PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Summer Studio Program at Virginia Commonwealth University is a supportive and rigorous residency program with an established track record of inspiring and developing artists within a hothouse environment. Based on our successful MFA program, this 8-week intensive program combines theory and practice through: seminars, studio visits, artist lectures, critiques, professional development and intensive studio time.
For nearly a decade this groundbreaking program has attracted artists globally to help transform and hone their work and ideas. Participants come together for uninterrupted time to work in generous studios, and engage in ongoing dialogue with internationally recognized artists, critics and curators. Hands-on commitment to the advancement of the participants by those leading the program is remarkable: it is what sets this opportunity apart.
This two-month residency is ideal for artists developing a portfolio for application to graduate school, as well as those interested in uninterrupted studio immersion with charged feedback inside a stimulating and supportive atmosphere.
Many of the program’s alumni have gone on to some of most prestigious graduate programs and residencies in the country. Past program alumni have noted:
“In two months, my work improved as much as in three years of university study.”
“I left the program feeling good, with stronger convictions, tougher questions, and more specific goals.”
“Your serious belief in our individual potential and unwavering investment in our art practice was so encouraging, and certainly served as the impetus I needed to begin to transform how, why and to what end I make art.”
“The more time passes, the more I realize the significance this program had (and hopefully will continue to have) on my life as an artist… It is truly a transformative process.”
2013 CORE FACULTY
RIDLEY HOWARD
Ridley is a Visiting Professor in the Painting & Printmaking Department at VCU. He has received awards from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Ridley’s paintings have been exhibited widely including exhbitons at Leo Koenig Inc., New York, NY; Fredericks Freiser Gallery, New York, NY; Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, NY; Groeflin Maag Galerie, Zurich; Switzerland, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville ,TN; and The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA.
MICHAEL JONES McKEAN
A recent Guggenheim Fellow, Michael is currently an Associate Professor of Sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally while participating in numerous residencies and fellowships including The Core Program at the Museum of Fine Art Houston; The Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center; The International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York City and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art.
2013 VISITING FACULTY
CORIN HEWITT
A recent Guggenheim Fellow and Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant recipient, Corin is an Assistant Professor in the Sculpture + Extended Media Virginia Commonwealth University. Corin has had solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center; The Seattle Art Museum; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland and Public Art Fund in New York City.
HOLLY MORRISON
Holly is an Associate Professor and the Interim Chair of the Painting & Printmaking Department at VCU. Morrison has received fellowships from the McDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH and the Headlands Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA. Morrison’s work is included in numerous public and private collections while also exhibiting widely throughout the US and abroad including shows at the Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL; the Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH; Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Artists’ House, Jerusalem, Israel and the MOCA, Cleveland, OH.
CARLTON NEWTON
Carlton is an Associate Professor and the Interim Chair of the Sculpture + Extended Media Department at VCU. He has exhibited widely, including exhibitions at the New Museum, New York City; The American Academy in Rome; The Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts among many others. He is also the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the American Academy in Rome Prize, and a Virginia Commission for the Arts Artist Fellowship.
ESTER PARTEGAS
Ester is an Assistant Professor in Sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has been exhibited at venues nationally and abroad including The Aldrich Museum, CT; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina, Sofía, Madrid; 2nd Moscow Bienniale; Weatherspoon Art Museum, Cercle Cultural Caja Madrid, Barcelona; Sculpture Center, New York; Rice University Art Gallery, Houston TX; Queens Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria, New York City.
GREGORY VOLK
Gregory is a New York–based art critic and curator and also an Associate Professor in both Painting and Printmaking and the Sculpture + Extended Media Departments at VCU. He is contributing editor for Art in America and his articles, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including Parkett and Sculpture while also curating exhibitions nationally and abroad.
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
JULIE GROSCHE
Julie is a graduate of Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Art in Dijon, France and is the co-founder of PMgalerie in Berlin, Germany and of Bcc, an itinerant curatorial project. Her work and curatorial endeavors have appeared internationally at Pauline’s, New York City: Reference Gallery, Richmond, Virginia; Domestica, Barcelona, Spain; PROGRAM, Berlin; Favorite Goods, Los Angeles; Oslo10, Basel, Switzerland as well as Based In Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
WHO SHOULD APPLY
Artists with undergraduate degrees who want to develop a body of work to serve as a portfolio for application to excellent graduate programs.
Artists with undergraduate degrees who are interested in further developing studio work and critical thinking in a creative professional environment.
Artists, perhaps farther along in their careers that wish to participate in a critical dialogue to push their work to the next level.
FACILITIES
Participants have 24-hour access to a 114,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility housed at VCUarts’ Fine Arts Building in downtown Richmond, Virginia. Participants have the use of painting studios, printmaking studio, woodshop, metal studio (please note the foundry is not running over the summer), mold making studio, computer lab and video editing facilities as well as University Library privileges and Wi-Fi access. Technical assistance is provided in the printmaking studio, sculpture shops and computer lab.
RICHMOND | VCUarts | HOUSING
Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is a diverse cultural city, surrounded by historic neighborhoods, parks and the James River – home to one of the largest inner city park systems in the country. The city consistently ranks among “Best Places to Live and Work in America.” Richmond is ideally located within easy reach of Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City.
Near the center of downtown is Virginia Commonwealth University, a tier one pubic research university with over 31,000 students and 222 degree and certificate programs spread throughout its 13 schools and colleges. VCUarts, with over 3000 students is one is the largest schools in the University and is ranked as the #1 public university for art and design and #4 overall school for art in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
Participants may elect to stay in the VCU Dormitories. Double dormitory suites accommodate two students per room. You will have access to a small kitchenette and bathroom shared with the neighboring double dormitory suite. Students may also choose to find nearby, off campus housing during the program. Any students electing to stay off-campus during the program are responsible for arranging their living situation. Sublets range in price and availability, for a general overview of prices see Craigslist Richmond: http://richmond.craigslist.org/apa/
TUITION
Program Fee: $4,950
Housing (on campus): $1,275 (double room)
A limited number of $1,000 Scholarships will be awarded to students whose work is of exceptional quality. All students will be considered for these scholarships during the application process.
APPLICATION TIMELINE | INSTRUCTIONS
Deadline for Application: May 6, 2013
-10 images of recent work. Images should be jpegs sized at 1280 x 1024 pixels, 72 dpi
-Corresponding image script with dates, size, materials
-A resume with date of birth, address, telephone number and e-mail address.
-A short, one page maximum, artist statement/statement of purpose
-Three references (no letters) with name, title if applicable, phone number and email contact.
-Application fee of $25 with check payable to VCU Painting & Printmaking, or VCU Sculpture + Extended Media, as appropriate.
You application should be mailed to either:
SSP@VCU, VCU Painting & Printmaking
University, 1000 W. Broad Street
PO Box 842519
Richmond VA 23284-2519
SSP@VCU, VCU Sculpture + Extended Media
University, 1000 W. Broad Street
PO Box 843005
Richmond VA 23284-3005
For questions or correspondence, please email Julie Grosche, Program Coordinator at ssp@vcu.edu.
PLEASE NOTE:
The Summer Studio Program is progressive; students using traditional media as well as those who work in electronic media, performance, installation, conceptual and experimental hybrid forms are invited to apply.
Although the program is cross-disciplinary in spirit, please apply either to Sculpture + Extended Media or Painting & Printmaking – whichever you feel is the best fit for your work. If you wish to apply to both departments, submit two separate applications and application fees.
There is no application form.
Be sure to label all your application materials with your name.
We request proof of health insurance; if you are unable to provide proof of health insurance you will need to sign a release and waiver of liability form.
