Kristen Mallia, MFA

Research/Fields of Interest(s)

Kristen Mallia is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and educator whose client-based practice centers on graphic design and creative consulting for artists, galleries, and small businesses. Mallia's studio practice explores rituals, collection, and record-keeping as frameworks for understanding embodied relationships to climate crisis through exchange with landscape and domestic space. Mallia's multimedia installations and independently published works have been exhibited in art spaces and book fairs internationally. She is a co-founder of Radius Collective, an international group of artists who develop experimental design frameworks annually for exhibition, collaboration, and publication, and has held artist residencies in Iceland, Italy, and Portugal.

Teaching Philosophy

Graphic design is a dynamic, interdisciplinary field. The studio is a space for expanding the possibilities of design. As an educator, I create experiential learning opportunities that challenge students to critically engage with materials, processes, and technologies across both analog and digital frameworks. Students are encouraged to author content, research extensively, and think conceptually. Through rigorous iteration, experimentation, and hands-on production, students emerge as flexible thinkers equipped to work both independently and collaboratively while creating meaningful impact across the contemporary creative landscape.

Professional Activity/Presentations & Posters

• "Roma Diffusa," Ombrelloni Art Space, Rome, Italy, 2026
• Mallia, Kristen. "Field Notes (Index_25)," Issue 12, Self-Published, Sept 15, 2025.
• "Dirt" 2-Person Exhibition, Gallery at 249A, Boston, MA, 2025
• Artist–in–Residence, Aviário Studio, Ferreira do Zêzere, Portugal, 2025
• Flyleaf Book & Zine Festival, WirWir, Berlin-Neukölln, Germany, 2025
• "Tangent," Magma, Rome, Italy, 2024
• Artist–in–Residence, L’Appartamento Napoli, Naples, Italy, 2023
• Artist–in–Residence, ArtsIceland, Ísafjörður, Iceland, 2022
• Artist–in–Residence, Skaftfell Center for Visual Art, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, 2020

Education

MFA Graphic Design, Boston University, 2018

BFA Graphic Design, Corcoran College of Art + Design, 2009

BA Electronic Media, The George Washington University, 2003

Personal Website

www.rarevaluables.net