Alumni Spotlight: Ilana Harris-Babou '16
The Alumni Spotlight is a place to hear from the School of the Arts alumni community about their journeys as artists and creators.
Ilana Harris-Babou was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She creates videos and sculptures in an abject exploration of the American Dream. Her work confronts the increasingly shaky notion that hard work, entrepreneurialism, and ingenuity will amount to upward mobility in the always uncertain future.
She has shown her work throughout the US & Europe, with solo exhibitions at The Museum of Arts and Design & Larrie in New York City. Other venues include the De Young Museum, the Jewish Museum, SculptureCenter, Abrons Art Center, the Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen, La Casa Encendida in Madrid, and Le Doc in Paris. Her work has been written about in The New Yorker, Vice, Artforum, Frieze, and The Village Voice, among others.
She received a BA from Yale University in 2013, and an MFA in Visual Art from Columbia University in 2016. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Williams College in Williamstown, MA.
Was there a specific faculty member or peer that especially inspired you while at the School of the Arts? If so, who and how?
There were an innumerable number of people that shaped my work while I was at Columbia. Most of my learning came outside the classroom. My peers were especially valuable, since we spent day and night together in the studios. My classmate ektor garcia '16 taught me how to work with clay over the summer between first and second year. Ceramics now play a central role in my work, and I’m so grateful. My videos would not be what they are today if I hadn’t had a service position with Peter Clough in digital media. It was kind of like video installation bootcamp. He was so generous with his knowledge, so I got to learn on the job. The process of installing other student’s work gave me so many ideas for my own.
What were the first steps you took after graduating?
After graduation, I moved to Richmond, VA. I was immensely lucky to be awarded a Fountainhead Fellowship in Sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University. I taught two classes a semester, and was given a stipend, studio, and an apartment. The community there was so supportive, and Richmond was a great place to clear my head after the rush of grad school.
What advice would you give to recent graduates?
Don’t be afraid to leave New York! If you’re working all day to have a studio you never get to use, it’s not worth it. I feel I can say this because I grew up in Brooklyn and will always love the city more than anyone. It’s so easy to connect via the internet these days that it’s not worth beating yourself up over moving.