For the debut issue of The Edna, a monthly newsletter published by Hunter’s Art & Art History Department, artist Lindsey White spoke with Katie Hood Morgan, Chief Curator and Deputy Director, Hunter College Art Galleries, about White’s collaborative project Last Art School. This is an extended version of that interview accompanied by reception photos by Hunter BFA student Leo Sano. Last Art School, a project by Lindsey White is on view at the 205 Hudson Gallery through November 22, 2025, and is accompanied by a robust set of public programs.
“Lindsey and I first met at the San Francisco Art Institute in roughly 2012 when I started working in the school’s Walter and McBean Galleries and Lindsey was already legendary as one of the most beloved professors teaching on campus. We had the opportunity to work together informally over the years and in Fall 2018 I helped organize the exhibition “Will Brown: Ether” which featured Lindsey’s arts collective Will Brown (with other members Jordan Stein and David Kasprzak). In some ways, due to our shared experiences at SFAI, it feels like our destinies have been intertwined even as I was laid off due to budget cuts and eventually moved across the country. I know that many others who have passed through SFAI in one way or another feel similarly. In 2018 I helped found the SFAI Legacy Foundation + Archive, a non-profit based in San Francisco which preserves, activates, and makes accessible 150 years of archival materials related to the school and the people who passed through its doors.
When the opportunity arose to invite an artist and curator to be in residence in Fall 2025, Lindsey had just released her book What? Is? Art?—a profound and timely collection of texts from art professors across the country—and I knew she would be the perfect person to kick off what we hope will be the first in a series of opportunities for artists and curators and engage with the Hunter arts community. Thanks to the generous support of Arthur and Carol Goldberg, Lindsey has been working on site in the 205 Hudson Gallery since early August and will be here working with students and faculty throughout the exhibit which closes November 22. I’m so grateful to Lindsey for joining us in New York this Fall and we are so excited for everything her project has in store for us! Please enjoy our conversation where we get into the revolutionary and historic underpinnings of the exhibition and we hope to see you in the galleries soon! ”
Katie Hood Morgan: You published your first book What? Is? Art? with Colpa Press in 2024. The publication includes images of the empty SFAI campus during the pandemic—studios and classrooms are frozen in time in an eerie precursor to the school’s bankruptcy and closure later that year. These images appear alongside texts from anonymous higher arts education professors from around the country. Can you share how the Last Art School exhibition concept developed out of and expanded on this project?
Lindsey White: The photos I took at SFAI were taken at a moment when it wasn't clear if the school was going to make it or not. The faculty had already received layoff notices two weeks into COVID so these photos were the beginning of me trying to cope with the stress and sadness of the situation. This process enabled me to feel proactive when everything felt out of my control. By inviting members of my academic family to share some of their experiences, I was not only able to shed light on greater issues but also show that these issues are rampant in higher education, and that we’re not alone. Being in community has always been important to me, and Last Art School is an extension of this line of thinking. The project is a continuation of how to bring multiple perspectives together through art, dialogue, food, fellowship, and public events.
KHM: Upon entering the exhibition space, visitors will find a large bulletin board of printed articles about the challenges facing art schools globally, underlining how truly current these issues are. What is your aim in siting this project on the Hunter College MFA Campus right now?
LW: The bulletin board of current events is a way of physically sharing some of the articles that have been published recently, and the display will continue to be updated throughout the exhibition. With everything going on right now, it's easy to lose sight of the attacks (in their various forms) on higher education. This exhibition is exactly where—and when—it needs to be. The show is not only located within an art department—it is specifically sited in a public university, a place where I feel that the greatest sense of hope exists. It's critical that we acknowledge the institutional collapse of higher education from within the walls of the institution so that together we might be able to support one another and be proactive in new revolutionary approaches.
KHM: The exhibition includes a gallery with an incredible display of materials—posters, images, printed email and memos, and ephemera—from the SFAI Legacy Foundation and Archive. Can you describe some of your favorite items in this room? Why was it important to you to include SFAI archival materials in the exhibition?
LW: It’s hard to choose favorites, but I think joint letters written by faculty and students always pull at my heart strings. I admire when people can come together, and articulate what feels important to them in the moment. It’s so vulnerable and real! I think we need more of this energy right now. The student protest photograph that depicts the SFAI cafe windows X’ed out with “Budget Cuts No View” is definitely at the top of the list, too. My hope is that when visitors look through the SFAI archival materials they will realize we’ve been through hard times before, and maybe there are some clues in the materials for how to move forward or at least find inspiration. SFAI was also a weird, beautiful, and complex place like all art schools, and we should celebrate artistic homes for the weirdo artists.
KHM: You taught at SFAI for a decade, as Adjunct then Associate Professor and eventually Chair of the Photography Department (which was founded by Ansel Adams in 1946.) Can you speak about your experience as a professor and how it has informed your interest in both pedagogy and the administrative machinations of higher educational institutions?
LW: Collaborating with students was the best part of teaching. Over the years among students, faculty, and staff I made many important lifelong friendships. I’ve found that a good sense of humor and strong communication skills are critical to navigating group dynamics. I believe in taking care of people, and really listening to what they’re trying to say, to ask questions, and to never assume. I found that academia began to lack the care, openness, and humor that I feel the greater community needs. So, I’m looking for new ways to engage this community from the outside. Last Art School is a huge experiment, but I’m up for the challenge. I’m looking forward to meeting new people along the way.
KHM: There is a cinematic and evocative quality to the title, Last Art School. While it could be perceived as final and almost apocalyptic, hope and playfulness are central to the exhibition. How did you come to this title?
LW: Art school as we know it has changed. The recent collapse of various small art and liberal universities across the US speaks to this. I do think SFAI was the last art school. I've been thinking about what the broader civic impacts are when such a place disappears where the center of counterculture was born. I think this is a pivotal moment to rethink educational models, governance, and administrative structures before we see more of them disappear. But I also think there's even more room to collectively build what we want to see in the world outside of these institutions, and having this conversation within an institution feels provocative yet productive.
KHM: You created a lounge area inside the exhibition—Chat and Chew—and it’s truly the beating heart of this project, with an emphasis on community and conversation building. What is the significance of this space for you? Do you have any programming plans for the gallery that we can look forward to this Fall?
LW: Chat and Chew is a gathering place for the Hunter Art and Art History community and greater art lovers, too. I think coming together in person has never been more important. We need each other now more than ever, and our relationships will carry one another through tough times. Also providing a cozy place that is free in New York City seems like a total coup in itself! Lunch will be served weekly. The first event of the fall is Sophie Becker performing her ventriloquist act on September 11th! Then we have stand-up comedy with Dynasty Handbag, a conversation with two Rhoda Kellogg Children’s Art scholars, a panel about alternative education models and methods, and programming that we’re waiting for you to design. The Hunter College Talent show is coming up soon too! All talents are welcome. Please follow Chat and Chew on Instagram: @chatandchew2025.
IMAGE CREDITS: Last Art School reception images by Leo Sano.