MCC MediaLab Hosts mediaWorks_2025 to Showcase Student Talents

Submissions from around NYU included web design, short films, and a sustainable fashion show.

A group of people sits facing a screen — Film festival screening. Photo credit: Sophia Wang

Run by a collective of faculty, staff, and students within NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Media, Culture, and Communication (MCC), the MCC MediaLab is a digital media incubator and learning space. In April, they hosted mediaWorks_2025 to showcase student work ranging from videos and digital publishing to a fashion show of 3D printed and bio-textile outfits and accessories.

This year’s event marks the first time mediaWorks has been run since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The last time we held mediaWorks was in 2019; we were just a month away from the 2020 show when COVID hit,” says Jamie "Skye” Bianco, clinical associate professor in MCC, director of the MCC MediaLab, and curator of the show. “This was a wonderful rebirth of a fantastically popular event for the department and the signature event for the MediaLab. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to return this opportunity to our students.”

A large group of people in red t-shirts poses for the photo

The show is open to submissions from students throughout NYU, provided that the projects were produced through MCC courses, produced by a student member of the MCC MediaLab Team, or worked on under the advisement of an MCC practice-based faculty member. This year, 36 projects were submitted; during the event, many were displayed in a gallery setting or during a group showing of the film and video submissions.

MCC undergraduate Violetta Li won the Grand Champion Award for her video, The Conjecture of One Orchid, which explores women’s struggles with societal and internal restraints, portraying rebirth and the strength of the female spirit through an orchid in ruins. Li is new to filmmaking; the first video she ever made was a feminist narrative about a forest witch.

“It was a big honor even to participate, and I’m so glad Jamie could give me this chance,” says Li, whose academic interest lies at the interdisciplinary nexus of media, culture, and feminism. “I wanted the opportunity to show my work to more people, and it was really cool to see my work on the big screen.”

Four models stand amidst a crowd — "Will You Carry Your Inheritance Forward?" by Grace Wang. Models: Mahalet Tegenu, Kemelyn Feliz, Lydia Samuels, Asiya Kamara. Photo credit: Sophia Wang.

Another element of the event was a runway show of Grace Wang’s bio-textile designs; she is a student at NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study majoring in knitwear business with a minor in molecular biology. Her collection, called “Will You Carry Your Inheritance Forward?,” debuted at New York Fashion Week in February and won the Student Spotlight Award at mediaWorks_2025. Bianco is one of Wang’s faculty advisors.

“My collection was a dual narrative exploring multicultural heritage and ecological responsibility,” says Wang, who attended Fashion Institute of Technology before transferring to NYU. “I used only natural dyes, I sourced only from female farmers in the Northeast, and I made sure it was zero-waste, which was very difficult to do. Working in the MediaLab has taught me how to think about what I’m making in ways I haven’t before—historically, socially, and culturally.”

Wang will be a lab assistant next year on a pilot course of Bianco’s called “Sustainable Fiber to Sustainable Fashion, Bio-textile Design in Practice” in which students from beginner to experienced fiber artists will learn about fast fashion, material sourcing, and creating sustainable garments and accessories.

Learn more about mediaWorks_2025 and see all the winners here.

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