Installation of multi prints in pink, black, and metallics.

© 2017 School of the Art Institute of Chicago; All Rights Reserved Artwork: Maria Burundarena

Fiber & Material Studies

Graduate Overview

Fiber & Material Studies Graduate Overview

The Fiber and Material Studies department is research-based, concept-driven, and resolutely engaged with hands-on making. Born from textile traditions, the Fiber and Material Studies department encourages students to think both about and through materials, investigating technique and expanding the use of the medium. Led by an impressive and diverse group of faculty, Fiber and Material Studies is the largest program of its kind. It is the top producer of talent in the field considered in terms of teaching, leadership, tenure and tenure-track positions at almost every other US fiber and textile program. FMS alumni also go on to successful careers as artists, curators, and scholars, and several have founded and/or lead arts organizations, collective studios, and artist residencies.

The department emphasizes technical skills development together with deep engagements with textile processes, materials, techniques, histories, and politics. Graduate students work across a wide range of fiber techniques and materials, and they also work with painting, lens-based media, ceramics, sculpture, new media, drawing, archival research practices, installation, performance, scholarly and creative writing, collaborative projects, and community organizing. 

Hands-on making, Research-Based, Concept-Driven

Graduate students in Fiber and Material Studies take studio classes, seminars, and in-depth advising with faculty of their choosing. The FMS curriculum provides students with the foundation to engage with the history of the medium and understand current developments in the field. Graduate Seminars include in depth critiques and discussions of practice, research presentations, lectures, studio visits and discussions with visiting artists and scholars.

Some of the ideas and issues that are evident throughout the department's course offerings include: the politics of craft and hand making; relationships between analog and digital; sustainability; intersectionality; labor; affect, and identity. These themes are investigated from a variety of perspectives, with students drawing from frameworks including textile history, art theory and criticism, intersectional feminism, queer theory, decolonial and critical race studies, material culture studies, transgender studies, textile conservation and textile collections, and archival research.

Graduate students in the Fiber and Material Studies department have significant opportunities for teaching and research assistantships, studio visits with guest artists and curators, and presenting their work through lectures and social media takeovers.

Transdisciplinary Possibilities

In addition to a focus on fiber and textiles, the Fiber and Material Studies department embraces transdisciplinarity and the permeability of boundaries, beginning with the varied expertise of our faculty who work in the discipline and in painting, sculpture, performance, creative writing, and scholarship. Graduate students are encouraged to take courses in other departments to explore and implement the techniques and particular rigors of various disciplines in order to enrich and deepen their practices. Students may work with fiber-based materials while at the same time advising with faculty in departments from across SAIC.

Graduate Studio Projects

A cornerstone of the SAIC graduate studio program is its focus on tutorial-guided studio practice. Each semester, you will select from more than 100 graduate faculty advisors representing myriad disciplines, approaches, and intellectual positions. As the main component of your studies, MFA 6009: Graduate Projects allows you to develop your work with faculty who guide you through an informed dialogue around content, form, theory, and professional practice.

Textile Resource Center

The Textile Resource Center (TRC) is a hands-on teaching/study collection and a curricular resource of over 450 textile objects and more than 2000 books. The TRC supports student learning about global textile histories and contemporary themes. The TRC offers two, year-long graduate research assistantships to FMS graduate students. 

Mitchell Lecture Series

The curriculum is augmented with onsite lectures by prominent national and international artists and scholars thanks to The William Bronson and Grayce Slovett Mitchell Lectureship in Fiber and Material Studies. Past lecturers include Angela Hennessy, Hong Hong, Jeffrey Gibson, Dr. Christine Checinska, Namita Gupta Wiggers, T'ai Smith, Tanya Aguiniga, and Diedrick Brackens.

