Course General Description

The Art Practice program offers a fully interdisciplinary approach to an MFA degree. We approach artmaking holistically: artists in the program are not defined or separated by medium or discipline. We view process as a kind of critical thinking. Artists in the program engage in research-based practices, and are encouraged to converse and collaborate across subject matters using a combination of traditional and non-traditional media, technologies and techniques. Participants combine personal narrative with critical theory to create works that comment on societal issues. We aim to create a global community of artists and culture producers who look beyond a consensus driven approach to how we define what’s important in contemporary art. To that end, a carefully selected, small group of MFA candidates come together at SVA’s NYC campus for three successive, intensive summer residency periods where they have the opportunity to work closely with artists, thinkers, writers, critics and curators in facilities that include a digital sculpture center, a bio-art lab and video and sound editing facilities in addition to a wood shop, metals shop, ceramics studio and fibers lab. In the intervening fall and spring semesters, participants engage in required, rich-media online coursework from all over the world, as well as work under the close guidance of a mentor.

School General Description

Welcome to New York City, SVA’s hometown, and the leader of today’s creative economy, with more than 14,000 creative businesses and nonprofits. According to the EY Global Talent in Global Cities 2015 study, New York attracts more creative talent than any other city in the world because it “enjoys a unique cultural scene, embedded in a cosmopolitan and forward-thinking urban environment.” There is no better place to study, practice and work as a creative professional. Critique is a vital and challenging part of the educational experience in a college of art and design. Participating in this practice requires students to be open and vulnerable while they present their work for discussion and questioning, and to trust the transformative powers of the process in service of the work. Through the frequent repetition of this act of openness, students and faculty share and strengthen their humanity, empathy and kinship and their work evolves.