Syracuse Sun

The School of Architecture has announced that architect Erin Cuevas is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2024-25. Cuevas will succeed current fellow, Christina Chi Zhang.

The Boghosian Fellowship at the School of Architecture—established in early 2015 in memory of Harry der Boghosian ’54 by his sister Paula der Boghosian ’64—is a unique program designed to give emerging independent creatives the opportunity to spend a year developing a body of design research based on an area of interest while teaching at the School of Architecture.

Fellows play a significant role at the school by enhancing student instruction and faculty discourse while supporting both research and the development of research-related curriculum valuable to architectural education and the discipline.

During the 2024-25 school year, Cuevas will teach an architecture studio and two professional electives focusing on her research project, Redefining Performance, which aims to advance independent, progressive and emerging design practice, stretching architecture into adjacent artistic realms and localities, bridging disciplines and communities alike. Students will push boundaries of animated mixed media representation and discover design opportunities within the unique Venn diagrams of their own interests.

“Redefining Performance is a growing body of scenographic practice at the intersection of performance art, interactive digital media and architectural installation, participating in the evolution of theater into immersive experiences that blur the line between audience and performer,” says Cuevas. “The interdisciplinary and highly collaborative nature of the research embodies collective creativity and thought exchange between diverse participants across phases of researching, designing, capturing and experiencing the work.”

Like previous Boghosian Fellows, Cuevas will work closely not only with faculty and students at the School of Architecture but will also explore interdisciplinary collaborations within the University and its various centers and colleges. Her research will culminate in a participatory public performance, expanding the School of Architecture beyond traditional bounds of studio environments, activating spaces on campus, and engaging students, faculty and local artists and communities in a collective scenography.

Dismantling the privileged view in lieu of a shared stage, Cuevas’s multimedia work advances inclusive potential by employing storytelling from underrepresented voices, site-specific public community events, and accessible emerging technology. Often collaborating with Jana Masset Collatz as part of their co-founded design practice CMLA, Cuevas’s work has been showcased in venues such as L.A. Dance Project Studios, A+D Architecture and Design Museum, ACADIA, and Architektur Galerie Berlin. Her practice has also received recognition through residencies, grants, and published work spanning disciplines including Northwest ByDesign Film Festival; Cultured Magazine’s Young Architects list; Goldsmiths’ motion capture residency program; World Stage Design conference where CMLA received first-place design award in 2022.

Prior to joining Syracuse Architecture, Cuevas was director of global retail story design at Nike Inc. in Beaverton, Oregon where she provided design direction for new global retail concepts—most recently focusing on Nike House of Innovation Paris installation for 2024 Olympic Games. She received a graduate degree with distinction from Harvard Graduate School of Design; bachelor’s degree from University Southern California (USC). She taught architecture/digital media at USC School Architecture from 2017-2022.

“Having followed work Boghosian Fellows over past years I am inspired by program dedication elevating diverse emerging talent fostering new perspectives field architecture,” says Cuevas. “Boghosian Fellowship opportunity expand traditional architectural discipline through unique highly personal concert elements—dance architecture storytelling creative technology.”

The Boghosian Fellowship has helped attract best brightest emerging professors: Maya Alam (2016-17), Linda Zhang (2017-18), James Leng (2018-19), Benjamin Vanmuysen (2019-20), Liang Wang (2020-21), Leen Katrib (2021-22), Lily Chishan Wong (2022-23) Christina Chi Zhang (2023-24).

To learn more about Harry der Boghosian Fellowship visit School Architecture website.

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