Community members and others at the Laton Live! REUNION REUNIÓN event produced by Otis MFA Public Practice students with Suzanne Lacy, 2008-9
Photo by Candida Ayala, 2009
Otis MFA Public Practice seeks proposals for a studio/artist’s project for the Fall 2010 Semester. Beginning in late August through mid-December, the visiting artists will work with entering graduate students to produce a project that engages with public audiences and issues in the greater Los Angeles area.
Past projects for this program include:
• A collaboration in New Orleans with Transforma, an arts and development project by artists Rick Lowe and Sam Durant, and arts administrator Jessica Cusick, in which students created a performance commemorating civil rights activist Homer Plessy.
• A Ford Foundation-funded project in Laton, California with Suzanne Lacy, which focused on economy and diversity in this Central Valley rural farming community
• Love in a Cemetery, in which students created partnerships with non-profit organizations throughout Los Angeles. Working with artist Andrea Bowers, arts administrator Pauline Kamiyama, and curator Bob Sain, they produced a public exhibition and series of activities at the 18th Street Art Center, Santa Monica.
Proposals are invited for a 15-week Production Studio that includes 6 hours of class meetings per week, resulting in a completed project with students. Projects should be sited in Los Angeles, and the selected visiting artist/faculty member is expected to provide an important first educational experience with the entering class of MFA students. A salary commensurate with a single Otis College course, a small project budget, and some administrative and institutional support will be provided. As teaching is a fundamental aspect of this project, successful candidates should evidence prior experience and interest in pedagogy.
Otis’ MFA in Public Practice Program (http://www.otis.edu/gpp) with studio facilities in the historic 18th Street Art Center, is the only program in the Southern California region dedicated exclusively to providing artists with advanced skills for working in the public sphere. The program focuses on both collaborative and individual art production. Students start with a collaborative project led by practicing artists in their first Production Studio. During this process, they meet and interact with recognized artists, critics, and curators from around the world.
Please submit a one-page letter of interest and description of proposed project, a one-page resume with teaching experience, and work sample (online reference is fine) to the MFA Public Practice program manager, Consuelo Velasco: cvelasco@otis.edu. For more information, call (310) 846-2610.
Deadline for proposals: May 1, 2010
Founded in Los Angeles in 1918, Otis College of Art and Design prepares diverse students of art and design to enrich the world through their creativity, their skill, and their vision. The College offers an interdisciplinary education for 1200 full-time students, awarding BFA degrees in advertising, architecture/landscape/interiors, digital media, fashion design, illustration, graphic design, product design, painting, photography, sculpture/new genres, and toy design; and MFA degrees in fine arts, graphic design, public practice, and writing. Continuing Education offers certificate programs as well as personal and professional development courses.
