting lines carved into the plates and blocks before printing create a sense of fragmentation and separation, and large sections sharply cut away during the working process take on meaning through their absence. Combined with the linear, metal pedestals that surround and protect the ceramic pieces, the prints and ceramics in the exhibition create a visual parallel for the feeling of otherness, and the cumulative challenge of navigating two cultures.
Instagram: @raymundoprintmaker
Funding for this show was provided in part by the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Small Grant Program for K-State Graduate Students. These events are also presented and funded in part, by KSU SGA Fine Arts Fee.
Makenzie Burmeister
The Kansas State University Department of Art will present the exhibition, Collisions, by MFA Candidate Makenzie Burmeister from March 6-10 in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery in Willard Hall, Kansas State University campus. A reception will be held from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm on Friday, March 10th in the gallery. Events are free and open to the public.
Makenzie Burmeister is originally from Gretna, Nebraska and earned her BFA in Art Education with an emphasis in Ceramics from the University of South Dakota. During her time there she played soccer and won multiple awards for her sculpture and ceramics pieces.
Collisions showcases site-reflective installation, drawing, and assemblage sculptures that combine the use of new digital applications with conventional ceramics and drawing processes. Cast and found materials evocative of construction and labor are recontextualized and combined through meditative, rhythmic, and highly repetitive action, transforming them from the mundane and industrial into explorative, expressive, and introspective works.
Instagram: @burmeisterceramics
www.etsy.com/shop/BurmeisterCeramics/items
Funding for this show was provided in part by the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Small Grant Program for K-State Graduate Students. These events are also presented and funded in part, by KSU SGA Fine Arts Fee.
February 2023
KSU Master of Fine Arts Show at Manhattan Arts Center
Congratulations to our Master of Fine Arts Students! Master of Fine Arts Students will be showing their work at the Manhattan Arts Center from February 18th to March 18th in a lively exhibit. The Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 12:00PM-5:30 PM, Saturday hours will be announced.
November 2022
Bryan Raymundo
Congratulations to Bryan Raymundo, master's award winner of the GSC Award for Graduate Student Teaching Excellence, sponsored by Kansas State University's Graduate Student Council.
Read about Bryan and his award here:
https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/2022-11/gsc-awards11822.html
September 2022
Shea Kister
Congratulations to Shea Kister (MFA, 2022), who was awarded a long-term artist residency at Baltimore Clayworks!
Elena Masrour
Jolynn Reigeluth
March 2022
Congratulations
Congratulations to Sepideh Badakhshanian, Shea Kister, and Elena Masrour, for receiving AHSS grants for their MFA thesis work.
Elena Masrour
Biking on a Sunny Day, watercolor and oil on canvas, 60’’x 50” 2022
The Kansas State University Department of Art presented the exhibition, We’re not in Tehran anymore,” by MFA Candidate Elena Masrour from March 21-25 in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery in Willard Hall, Kansas State University campus. A reception will be held from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm on Friday, March 25 in the gallery. Events are free and open to the public.
Elena Masrour is originally from Tehran, Iran, and received her BA in Fabric and Textile Design from the Tehran University of Art where she ranked 134th in the National Entrance Exam among more than 50,000 participants. While a young artist in Iran she received an Emerging Artist Award from the Iranian Visual Arts Association.
The paintings in this exhibition reflected some of the many difficulties women living in Iran have had to endure following the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979. The segregation of women in terms of familial obligations, religious rituals, legal privileges, and personal and political power is addressed through the use of Persian iconography, and images and narratives combed from personal experience and Iranian pop culture. We’re not in Tehran anymore draws inspiration from the superheroines of the Golden Age of American comics as a vehicle for engaging viewers in the challenging content, and as a nod to the freedom of speech that Elena Masrour has been able to enjoy while studying art in Kansas.
Instagram: Elena.M (@elenamasrour)
Funding for this show was provided in part by the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Small Grant Program for K-State Graduate Students. These events are also presented and funded in part, by KSU SGA Fine Arts Fee.
Shea Kister
Beware of the Bathroom Floor I, stoneware and low fire glaze, 5.5" x 11" x 8.5", 2021
The Kansas State University Department of Art presented the exhibition, “Please, Sit Down.” by MFA Candidate Shea Kister from March 7th, 2022 – March 11th, 2022, in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery in Willard Hall, Kansas State University campus.
Shea Kister wis a ceramicist and interdisciplinary artist originally from Omaha, Nebraska. She holds a BFA in ceramics and photography, with minor study in the areas of art history and psychology from the University of South Dakota. She works primarily in clay but also incorporates printmaking techniques and mixed media. In 2020, she was awarded the Angelo C. Garzio Scholarship for Studio Pottery and has exhibited her work across the United States.
Inspired by her study of trauma’s effects on memory as well as personal and social relationships, her work enlists notions of fragmentation, discontinuity, memory distortion, and dissociation through the use of scale, surface application, and materials. Creating manifestations of how feeling indescribable emotions can be outwardly represented, she presents her work within an immersive context that allows the viewer to experience familiar, though possibly uneasy feelings – the kind that might emerge from memory and the limitations of verbal or written language.
sheakister.com INSTAGRAM: @sheakisterceramics
Funding for this show was provided in part by the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Small Grant Program for K-State Graduate Students. These events are also presented and funded in part, by KSU SGA Fine Arts Fee.
Sepideh Badakhshanian
Deprivation, Photography, dimensions (11”x17”), 2022
The exhibition, Deprivation , by MFA Candidate Sepideh Badakhshanian, was presented in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery, from February 28 – March 4. A reception will be held from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm on Friday, March 4 in the gallery. Events are free and open to the public.
The body of works included in this show focus on women’s feelings in Iran’s traditional and conservative society, portraying the pain that accompanies Iranian women as they are subjected to sexual violence, harassment, legal discrimination, and cultural notions of taboo, along with a questioning of patriarchal ideologies in Iran and Middle Eastern cultures.
Funding for this show is provided in part by the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Small Grant Program for K-State Graduate Students. These events are also presented and funded in part, by KSU SGA Fine Arts Fee.
Michael Burke
Its Painful Absences Covers All, Intaglio, 34”x23”, 2021
The Kansas State University Department of Art presented the exhibition, “Disquiet” by MFA Candidate Michael Burke, 2/21 – 2/25 in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery in Willard Hall, K-State Campus.
Michael Burke is originally from Forest Grove, Oregon, and received his BFA in printmaking from the Oregon State University where he was awarded multiple scholarships in printmaking and art. During one of the most traumatic and solitary times in history, Michael Burke uses experimental and counter-intuitive printmaking methods in order to process and transform the haunting and arresting memories of personal trauma. His abstracted spaces and environments expose the remnants that reside between memories of pain and contemporary vision. Michael Burke’s etchings offer hope within the darkness, inviting the viewer to reflect on their own life experience and survival
This event was presented and funded in part, by the KSU SGA Fine Arts Fee.
September 2021
Kelly Yarbrough, K-State MFA, 2016, to present at TEDx Austin College, 2021
Kelly’s talk, entitled, The Tallgrass Prairie & the Power of Perenniality took place on Saturday, September 25th. Congratulations, Kelly!
Congratulations, to Dee Roof, K-State MFA, 2020, for being awarded a Visiting Lectureship in the Art Department at Avila University, in Kansas City!
Congratulations to Nick Bayer, MFA, 2007, and his company, Createco Studios, on their latest public mural! Nick’s project was supported by the Oklahoma City 1% for Art Ordinance and may be seen in the MAPS 3, Health and Wellness Center 2, at 4021 South Walker Avenue in Oklahoma City.