Curriculum & Courses

  • The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program at SAIC is designed to offer maximum flexibility in addressing your individual needs as a student. Following admission through a department, you will design your two-year plan of study based on optimizing the offerings and opportunities available throughout SAIC. You are encouraged to seek out curricular advising as needed from a variety of available sources including the dean, graduate dean, graduate division chair, department heads, academic advising, the graduate admissions office, and your peers.

    Studio—MFA 6009 Graduate Projects, Seminars and/or maximum of 12 credits of 3000-level and above studios39  
    Art History12  
    • ARTHI 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design(3)
    • Art History Courses, 4000-level or above (9)
    		 
    Electives—any course in any area at 3000 level or above9  
    Participation in four graduate critiques 
    Participation in ONE of the following as appropriate to artistic practice:* Graduate Exhibition, AIADO or Fashion Exhibition, Graduate Performance Event, Graduate Screenings 
    Total Credit Hours60 

    *Students who wish to use an alternative venue or presentation outside of these options must receive permission from the Dean of Graduate Studies. The AIADO Department encourages students in their MFA design programs to participate in the AIADO and Fashion Graduate Exhibition.

    Degree Requirements and Specifications
    Completion schedule: You have a maximum of four years to complete your MFA in Studio degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence. Students will have access to studios for four semesters only.

    Transfer credits: You must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in residence at SAIC. You can request up to 15 transfer credits at the time of application for admission, which are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credits are permitted after a student is admitted.

    Art History requirement: MFA students are required to take ARTHII 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design. Art History courses must be at the 4000-level and above.

    Undergraduate studio courses: Graduate students are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000-level and above) per semester without permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000-level are allowed only with permission.

    Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours

    MFA 6009 Graduate Projects
    MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advising, an ongoing individual dialogue with a wide range of full-time and part-time faculty advisors, is at the heart of the MFA program at SAIC, encouraging interdisciplinary study across the curriculum. You are required to register for one MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advisor each semester, and we highly recommend you register for two.

    In the registration process, you may elect to earn 3 or 6 hours of credit with each advisor. This option is designed to allow for maximum flexibility in designing your program. You can earn as few as 3 and as many as 6 credits with each advisor each semester, thus dedicating a maximum of 12 credit hours to your studio activity. The number of credits you earn has no correlation with the length or frequency of the advising sessions or to faculty assessment of student work.

    The remainder of credits required for the full-time 15 credit hour load may include graduate seminars and academic or studio electives. MFA students are urged to take graduate seminars, and an introductory seminar in their department of admission is highly recommended. In addition, the MFA student may choose from all the art history, studio, and academic offerings across the curriculum (including undergraduate offerings above 3000 level) in any given semester to customize their degree experience.

    Graduate Critiques
    As one of the principle means of assessment each semester, you will be required to participate in Critique Week, a week-long schedule of critiques during which classes are suspended.

    Fall semester critiques are organized by department with panels representing the discipline. This provides you with an opportunity to understand the department’s expectations, have your work reviewed from a disciplinary point of view, and to reiterate the expectations for graduate study.

    Spring semester critiques are interdisciplinary, with panel members and students from across SAIC disciplines. Interdisciplinary critiques allow for a broad range of responses to your work, and are intended to assess the success of your work for a more general, albeit highly informed audience. Critique panels include faculty, visiting artists, and fellow graduate students.

    Graduate Exhibition or Equivalent
    At the conclusion of your studies, you will present work in the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition, other end-of-year events at SAIC, or the Gene Siskel Film Center—or arrange with the graduate dean or division chair for an alternative thesis of equal professional quality. Each year more than 200 graduate students exhibit work, screen videos and films, and present time-based works, writings, and performance to a collective audience of 30,000 people.

    Students wishing to install work around prevalent themes, strategies or stylistic affinities can participate in a juried and curated section of the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition. A faculty and staff committee conducts extensive studio visits and as a collaborative project with student participants, organizes and installs the show in designated space at the exhibition.

