SoFA Journal Spring 2026

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Letter from the Editor

by Gwen Hoeffgen + Sarah Luu + Domenic Toliver + Adela Cardona Puerta

“Across these conversations, art is not treated as an isolated object or a professional category, but as something inseparable from the conditions of living together– family systems, friendships, migrations, losses, and the everyday labor of care.”

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Give Hell Some Heaven: A Lesson in How to Feed Your Ghosts

by Alex Deets + Hayes Young

“So, if the theory that these supernatural ghosts or whatever are feeding off of our energy, well okay, they're feeding off my energy. That makes sense, I'm a southerner. If anything, I'm going to feed everybody. But what if I’m intentional about what I feed them? What if I sit down and look them in the face and ask, “What's going on? What are you hungry for?”

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Going Retro

by Sarah Lưu + Kim Lưu

“I was the tetherball king in Texas. In California, I was average. But in Texas, I was beating everyone. And this is gonna sound bad, but I would trade my wins for milk. So, if a kid wanted to win against me he had to bring me a carton later.”

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On The Record? I Love You

by Clara Harlow + Hannah Harlow + Tessa Harlow

“The fact that I've had to live a life and go to work is very silly and so let's make the best of it.”

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Because We Care

by Haruka Ostley + Gabriel Ostley

“When one of us lifts the other up, we all lift each other up. I thought that was a very beautiful thought, and it’s something to remember as we artists collaborate with each other.”

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The Ability to Rest: Trust, Care, and Collaboration

by Gwen Hoeffgen + Emily Fitzgerald

"To engage in a roundabout way of connecting with people that isn't about any outcome or transaction. It is possible that it can be a counter to a lot of systems of inequity and a useful practice to subvert these more competitive or capitalistic structures."

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Build it Then Let it Go

by Nina Vichayapai + Anna Vichayapai + Ron Vichayapai

You have to build something and let it go. That’s when you’ll know how much it really means. That’s when you can appreciate it.”


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Useful Aesthetics

by Domenic Toliver + Ivan McClellan

“Nobody asked me to build a rodeo. It was just the most useful thing I could think of.”

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Thank You My Father’s Hands or, the Beauty of What is Near

by Sarah Blesener + James Blesener

“It’s not just about the art making. Or the memory. Or the feeling. But the fact that making an image leads to a memory that connects to a feeling that situates us in the present again. The art has been a way to connect. And it’s not really about the art. The art is a vehicle to make sense of and to sense your memory, your life, your relationships again.”

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Artists on Visa

by Simeen Anjum + Khytul Abyad

“This contradiction isn’t accidental. Institutional “community” is an aesthetic and a marketing tool. When students enact political contestation rather than perform it in classrooms or artist statements, they are disciplined. So, the question becomes: What does it mean when values only exist in syllabi and marketing language, but collapse the moment they are practiced?”


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