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When Mariah Kitner ’15 arrived at Pace, she didn’t know what major she would ultimately choose. What she did know was that she wanted to be in New York at a liberal arts institution where she could explore lots of interests. She discovered her calling freshman year during a course with Art Department Chair, Linda Herrick.

After that, “I basically lived in the art department.” Mariah, who ended up majoring in fine art with a history minor, was also taken by the view from the windows overlooking City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. “New York City is such a great location. I would play at getting lost in the city just so I could find my way back. That’s how I discovered the magic of finding cute coffee shops. It’s also how I developed a sense of who I am and learned that I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

“Pace taught me that I can be enterprising and entrepreneurial. That I can try things to see if they work. And that being successful as an artist is about not stopping. And not settling.”

In Pace’s art department, Mariah found lots of opportunities to get real-life, practical experience in the arts. She became Professor Herrick’s studio assistant and was involved in the process of creating a large art installation at The Boiler Room in Brooklyn. She landed an internship in the props and design department of the Rachel Ray Show. And she was recommended for another internship with the SPRING/BREAK Art Show exhibition by her mentor, Professor Jane Dixon. The following year, she was chosen as a curator for the show. For her senior thesis, Mariah created a blog exploring the relationship between content and context. Her blog posts of historic artworks superimposed with funny drunk text messages attracted 150,000 followers and earned the distinction of being one of the top trending blogs of the year.

After graduation, Professor Dixon hired Mariah as her studio manager. To learn more about the business side of the art world, she took a job at Pop Art Gallery. Then, she experimented with transforming her apartment into a gallery for a solo exhibition featuring 50 works of art priced at $50 each. She succeeded in attracting 40 visitors and making 30 sales. “Pace taught me that I can be enterprising and entrepreneurial. That I can try things to see if they work. And that being successful as an artist is about not stopping. And not settling.” Just before the Covid-19 pandemic shut most of NYC down, Mariah was managing a commercial artist who was creating experiential events for organizations like USA Today and Comic-Con. Currently, she’s working on functional design ware made from clay. “At Pace, my independent studies and internships, my relationships with my mentors, and my study abroad experiences all gave me a sense of freedom. I know I can work toward anything I want and achieve it.”