The 70-year-old artist earned her bachelor’s degree and now her master’s at the only on-campus MFA program in Vermont for interdisciplinary and studio arts.
This story was originally published by Seven Days on May 14, 2025
Graduation season is upon us, and with it many excellent student art shows. Among them, one senior stands out: Jillian Lisitano, who, at 70, is earning her master’s degree in studio art from Vermont State University in Johnson.
Lisitano, whose thesis show, “Souvenirs,” is on view through Saturday, May 17, is a nontraditional student in an unusual program. Since Goddard College closed last year and Montpelier’s Vermont College of Fine Arts moved its residencies to California, VTSU-Johnson is the only school where visual artists can pursue the degree on a Vermont campus.
The program has existed in some form since the 1990s, when then-Johnson State College students completed six residencies through the nearby Vermont Studio Center. Today’s program is considerably different, with about 25 on-campus and remote students.
