Address: on ZAZcorner (Corner of 41st Street and 7th Avenue) | Date: February 19, 2026
INTERMISSION explores the idea of a pause, a breath, and a moment of reflection within the constant flow of Times Square. Created by MFA Visual Arts students from Columbia University School of the Arts during a Mentor Week workshop guided by artist and mentor Rona Yefman, the project invites students to experiment with new artistic practices while engaging directly with the city’s public sphere. Through a series of fifteen-second moving-image works presented as artistic “interruptions” between commercials on the ZAZ Corner billboard, the artists explore themes of intimacy, ephemerality, resistance, and cultural erosion.
The program will be screened on February 19, 2026, at the ZAZ10TS billboard, located at the southeast corner of 41st Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square.
Artist: Cloris Dong, Dayana Matasheva, Francisco Javier Ramirez, Gianfranco Reyes, Isaac Yuquan Duan, Mei Seva and Neta Moses
Mentor: Rona Yefman
About Columbia University School of the Arts Visual Arts MFA Program
Columbia University School of the Arts is an innovative graduate professional school with a tradition of risk-taking, grounded in a deeply intellectual Ivy League university and energized by our location in New York City—one of the great cultural capitals of the world. The study and practice of art-making at the School is an immersive, constantly evolving process. Aspiring, emerging or established, our filmmakers, writers, theatre practitioners and visual artists grow individually through intensive engagement with their craft and lively, often profound exchanges of ideas and work.
MFA Visual Arts Columbia University School of the Arts attracts emerging artists of unusual promise from around the world. They join a vigorous community, working alongside an exceptional faculty at a world-renowned research institution in New York City. The Visual Arts Program is interdisciplinary and offers an MFA degree in Visual Arts rather than in one specific medium. The two-year studio program, taught by internationally celebrated artists, allows students to pursue moving image, new genres, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Website: arts.columbia.edu Instagram: @columbiaschoolofthearts
About Rona Yefman
Rona Yefman is a New York City-based artist working in photography, video, and installation. Her work explores social, political, and personal issues of identity through a range of human experiences, often collaborating with individuals who embody radical personas that reflect the iconic and absurd elements of our time. She earned her MFA from Columbia University in New York City in 2009 and continues to serve as a mentor in the graduate program of the MFA Visual Arts at Columbia University School of the Arts.
Website: ronayefman.com | Instagram: @ronayefman
Address: on ZAZcorner (Corner of 41st Street and 7th Avenue) | Date: February 23, 2024
During the Mentor Week workshop guided by Rona Yefman, students from Columbia University School of the Arts Visual Arts MFA Program enthusiastically embraced new artistic experiences and practices, fully immersing themselves in the vibrant community of the city. The opportunity to partner with ZAZ10TS and create video art for the Billboard in Times Square presented an exciting chance for the students to express their creativity as visual studio artists in a public setting.
Amidst the tumult of today's era and within the bustling urban environment, they pose the question: "Can Art make a difference?"
In an effort to explore this inquiry, they crafted digital artworks to be displayed between commercials, aiming to spark moments of consciousness in public spaces. Their aspiration is for passersby to encounter these artworks amidst the city's bustling commercial areas and perceive them as unexpected gifts, each evoking a unique effect and enriching the urban landscape.
Participating students: Sasha Fishman, Valeria Guillén, Yiwei Lu, Kai Oh, Benjamin Salesse, Francisca Brunet Bayon, Daniel Castro, Devon Pin Chen, Cloris Dong, Leena Kim, Sharon Lee, Antonio Vidal de Lascurain , Ahzel Yang | Mentor: Rona Yefman
Learn more about the project visit www.leapsofconsciousness.com
