NEXT Archive
NEXT represents the culmination of the learning experience at the Corcoran. See some of the Corcoran's NEXT projects and exhibits from previous years. Read about the first ten years of NEXT.
NEXT 2024
NEXT 2024 had more than 47 physical exhibits, 22 live performances, and 4 panel and research-based presentations.
Students explored social justice issues entangled with climate change, fostered a return to craftsmanship while also experimenting with AI and technology, and dived into nuanced tales of queer identity.
NEXT 2023
In 2023, NEXT evolved into a festival format to encompass the diversity of all the school’s programs and provide more public facing programming for the DC community. The festival offers an opportunity to highlight the school’s dynamic programs and cultivates more interdisciplinary partnerships among the students and faculty.
Attendees are able to view and engage with the vast displays of the end-of-year projects and appreciate the contemporary arts, dance performances, musical pieces, and research writing that the students have to offer.
NEXT Festival projects take many forms in the fields of theater, dance, music, studio arts, design, art history, interior architecture, museum studies and more. They all represent a culmination of a student's learning experiences at the Corcoran and a glimpse of future promise. Their work also reflects the care and commitment of our faculty and staff in supporting, teaching and mentoring our students’ work. Students exhibit their theses and presentations to an audience of their peers, faculty and the George Washington University and D.C. arts community.
NEXT 2022
For the past decade, NEXT has been an opportunity to showcase the work and skills of Corcoran students at GWU. Held every spring as an end-of-year thesis and capstone show, it gives D.C. the opportunity to see the latest in contemporary art and scholarship. It is the Corcoran's celebration of its incredibly talented students.
Ranging in the form of research papers, photo essays, films, performances, or paintings, NEXT provides the opportunity to commemorate the dedication of Corcoran students to their craft.
Arianne Gandy "Taking Place" Photo credit: Denny Henry @djhfoto.
NEXT 2021
In 2021, for the first time in its history, NEXT was a hybrid virtual and physical experience, with outdoor installations on GW’s campus, as well as a website that featured students’ projects. As you’ll see, this particular year, the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement profoundly impacted these young artists. Interdisciplinary connections between our exhibiting students were the driving force behind this year’s theme as created by our graphic design students: creative network.
Image: "Persuasion By Design" by Hyungjun Suh (B.F.A. Graphic Design)
A NEXT Like No Other: Producing a year-end thesis and capstone exhibition virtually — and looking back on ten years of NEXT
NEXT began in 2011 at the Corcoran College of Arts and Design, and after a decade, the Corcoran continues to celebrate the accomplishments of graduating students—both undergraduates and graduate students—and commits to showcasing emerging artists and contemporary works at the end of each school year. This year, NEXT was also an official bicentennial event celebrating GW’s 200th year.
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design Presents NEXT 2021
NEXT 2021: a dynamic, innovative, end-of-year celebration that gives students, faculty, and DC’s art community the opportunity to see the latest in contemporary art, creativity, and scholarship, presented by the graduating class of 2021.
Documenting a Love Story after Decades in Prison
“Team El” chronicles the love story of Lashonia and Sean Thompson-El, two Washington, D.C., residents who were both, as teenagers, convicted of separate violent crimes and who both endured decades of imprisonment. When they met as adults, both were working to process the anger and trauma of their pasts. Now they do that work together, while also working to help fellow formerly-incarcerated people reintegrate into society outside prison and to prevent others from entering the system at all.
2021 Exhibition Book
From theatrical performances to research papers, installations and more, NEXT is a multidisciplinary show that represents a culmination of a student’s learning experiences. Get a glimpse of their talents in 2021's NEXT Exhibition Book.
NEXT 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the Corcoran from hosting NEXT 2020, but many student artists still found creative ways to complete or rework their projects. See the work from the Class of 2020.
2020 Exhibition Book
From theatrical performances to research papers, installations and more, NEXT is a multidisciplinary show that represents a culmination of a student’s learning experiences. Get a glimpse of their talents in 2020's NEXT Exhibition Book.
More Questions Than Answers
Seven-part podcast series from the New Media Photojournalism Class of 2020.
2020 Music Capstones
NEXT Music Capstones are the culminating projects for graduating music majors. These capstones may take the form of a recital, thesis, composition, or any combination of items, but all require an academic research component as part of the Music B.A. curriculum.
2020 Art History Graduation Booklet
To see examples of the class of 2020's culminating projects and work, see our Graduation Booklet (designed by Julie Hansen, B.F.A. Graphic Design '18). This booklet shows the diverse range of studies by our outstanding students in the Corcoran Art History program.
2020 Museum Studies Exhibition
In 2020, a museum studies class put together an exhibition as part of NEXT, originally to be on view at the same time as the rest of the exhibition. Their show centered on the theme that people, stories, and objects move Sometimes this is an act of individual agency, sometimes it is the consequence of systematic displacement and violence. This exhibition recovers eight stories of movement, memory, and return.
"Universal Uncertainty" - Photojournalism and Fine Art Photography Thesis Work from 2020
After their long-awaited thesis show was been postponed, the BFA students in Photojournalism and Fine Art Photography opted to present their work collectively in this publication and to put it in the hands of people with whom they hope to build professional relationships. The small selection of images contained within is only a glimpse of their larger projects. See the work of the class of 2020.
"if the sky falls / they shall have / clouds for supper" - Photography from Spring 2020 by Corcoran students
These photographs were created during the COVID-19 crisis during a time of quarantine, by the students and professor of 'Making Meaning: Narrative and the Art of the Photobook,' at the Corcoran. Photo Editing by Corcoran alumna Katie Dance and Professor Matt Eich. For a full list of the contributors, see page 78 of the book. Published by Slow Dance Press.
The Academy for Classical Acting's Radio Plays
These Radio Plays were recorded by the Academy for Classical Acting at Shakespeare Theatre Company and George Washington University (Class of 2020) in Washington, DC., during the global pandemic. Each performer recorded alone, listening to each other via the Zencastr platform. Our season is generously sponsored by Dr. Julie M. Feinsilver, and Arthur and Shirley Fergenson. Read the Washington Post's coverage of the plays.
Listen to the Radio Plays on Apple podcasts, or Radio Public.
2020 NEXT FEATURED STUDENTS
Read about a selection of outstanding artists, designers, performers and scholars from Corcoran's 2020 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2019
2019 NEXT FEATURED STUDENTS
Read about a selection of outstanding artists, designers, performers and scholars from Corcoran's 2019 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2018
2018 NEXT FEATURED STUDENTS
A selection of outstanding artists, designers, performers and scholars from Corcoran's 2018 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2017
2017 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2017 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2016
2016 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2016 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2015
2015 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2015 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2014
2014 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2014 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2013
2013 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2013 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2012
2012 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2012 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2011
2011 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2011 end-of-year show.
NEXT 2010
2010 NEXT ARCHIVE
View work, projects, and moments from Corcoran's 2010 end-of-year show.
