What’s Going on at SCAD MOA
Written by Sarah Walker. Photos by Sarah Walker.
Whether you’re checking off a CTXT ELO requirement or looking for something to do on a rare free Friday afternoon, visiting the SCAD Museum of Art never disappoints. The Fall 2026 quarter has ushered in several exciting new exhibitions with artists from across the globe, including the following.
“The Garden of Wandering Spirits,” featuring work by Japanese artist Masako Miki, brings a playful sculptural landscape to Savannah. Miki uses abstraction to give unique life to these folklore-inspired characters made of felted wool. Dispersed across the floor, the colorful figures appear to pop up like mushrooms, basking in the sunlight that the floor-to-ceiling windows provide in this greenhouse-like space. By using the garden as an immersive environment, the exhibition encourages contemplation and gives museum-goers the chance to ponder the meaning we assign to art objects. In exploring these sculptures, which are inanimate but represent the living mythologies of individuals, audiences can become a part of the storytelling themselves.
“The Garden of Wandering Spirits” was organized by Brittany Richmond, SCAD MOA’s associate curator, and is on view until December 13th.
“Attachments” brings together two sides of New York-based artist Andrew Kuo’s dynamic abstract expressionist work. Kuo’s structured and geometric paintings offer punchy optics, challenging the familiar logic of graphs and data visualization. Rather than presenting information in a straightforward or purely functional way, Kuo transforms it through vivid color, unexpected arrangements, and subtle optical shifts.
Kuo extends this investigation through his letterhead paintings, which exhibit a freer, more physical approach to paint. Loose marks spread across stationery-like surfaces, evoking fragments of memory, communication, and everyday life. The contrast between these works and the charts reveals an ongoing tension within Kuo’s practice: between control and spontaneity, logic and instinct, structure and gesture.
“Attachments” was organized by Daniel S. Palmer, SCAD MOA’s chief curator, and is on view until January 1st.
“Denim Tears from the Pool of Black Genius” offers a closer look at Tremaine Emory’s endlessly inventive creative practice, bringing together highlights from his diverse body of work and numerous collaborations. Drawing on these varied artistic lineages and significant historical references, Emory transforms fashion into conceptual art and a vehicle for storytelling.
Unique displays of clothing and media work alongside each other spatially in the André Leon Talley gallery to convey intersections between art and pop culture. Works by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Alma Thomas, Faith Ringgold, and others from the SCAD Museum of Art Permanent Collection are presented alongside an expansive selection of contemporary works by Emory’s collaborators and artists with whom he is in conversation.
“Denim Tears from the Pool of Black Genius” was organized by Daniel S. Palmer, SCAD MOA’s chief curator, and is on view until January 11th.
“Live Your Vision: An online exhibition” honors Virginia Jackson Kiah’s lifelong dedication to the arts, specifically to art education at SCAD. The works, which were pulled from a donation to the institution in 1993, demonstrate the vast diversity of Kiah’s portrayals of the people around her, including those she knew and many with whom she had little relation. Everything from depictions of herself to civil rights leaders is represented in this exhibition, providing an accessible look at Kiah’s personal artistic contributions and her admirable work to foster a foundation on which SCAD students and emerging artists alike could find acceptance and creative stability. For those not based in Savannah (or who are busy traipsing around the Lacoste campus), Live Your Vision: An Online Exhibition is an exceptional way to connect with Kiah’s portraiture without having to leave the comfort of your lofted dorm bed.
“Live Your Vision: An online exhibition” is on view until December 31st.
More extensive information about the content of these exhibitions and corresponding museum programming can be found at the SCAD Musuem of Art website, www.scadmoa.org
