As part of her 2026 residency at The New School, Cheryl Dunye will lead a Master Class titled, "Making Work That Lasts: Archive, Desire, Power, and the Long Game of Authorship" with The New School students and alumni. Drawing from a distinguished career spanning independent film, television, and education, Dunye will explore how filmmakers build narrative authority when the archive is missing, how desire functions as cinematic structure, how genre carries political meaning, and how authorship extends beyond the script into leadership and longevity. The session will offer rigorous frameworks and practical tools for emerging filmmakers seeking to create work that endures.
In addition, Cheryl Dunye’s will be the featured guest in a Spotlight Q&A with highlight clips from her work and discussion.
This master class is a part of the 2026 Dorothy Hirshon Artist-in-Residence program. RSVP for all the Hirshon event below.
Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American director, producer, and writer who emerged as part of the “queer new wave” of young filmmakers of the 1990s. She has made over 15 films, including MOMMY IS COMING, THE OWLS, MY BABY’S DADDY, and HBO’s STRANGER INSIDE, which garnered her an Independent Spirit award nomination for best director. Her feature film, THE WATERMELON WOMAN (1996), won the Teddy Award for Best Feature at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival and was recently restored by Outfest’s UCLA Legacy Project for the film’s 20th anniversary. In 2015, Dunye’s multi-award-winning short film, BLACK IS BLUE (2014), was named one of the top five “Must See Feminist Films” by IndieWire.
Dunye has directed many episodic series, including Ava Duvernay’s Queen Sugar, Dear White People, Bridgerton, and Lovecraft Country, for which her “Strange Case” episode received a 52nd NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series and has been named one of the best episodes in 2020 by The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Tonight.
In 2018, she launched her Oakland-based production company called JINGLETOWN FILMS, which is actively developing THE GILDA STORIES, an adaptation of the beloved 1991 queer vampire novel by Jewelle Gomez, and the feature-length version of her award-winning short, BLACK IS BLUE.
Schedule of Hirshon Artist-in-Residence Events
Spotlight Q&A with Cheryl Dunye, 2026 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence
Tuesday, March 10
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
John L. Tishman Auditorium
63 Fifth Avenue
This event is open to the public
Master Class with Cheryl Dunye, 2026 Hirshon Artist-in-Residence
Wednesday, March 11
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Bob and Sheila Hoerle Lecture Hall - Room L105
63 Fifth Avenue
RSVP on this page
Open to all students and alumni
30th Anniversary screening of The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Wednesday, March 11
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium - Room 101
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
66 Fifth Avenue
This event is open to the public
Presented by the School of Art, Media, and Technology's MA Media Studies Program at Parson's School of Design
New School students seeking accommodations should contact the Student Disability Services office at studentdisability@newschool.edu.
Event guests seeking accommodations may contact the event organizer by clicking the "Contact the Organizer" link at the bottom of this page.
The Masters of Art in Media Studies program of the School of Art, Media, & Technology in Parsons combines media theory, research, and production studies, preparing students to contribute to a complex and rapidly changing media landscape. Studying in the world’s media capital, New York City, our students acquire critical insights and technical skills in rigorous topical courses taught by leading scholars and creative professionals. Our alumni find careers in a wide range of fields, from media curating and communications to film and media-making to media research and scholarship to industry leadership and innovation.
The Hirshon Artist-in-Residence Program was established by the late New School Trustee, Dorothy Hirshon, to honor and promote excellence and education of the filmmaking arts at The New School. Past Dorothy H. Hirshon Artist-in-Residence include Ernest Dickerson (2025), Christine Vachon (2024), Sam Pollard (2021), Mary Harron (2020), Raoul Peck (2019), and Sean Baker (2018) .
Committed to amplifying diverse voices, The New School offers more than a thousand public programs and events each year, providing fresh perspectives and unique learning opportunities. These lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and performances feature prominent and emerging artists, activists, and thought leaders.
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