Interdisciplinary Art and Theory Program
Application
The Interdisciplinary Art and Theory Program is accepting applications for the 2024-2025 session.
The tuition-free, two-semester program meets Fridays at Jack Shainman Gallery in Chelsea. The Program runs from September to November, and then February to May. The Program offers reading seminars about the year’s principle themes, as well as a series of invited guests and two Distinguished Lectures (the latter are open to the public), and studio visits from guests and seminar leaders. More details on the program and application process are listed below and available at artandtheoryprogram.org
2024-2025 Theme: Critique: Why, How, When.
The seminars will focus on the history and role of critique in contemporary art: How do we carry out critical analysis? When do we do it? And what is its purpose or effect? The notion of critique has become ubiquitous in the fine arts, naming both a pedagogical approach (group critique) and a more general attitude or process of examination (institutional critique) and studio processes and approaches such as institutional critique. We will consider how and why critique has become integral to contemporary art; the relationship between critique and secularism; critique and its effects on aesthetic output (such as an emphasis on research methodology and presentations in exhibitions settings); formal and informal critique; as well as normative and unconventional ways of critical analysis.
2023-2024 Theme: Alternative Spaces
The theme for the 2023-2024 seminars is ‘alternative spaces.’ Throughout the year, we will consider the ways in which practitioners have envisioned the idea of the alternative as a counterpoint to conventional or dominant ways of making, exhibiting, and selling art; funding projects; and engaging with educational institutions and residencies, research methodologies, and knowledge production. We will examine the political, cultural, and technological contexts out of which a range of recent ‘alternative’ projects and practices have grown, exploring their limits and possibilities, and studying the attendant risks of cooptation and institutionalization. With the input of guests, we will problematize the concept itself by examining how and for whom a practice exists as alternative, thinking together through ways of understanding the mainstream and its antitheses in an expressly global contemporary art context.
Our seminars will be guided by established and thoughtful artists, curators, gallerists, theorists and writers, who will respond to these questions from the perspective of their research and work. Following the lead of our guest seminar leaders, we will be unpacking the phenomena of the alternative, reading from a range of historical and contemporary texts that spans various disciplines including art-history, philosophy, and politics.
Invited seminar guests will be scheduled in the coming months. A list of last year’s seminar leaders is available on our website.
All Applications Must Include:
· A resume or C.V. including name, address, and telephone number.
· One letter of recommendation (may be sent under separate cover and can be general and brief. we strongly prefer letters to
arrive by the deadline).
· A statement discussing your work, educational experience, intellectual interests, and why you would like to participate in the Program (2 double-spaced pages max).
· 5-10 sample images for artists OR
10-15 double-spaced pages of sample writing(s) for writers.
All documents must be sent in PDF form to info@artandtheoryprogram.org. Format for the file names should be as follows:
FirstNameSurname_Resume
FirstNameSurname_Statement
FirstNameSurname_Sample
Around ten participants will be admitted.
The program is free to participants
Eligibility
Those eligible for participation include established and emerging artists, art critics, graduate students, candidates for advanced postgraduate degrees, recent undergraduates with a demonstrated capacity for advanced scholarship, or those who have recently completed formal academic study (MFA, PhD, etc.).
Application Deadline
All application materials and supporting documents must be received by June 30th, 2024. Applicants will be notified by July 29th.
