Anika Schneider

Anika Hsiung Schneider is a narrative artist who draws on lived experiences, memory, and family history. With an Asian Mixed female identity, she resides in a highly racialized body that also exists in a liminal state. This connection to a liminal state of being closely connects her work to themes of loss, transitional spaces, and visualizing the intangible.

Anika currently serves as the Director of Exhibitions and Artist Programs at Minnesota Center for Book Arts and adjunct faculty at MCAD. Anika’s work has been exhibited nationally at galleries such as Soo Visual Arts Center, Rosalux Gallery, Gallery B St Paul, Circle Gallery, Visarts, Dumbarton Concert Gallery, and Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture. Anika has also participated in residencies in Wolfsville, Nova Scotia, and Solomons Island, Maryland. She has also been awarded with a Windgate University Fellowship, Gettysburg College Provost Grant, and the InCahoots residency Boost Prize full grant.

Anika currently lives and works in Minneapolis where she enjoys giving a home to secondhand furniture and hiking with her dog Wolly. 

Which year did you graduate and what brought you to MCAD for your MFA? Could you speak a little bit about your background?

I graduated from MCAD MFA in 2019. I am originally from Maryland, just outside of Washington DC. In my undergraduate studies, I was a double major in environmental science and studio arts. I was initially an environmental science major, but after taking a drawing course and going to artist lectures, I knew I wanted to pursue art. So I decided to squeeze in a second major. After graduating, I worked at a nature center teaching science-based programming, but continued my artistic practice. I eventually decided I wanted to immerse myself in art and take the next step in developing my practice. Since I felt that I had to rush through my art major, I really wanted the time, space, and community an art and design school could support. I came to the MFA program at MCAD because I was not only drawn to the MCAD community, but the entire arts community in the Twin Cities. I also decided on MCAD’s MFA program due to its interdisciplinary nature and mentorship structure. At the time, I was a painter, but did not want to choose a graduate program where I wouldn’t have the freedom to explore other disciplines. I also wanted to pursue teaching, and was excited about the teaching seminar at the program.

How did your art change while you were at MCAD?

My work changed significantly during my time at MCAD. While I continued painting for my entire time in the program, I was able to evolve significantly as an artist. My work became much more figurative and personal in nature. I also explored painting on a wide range of materials, and even used light and shadow as an aspect of my work. The scale of my work also increased dramatically, from small paintings, to a 5-foot by 28-foot piece I completed for my thesis.

How has your work evolved since your time at MCAD?

Since my time at MCAD, my work has branched out in many different ways. Printmaking has become an important part of my work. I have been making abstract monotype prints that visually explore the impact of language on culture, with particular emphasis on translation and the loss of cultural language. This is my first time really delving into abstraction, and it has been a freeing part of my practice — one that has energized me throughout the course of the pandemic.