This course is studio intensive, accompanied by a series of virtual studio visits with artists and art professionals around the United States. Students will take a deep dive into their own studio practices, while learning from contemporary artists working in the field today. 

What does it mean to make artwork in a pandemic, a moment of racial reckoning, and deep division and political unrest? How do we share art in this time of social distancing and isolation? How are art worlds being transformed by these forces? Throughout the course we will focus on what it means to be a professional artist in these extraordinary times. 

The studio component will emphasize hands-on making and critique. Students will work on a series of self-guided projects accompanied by critical conversations about process and ideas. Throughout the course we will also meet over Zoom with artists and art professionals with diverse art practices, backgrounds, and identities. In these studio visits and group conversations we’ll explore the myriad ways artists have been affected by, and are responding to, this moment of crisis and change in their studio work and professional and personal lives.