    Undergraduate Courses
    MFA students are advised to understand the expectations of their faculty when enrolled in undergraduate studio classes. Although graduate students are an asset to the group dynamic, faculty requirements for graduate students in undergraduate classes are variable. The student is responsible for understanding the faculty member's expectations about completion of assignments, attendance, and any other criteria for earning credit. To assure that graduate students are working at degree level, they are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000 level and above) per semester without permission of the dean of graduate studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000 level are allowed only with permission.

Title Catalog Instructor Schedule

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1189

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1190

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1204

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1191

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1207

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1821

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course is an introduction to floor loom hand weaving through the study of basic weave structures, woven image techniques and fiber types. Traditional and experimental use of material and technique will be used to explore double weaves, painted warps and a variety of hand-manipulated techniques including tapestry, brocade and inlay. Students will study the global histories of woven cloth through a variety of readings, presentations, and class discussions. Works by artists such as Diedrick Brackens, Lenore Tawney, and Gunta Stolzl will be discussed as well as writings by thinkers such as Anni Albers, T'ai Smith, Dieter Hoffman-Axthelm as primary points of departure. Students will study basic weaving draft patterns and will complete independent research into artists and techniques of interest. The conceptual and material considerations of contemporary craft-based art will be a major component of this course. Students will produce 2-6 finished weavings over the course of the semester through their exploration and research of a variety of techniques on 4-harness floor looms.

Class Number

1192

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1011

Description

In this course, a wide range of processes for screenprinting onto fabric and alternative substrates are demonstrated, including the use of textile inks, fiber reactive dyes, resist and discharge, and heat transfers of foils and disperse dyes. Students will use hand drawn, computer generated, and photographic images to explore foundational screen print techniques and concepts such as monoprinting, multiples, color relationships, composition, and basic repeat patterns. Interdisciplinary and experimental uses of the printed surface are encouraged throughout the development of personal research and practice. The class is augmented by relevant lectures, readings and visits to AIC, artist studios and galleries. Students present finished and in-process works at three critiques throughout the semester.

Class Number

1205

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 905

Description

This course explores various approaches to altering, enriching, and transforming the surface of pliable materials and forms. Emphasis is on the surface treatment and its relationship to structure while using conventional and non-conventional materials. Students work with a broad range of hand and machine stitching techniques that can include embroidery, embellishment, piecing, quilting, applique, and working with treatments like paints, dyes, adhesives, and collage. Special attention is paid to the histories of these techniques and how they are being utilized in contemporary art. Technical demonstrations, assigned readings, group discussions, lectures and field trips will augment student learning. The course is structured to support students in the development of their studio arts practice by equipping them with a variety of technical skills and encouraging them to pursue projects driven by their own formal, material, and conceptual concerns. Individual and group critiques are integral to the course. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1199

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Costume Design

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

A drawing is made whenever an object in motion touches the surface of another and evidence of their meeting is left behind. Images will be generated by examining a range of traditional and contemporary drawing techniques with an emphasis on analog processes and material exploration. Whether one?s style is gestural and improvisational or systemic and detail-oriented, drawing will be used as a device to access ideas and expand conceptual vocabulary. Printmaking then becomes an extension of the drawing process, infusing a richness of surface, color, texture, and layering. Examining the physical relationship between drawing and printing is a priority, with a focus on direct printing techniques such as monoprinting and heat transfers alongside hand-painting and collage. A strong emphasis will be placed on developing a personal and innovative visual language, as well as challenging notions of scale, site and material. Readings, slide presentations and field trips will focus on course related topics. Students present finished and in-process works at three critiques throughout the semester.

