Student Originated Studies in Visual Arts

This is a hybrid, low-residency, full-time program. This program allows students the ability to have an intensive in-person experience for some weeks and the opportunity to either work in the studios on campus and/or in their home studios providing a challenging and immersive environment for students to explore their artistic interests. It fosters self-motivation, critical thinking, and collaboration, preparing students for careers in creative production. Students will determine the content and form of their individual studio and research projects in drawing and painting. The program has a structured framework that guides students through the various stages of their projects and it provides the invaluable learning community of working in a cohort of other committed students.

Students will have a chance to explore something important to them more in-depth. By the end of the program, students are expected to have produced a thoughtful body of work. They also write a process essay that reflects on their artistic journey, documenting the evolution of their ideas, techniques, and conceptual framework. The culminating project will be a collaborative effort by the students to curate and install a group exhibition on Evergreen's campus. Students are expected to have a working computer with video and audio, a reliable internet connection, and a home workspace for those working from home.

Week 1-2: We will meet on campus for the first two weeks of the quarter. The program's structures of theory and practice will be introduced and we will establish our learning community. Materials and research workshops will help prepare students to write proposals for their individual projects.

Week 3-8: We will have at least eight hours of synchronous dedicated class time each week (on video), including live lectures, seminars, student-led artistic ‘salon’ meetings, and individual meetings. Additional instruction will be delivered through asynchronous recorded lectures, peer review, and critique commitments. Students can either work in the campus studio or from home. For students coming to campus, some individual and group meetings can be in person.

Week 9-10: We will meet on campus for the last two weeks of the quarter for the culminating project to have group critique and to plan and install the final group exhibition. Planning and installing is a collaborative effort among the students, this project requires teamwork, coordination, and the application of curatorial skills learned throughout the program.

As part of the program’s immersive experience in the visual arts, students will attend the Artist Lecture Series on Zoom and will be asked to go to three museums during the quarter and to write reports.  In seminar, students will read and discuss some important theoretical frameworks that impact ways of thinking about contemporary art such as post-colonialism, poststructuralism, and psychoanalysis.

Variable credit options are available: contact faculty for permission to register for 12 credits in this program.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

4 – Studio Fundamentals and Critique

4 – Visual Studies: Modern and Contemporary

8 – Independent Project in Visual Art, Research and Writing