We’re excited to present the work of two artists as part of the upcoming MFA|EDA Class of 2026 Thesis Exhibition. We hope you’ll come experience the installation and the events below. You can learn more about the documentary work we champion by exploring our past exhibitions.
Coming Soon:
This is (not) Home | March 20–April 10, 2026
About the Exhibition
This is (not) Home tells the story of a girl who finds herself deeply connected to a village that she hesitates to call home, a place where moments from the past fold into the present, a site that resists documentation and holds within it an ambivalence that cannot be named.
The installation is a space that embodies the flow of memory layered over time, suspended between remembrance and reality. It is a corner of the conflicted inner world that reflects a place of origin — where eventually all answers may be found.
About the Artist
Xiaomeng Yan received her bachelor's degree in Global Culture Studies from Duke Kunshan University in 2023. Her research interests lie in contemporary China, from the Mao Era to modernity after economic reform. She focuses on migrant workers, subaltern studies in postcolonial global orders, and East Asian popular cultures.
Artist Talk
Join Xiaomeng Yan’s artist talk on March 27 at 4 p.m.
Duke Center for Documentary Studies, Kreps Gallery
1317 W. Pettigrew St.
Durham, NC 27705
Junkyard Tornado | March 26, 2026
About the Work
The novel Junkyard Tornado follows 12 college students as they navigate grieving the death of their friend while their city is preoccupied with creationism discourse and rumors of a sea monster lurking in the river. Set in 2005 and against the backdrop of Topeka, Kansas — a state capital famous for being a hotbed of religion-fueled protests, the birthplace of Pentecostalism, and home of the man who coined “What Would Jesus Do?” — Junkyard Tornado is about artistic and cosmological chaos, creation, and evolution and begs the question of what it means to create despite or perhaps because of a tragic situation.
About the Artist
Claire Rosemary Lewis is an animator, performer, and writer whose work explores how computers and the internet impact the incredibly human experiences of gender, sexuality, disability, body, religion, and self-perception, particularly in relation to girlhood in the digital age.
“My work explores change and transformation in 21st century American culture and the uncertainty that comes from pivotal life experiences. I am interested in ambiguity, cultural shifts, and tension between the physical and digital landscapes in contemporary culture. Pulling from my undergraduate training in animation and experience working in theatre, I am drawn to movement and intricacy in creative pursuits. Lately I’ve also been exploring ‘unplugged’ ways of creating, writing much of my novel longhand and on a typewriter and embarking on hands-on creative projects. Junkyard Tornado is a project that came out of my need to explore the significance of space and chaos in relation to both my childhood experiences and present circumstances.” –Claire Rosemary Lewis
Live Reading
Join a live reading with Claire Rosemary Lewis on March 26 at 6 p.m.
Duke Center for Documentary Studies, Auditorium
1317 W. Pettigrew St.
Durham, NC 27705