Tayla McNeil
Class of 2025
You were born and raised next door to NYU in Queens. Did you always know you wanted to stay in NYC for college?
Initially, I wanted to go to school in London or Los Angeles. I was in love with the idea of being in a major city. But the more I explored New York I discovered there was so much more than what I had seen as a child. I mostly stayed in Brooklyn and Queens for the majority of my life, but coming to NYU sparked a curiosity for exploration in Manhattan.
What made you choose Collaborative Arts as your major, instead of a specific discipline?
Choosing a specific discipline would have been too stifling. Collaborative Arts lets me pursue all my interests at once while introducing me to new ones. I was searching for a multi-disciplinary major and stumbled across Collaborative Arts. It was a match made in heaven..
How was Art Palace?
Art Palace was amazing, like something I’ve never seen before. Artists from so many different disciplines come in and discuss their lives and how they built careers from their interests. I loved Darrell Martin! After explaining the history of “Ball” culture and his part in the documentary Paris Is Burning, we had a voguing class. I’m also a dancer, so that was one of my favorite experiences.
"Seven Deadly Sins" Photo Series Excerpt
What advice would you give to an incoming Collaborative Arts student about to begin the core curriculum?
Give yourself time to feel things out. Collaborative Arts has a great way of introducing new mediums that you wouldn’t have even known you have an interest in. Even if you might not like everything in the core curriculum, almost all the classes tie into another discipline, which makes it easy to incorporate the new things you learned from the classes and mold that into something you do enjoy making or doing.
If you could learn something new, what would it be?
Sculpture and ceramics! They are both beautiful art forms, and I would love the challenge of making a 3-D object. Definitely on my list of classes to take in the future.