In response to the cost and inflexibility of university- and institution-based arts graduate programs, we are starting a rigorous, minimal cost, independent, collaboratively-led artists' workshop program based on the strengths and needs of its participants. We are looking for a small core of creative and motivated New York-based artists, curators, and art minded people to help build the workshop program with us before its first sessions in the fall of 2010. Since the success and longevity of the program will rest on us, the most important aspect of our preliminary work will be finding the right participants. We hope to find a group of 10 to 20 independent-thinking people working in various media.
Tuition would be low for a one-year commitment: about $100 to cover space, administrative costs, and guest seminar leaders/advisors. The program's structure is still being designed, but we envision a roughly 60% to 40% study-to-critique ratio. Study would include various aspects of theory, aesthetics, and discussion of current or historical work; critiques would be in-depth, constructive discussions of a participant's work. Being outside of any institution, participants would be free to work with advisers (if wanted at all) with any or no institutional affiliation.
Full group seminars would probably be held once a week, but other small-group meetings focusing on technical skills or special areas of interest could take place more often. The program will be flexible enough for participants with busy schedules and full-time jobs, but serious commitments to the program will be expected.
Please email jordan [dot] t [dot] paul at gmail if you are interested. Send us some information about yourself– why you are interested, something about your artistic practice, what you want to work on technically or intellectually, etc. Feel free to send a CV, work samples, links, etc.
Interdisciplinary Artists' Workshop
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Type: opportunity
- Location: New York
- Deadline: Jul 15 2010 at 12:00AM
- outbound link ↱
Comments
This looks very interesting (Though just theoretically for me, at a distance of three thousand miles).
I like the idea of artist organised & led study outside of a university or otherwise "certified" institutional context. Will it differ in any substantive way from what someone might get there or in art school? You talk of the "inflexibility of university and institution-based.. progams" Do you have -and I mean this not in a negative way - any ideological axe to grind? Do you want to change art education & how?
What, in your view, constitues rigour? Apart from working hard and looking, seeing and thinking & discussing a lot?
Personally I like the idea of people attending for the sake of collegiality and self-development rather than a piece of paper…
And, again, personally whilst I'm massively in favour of artists discussing work in depth both in terms of ideas and techniques (this should be second nature; in one's bones), I'm sceptical about the coherence of something called "theory" and about its incorporation into an increasingly academic model of certifying artistworthiness ( particularly its policing by the ability to reproduce or develop it in writing - the ability to write a good dissertation, whilst commendable in its own terms, seems to me to have nothing whatsoever to do with being able to make interesting and effective art - to append it onto the study of the practice of art represents simply a species of witchcraft or sympathetic magic).
Not that I'm assuming you'd agree with any of that :)
I wish you luck & it would be very interesting to know how things go….
best wishes
michael