Class Number

1200

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 905

Description

Throughout the course students will focus on the idea of softness and develop projects framed with readings on affect, intimacy, ?radical softness?, touch, and ?soft? identities so as to tease out ideas on what it means to be soft. Students will be introduced and encouraged to experiment from texture to form with hand manipulated and machine techniques like reverse needle felting, latch hooking, tucking, stabilizing, boning, armature building, fabric heat manipulating, natural dyeing, flocking, and fringe crocheting. Readings will include Sara Ahmed?s ?Happy Objects?, Alexander Thereoux?s ?Soft Balm, Soft Menace?, and Sianne Ngai?s ?The Cuteness of the Avant-Garde?. Two experimentation samples will be required in order to manifest these conceptual underpinnings through a variety of techniques. These samples act as playful guides that leads to two major projects with written statements. This course also require artist and reading presentations.

Class Number

1201

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Costume Design

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

Students learn how to translate colors from the natural world into textiles, by using natural dyes foraged from plants, as well as dye concentrates and indigo, for immersion and direct dye applications. Complex surface design patterns are created through the Japanese resist process of shibori. Chemistry, color theory, material manipulations, and research provide a technical foundation for the creation of projects within the expanded field of textiles.

Class Number

2452

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 904

Description

The class will examine the many possibilities of creating woven forms using a tapestry loom (also called a frame loom). Students will begin by experimenting with the basic techniques of tapestry and plain weave as they explore ways of creating surface, image, texture and various color effects within a woven form. Students will then learn more complex tapestry weaving techniques. A variety of tapestry looms will be considered, including possibilities for constructing looms of varying dimensions and sizes. Contemporary weaving projects, along with historical references, will be presented through discussions, visual presentations, demonstrations, readings, and close-up examinations of woven textiles. This course is open to all levels. Tapestry works by contemporary artists such as Diedrick Brackens, kg, Erin M. Riley, Terri Friedman, Aiko Tezuka, Josh Faught, Julia Bland, Sarah Zapata, and Erasto ?Tito? Mendoza will be shown, together with seminal works by artists whose tapestry works spurred the emergence of the field of fiber in the 1950s through early 1970s: Trude Guermonprez, Anni Albers, Lenore Tawney, Olgs de Amaral, Tadeusz Beutlich, and Magdalena Abakanowicz. Contemporary frame loom weaving will be contextualized through visual presentations and readings exploring relevant histories of weaving across the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, together with examples of present day weaving workshops and institutions like the Museo Textil de Oaxaca (Mexico), the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (Peru),the Manufacture Nationale des Tapisseries Senegal (Senegal), and Sadu House (Kuwait). Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of woven samples, 3 or 4 finished works, reading responses, and short research assignments and/or presentations.

Class Number

2460

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Gender and Sexuality, Community & Social Engagement, Digital Communication

Location

Sharp 1005

Description

The word 'craft' has been used both as a badge of honor and as a dismissive slur. This seminar will explore the stereotypes, the history and the changing status of craft in relation to contemporary art in America. We will read essays by craft theorists and makers including Marie Lo, M. Anna Fariello, Bruce Metcalf, L.J. Roberts and Namita Gupta Wiggers and watch the PBS Docuseries 'Craft in America' to help us triangulate an ever-shifting definition of craft. Students will bring previously-critiqued, in-process and revised work to 3 critiques, where an emphasis will be placed not just on WHAT objects mean but also HOW they mean. Course work includes weekly free-writing, reading discussions, and several assignments designed to help students articulate their artistic concerns and contextualize their work.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.

Class Number

2214

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Lakeview - 1427

Description

In Advanced Stitch- Students pursue a strong personal direction while continuing to develop a technical vocabulary and conceptual concerns. Moving across hand stitching and embroidery to using free motion sewing machines, the long arm quilting machines and digital embroidery machines, the class explores themes of gesture, line, speed, slowness, process, and materiality, with an emphasis on surface manipulation and scale. Group critiques encourage individual goals and develop an ongoing dialogue about contemporary issues. Field trips, group discussions, visual presentations, and readings will augment this studio-focused course. Course work will vary but typically includes critique projects, samples, and reading responses.

