Stevenson Graphic Design Students Work with Accomplished Digital Artist
Stevenson University’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence Nguyên Khôi Nguyễn visited campus on Wednesday, February 18 to give a classroom presentation and meet with select students in Stevenson’s Graphic Design program.
Carolyn Quintrell, a senior Graphic Design major, sought Nguyên’s advice for her capstone project.
“For my capstone, I’m making an animatic, an animated storyboard,” Quintrell said. “I’ve never done animation before, so I’m looking for help with the style and the process of creating the animation.”
An interdisciplinary artist and educator, Nguyên is currently a digital media professor at Loyola University Maryland, where he teaches video, graphics, animation, and comics. He is the former video producer and editor at Science magazine, and his cartoons have been featured in a number of publications including The New Yorker and McSweeney’s. In addition, Nguyên is the vocalist and pianist of the jazz trio, Superior Cling, and creator of Mom’s Viet Kitchen, a cooking website that shares Vietnamese family recipes and the stories behind them.
Nguyên studied visual art at The Cooper Union before earning his B.A. in Music and Integrated Arts from Bard College. He earned his M.M. in jazz piano from the University of Maryland and his M.F.A. in Studio Art from Towson University.
Nguyên’s exhibition, “Sacred Animal Sing-Along,” is currently on display in the School of Design, Arts, and Communication (SODAC) Lobby Gallery through April 18. The exhibition features four narratives: “Still In Love” (a karaoke installation), “In Our Own Time” (a graphic novel and installation), “A Vietnamese American Picture Dictionary” (illustrations), and “Draw Me A Map” (a mural). Through these narratives, Nguyên explores the themes of fertility, grief, language, Vietnamese American life, and fatherhood.
“It makes it a lot easier to visualize what’s possible,” said Haleigh Wiener, a senior Graphic Design major, describing Nguyên’s exhibit. “I really want to do concept art for video games, and, in my mind, it’s very easy to jump right to the end-product. This exhibit makes it really shows the process of everything coming together and not just as a final work.”
On Thursday, February 19 Nguyên presented a lecture about his work in the SODAC Lobby Gallery and Sound Stage (SD 101).
Nguyên’s exhibition is part of Arts Alive! at Stevenson University. The initiative brings creative cultural programs—including guest speakers, theatre productions, music performances, and exhibitions—to campus to inspire creativity, learning, and discovery. To learn more, visit the Arts Alive! page or follow Arts Alive! on Instagram.
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