Course General Description

The practice of performance art has changed radically from the early provocations of Dada through the happenings and body art of the '60s and '70s, to contemporary practices that reincorporate aspects of dance and theater or build on relational aesthetics and social practice. SMFA’s performance courses help you develop your own voice in creating solo and collaborative work in support of your practice. Courses will familiarize you with a range of approaches to developing original performance work, improve technical production skills, and introduce you to the theories and history of performance art. We encourage you to experiment with different techniques and structures while examining the relationship between audience and artist. Performance work is strengthened through access to a wide variety of photographic, video, sound, and fabrication tools.

School General Description

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University is where talented and curious students become artists with purpose. For generations, our graduates have worked across mediums, disciplines, and techniques to produce art that provokes thought and inspires change. It's a community fueled by big ideas, and the energy of those who seek to make them a reality. At SMFA, process matters every bit as much as the final product, and the questions are just as important as the answers. At SMFA you won't find rigid curricula or one-size-fits-all general education requirements. Instead, our students design individualized programs of study that include intensive studio coursework and relevant liberal arts and sciences courses on both the SMFA and Medford/Somerville campuses. They explore and research ideas, grapple with complex challenges, and build technical skills under close mentorship from faculty, staff, and other community members.