Prerequisites

FIBER 2005 or Sophomore Level

Class Number

1198

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

A membrane is a thin, typically planar structure or material that separates two environments, be those physical, molecular, or cultural. This class investigates this transitional space, and the potential for movement and transgression through it. Membrane structures are developed as surfaces, forms, and spatial relationships through techniques like chenille quilting, free motion sewing with a soluble membrane, nuno felting, papermaking in 2D and 3D, resist wax dyeing (batik), dip and wick dyeing, fabric burnout (devore) through silkscreening, protein/cellulose combination dyeing, and jacquard crocheting. Readings on conceptual permeability will include Jean Baudrillard?s ?Simulacra and Simulations?, Andrew Ballantyne?s ?Remaking the Self in Heterotopia?, Homi K. Bhabha?s ?On `hybridity? and `moving beyond??, and Roger Cardinal?s ?Secrecy?. Techniques will be divided into three major projects with written statements. This course also requires artist and reading presentations.

Class Number

1197

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

The computer driven Jacquard goes beyond the limitations of a floor loom by interfacing with a computer to allow for direct control of individual threads. This course explores the historical and conceptual interstices of digital technology and hand weaving through the use of this loom Utilizing Photoshop and Jacquard weaving software, students will realize projects that begin with digital source material and result in hand woven constructions. The strongly debated connection between the Jacquard loom?s use of punched cards and the history of computers will be central to the course, as will the contemporary use of the loom as a new media tool. Studio work will blend work at the computer, weaving on the loom, reading, research and critical discussion.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

2215

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Digital Imaging

Location

Sharp 1005, Sharp 1011

Description

This studio course will consider how to compose a picture plane with a variety of materials including paper collage, fabric piecing, applique, heat press, direct dye application and other handwork, to create line and form. Students will make use of drawing and form invention methods including stitching and dying, in conjunction with, or in place of, painted surfaces. Projects and critiques will address the critical use of compositional elements and materials within the picture plane.

Class Number

1922

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 905

Description

In this studio course students will explore basket weaving techniques and their interconnectedness to the history and traditions of the craft. The class will utilize both traditional and non-traditional methods and materials to investigate new ways of creative expression while carrying the long, multi-cultural basket weaving tradition. Readings may include Revered Vessels: Custom and Innovation in Harari Basketry and Hybrid Basketry: Interweaving Digital Practice within Contemporary Craft. Students will be introduced to Native North American basket weaving and the ancient baskets of both Egypt and Israel to bring an understanding of the contemporary craft through its historical origins. Artists such as Hayakawa Shokosai, the Campana Brothers, and Ruth Asawa will be a point of reference for the class as a way to connect their own conceptual framework to this traditionally utilitarian craft. Students should expect to produce a variety of technique-based samples as well as a midterm and a final culminating project. This course requires an artist presentation and assigned readings. Students will reflect on the readings with written responses to connect contemporary works with historical craft.

Class Number

2388

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Art/Design and Politics

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

This professional practice course that focuses on preparing for all things life after school. As scaffolding throughout the course we will explore the text, How to be an artist at night by Raqs media collective to explore a range of questions and themes in art practice at the intersection of contemporary life. What constitutes an education for the real world? How do we grow a community that supports and is in conversation with our work? What are the professional skills we need to sustain our practice outside the studio? How do we write about, talk about and present our work? What are the practices of self care we can cultivate to fuel our creativity? Other readings will include teaching to transgress- Bell Hooks, The Artist's Guide: How to make a living doing what you love- Jackie Battenfield, The Social Production of Art- Janet Wolff. We will also watch and respond to short films. Course work will vary but will typically include writing an artist statement, bio and exhibition proposal.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: 2900 course

Class Number

1939

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Exhibition and Curatorial Studies, Public Space, Site, Landscape, Social Media and the Web

Location

MacLean 818

Take the Next Step

MFA in Studio Admissions Information

Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242 or gradmiss@saic.edu.

Fiber student artwork installation hanging from ceiling

MFA Fiber & Material Studies Program Brochure

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