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By Dateline staff

Master of Fine Arts students are showing their talents in year-ending exhibitions at the Design Museum and the Nelson Gallery, and in Main Theatre.

The design M.F.A. show is already open, and the Nelson Gallery exhibition is set to open Friday, June 8.

Also next week, the Department of Theatre and Dance announced a showcase by M.F.A. students in scenic, costume and lighting design. People are welcome to visit Main Theatre (Wright Hall) any time from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (June 6) to meet Maggie Chan, Travis Kerr, Kourtney Lampedecchio and Dee Loree Sweger, to see and discuss their work for stage and screen.

Chan is receiving an M.F.A. in costume design, while Lampedecchio is receving an M.F.A. in scenic design.

Kerr is continuing his studies in lighting and scenic design, and Sweger is continuing her studies in costume design.

At the Design Museum — This year’s Design M.F.A. Graduation Exhibition comprises works of two students: Esther Kim and Carol Shu.

“Working with renowned design faculty, M.F.A students explore the broader topic of ‘design’ through a specific design discipline, drawing on collaborations with the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences,” states a news release from the , site of the exhibition and reception.

The exhibition opened May 21 and continues through Thursday (June 7) at the museum in .

The students and their exhibitions:

• Esther Kim — Dockable Shelter: Housing for Homeless Families

Kim is “upcycling” with her design project, using shipping containers as temporary housing for homeless families. The containers are docked in a high-rise steel frame.

As envisioned in her thesis, this project would be situated in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. The frame would go behind an existing single-room-occupancy hotel — which would serve as an entrance, art gallery and social service facility.

“The unexpected tower of containers — objects typically associated with freight and portability — raises consciousness of the need for both new housing and improved living conditions within the notoriously blighted SROs,” according to the news release.

• Carol Shu — Soulcraft Clothing: Linking Indian Handcrafts with Sustainable Design

Shu’s thesis collection bridges development research and design practice to explore how fashion design can advance women’s cultural, economic and social well-being in developing countries.

Her designs are the synthesis of her experiences in India, interning for two nongovernmental organizations that support women artisans in the making of handcrafts.

Embellished with embroidery by artisans in Mumbai and Kutch and made with sustainable and block printed fabrics, her garments are designed to be manipulated by their wearers with features such as adjustable straps and waistbands.

Her exhibition highlights the artisans who helped create her garments and shows viewers how they can participate in the design-for-social-change paradigm shift.

At the Nelson Gallery — In preparing for the 2012 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, You Never Know When I'll Show You the Never, the looked back to Professor Roy De Forest’s writing in the M.F.A. catalog of 45 years ago:

"In a time of social disruption, scientific rationalization and political instability, the creation of art is an act of dangerous faith."

He was talking about the Vietnam War and hippie culture. Today, as �ٺ���Ƶ bestows seven more M.F.A.s, we have war in Afghanistan, and the vast changes brought about by digital technology and the worst economic recession in almost a century.

“These seven graduate students are bravely entering into careers as visual artists in a difficult context, yet one that offers a significant opportunity to participate in their society's change,” states a Nelson Gallery news release.

It continues: “Many of the breakthrough artistic forms of the 60s are still with us.” Students Dani Galietti and Jared Theis, for example, both use performance as part of their art, and will show their props and costumes and other sculptural forms as well as video.

Other students are working in more traditional genres: Daniel Brickman and Katherine Nulicek are creating installations of discrete sculptures. Terry Peterson is making kinetic sculpture, while Kyle Dunn and Erika Romero will show painting and sculpture that are closely related to each other.

As with the M.F.A. show 45 years ago, a catalog is being published for the 2012 exhibition, with images of the artists' works and short essays by Renny Pritikin, gallery director, about each of the artists.

The exhibition's opening is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 8. Closing day is June 29. The gallery is in . Regular hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday, and Friday by appointment.