New Leadership in the STUDIO

We’re excited to announce that Harrison Apple will begin serving as Director of the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry beginning this Fall 2026. Their background in interdisciplinary research and public engagement will sustain our tentpole programs and continue building our capacity as the laboratory for the College of Fine Arts.

“It’s been my pleasure to serve as your Associate Director. I have been a sounding board, a project manager, and co-conspirator to everyone in this College and I’m grateful for a chance to cement that in my new role as Director. The staggering breadth of investigations and experiments that are brought to life through the STUDIO is central to our mission as the laboratory for the College of Fine Arts.

Collaborating in the STUDIO is where I feel most closely that our College has a culture and a method all its own. It reflects how a life in higher education can be worth more than the sheer effort we put into our individual roles or neatly presented works. Even when “risk” is discouraged in our fields, the STUDIO makes ample room for “chance.” In the nearly two decades since I first arrived here as a student, I’ve marveled at and been a part of the invigorating and permissive power of the STUDIO to change the terms of engagement for artists. It gives people a chance to change our perspective, to mend, to repair, to reinforce, and endure.

The permanent impression of the STUDIO’s past has set us up for an exciting future, led by myself and my coworkers Dave Zak and Mary Sutton. We will continue to be the laboratory where the College of Fine Arts’ impact reaches beyond the boundaries of our campus, by taking the chance to support you in everything you do.”

As we make this transition, we want to also thank Nica Ross for their five years of excellent service to the STUDIO.