For Sabrina Chin ’13 (Photography B.F.A.), art and community service go hand-in-hand. MICA’s Community Arts Partnership (CAP) program “opened me up to the idea that you can blend art with community outreach and use art as a tool to reach out to people,” she said.

During her time at MICA, she had plenty of opportunities to do that. She taught photography lessons at a local detention center for girls and art classes to women impacted by HIV and AIDS. Through the experiences, Chin believes she gained as much as she gave.

I felt like it’s an exchange,” she said. “I offered my art capabilities while I learned so much more from those in the programs.”

One of Chin’s most interesting projects was an effort to show the impact vacant homes have on a neighborhood. She and fellow student Melissa Crisco ’13 (interdisciplinary sculpture) interviewed residents on Mount Royal Terrace about a neighborhood house that had been vacant for more than two decades. They then projected videos of neighborhood residents onto the façade of the home, which made it appear to be vibrant with life. 

Chin’s other experiences while at MICA included studying abroad in Uganda and interning at the Laundromat Project, a New York-based nonprofit that holds art classes in local laundromats. While at the Laundromat Project, “I got to see the administrative side of running art programs and facilitating artists,” she said.

Currently a fine art printing and retouching specialist at Print Space in New York City, where she works with collectors, artists, and galleries to produce high-quality photos for exhibitions and private collection, Chin said,

I don’t think I would have access to half the opportunities I’ve had without MICA."