San Francisco, CA 94133
800 345 SFAI / 415 749 4500
http://www.sfai.edu
San Francisco Art Institute
School of Interdisciplinary Studies
Accepting Applications for Academic Year 2007-2008 Degree Programs
SFAI has been energetically transforming itself according to a fundamental understanding: that the contexts in which we live, create, and work are inherently global and therefore inextricably linked. SFAI’s students are challenged to move away from a typically and canonically Western, chronological, and stylistic focus toward a global perspective that emphasizes conceptual and comparative approaches. They receive a rich, expanded understanding of the canons of art as they work with artists, historians, theorists, curators, and thinkers from diverse disciplines such as anthropology, cultural geography, political science, and urban studies.
SFAI’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies (SIS) prepares students to be engaged world citizens—as creative thinkers, artists, activists, curators, and visionaries. The curriculum is drawn from courses in both the SIS and the School of Studio Practice, and is further enhanced by an outstanding program of visiting artists, scholars, and exhibitions.
SFAI’s program in HISTORY AND THEORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART provides an in-depth and critical understanding of the history of the ideas, conditions, institutions, and discourses surrounding contemporary art and culture, and how these inform the study, interpretation, analysis, and exhibition of art today. The program’s curriculum addresses complex issues such as the dismantling of the hierarchies of artistic mediums initiated by the historical avant-gardes, the globalization of culture, the intersection of Western and non-Western modernity, the role of technology in art making, and the question of authorship in the practice of contemporary art. (BA and MA)
The challenges posed by urbanization offer us new opportunities for artistic practice through the pursuit of creative and imaginative solutions to urban paradigms. The URBAN STUDIES program integrates courses and resources from our School of Studio Practice and School of Interdisciplinary Studies to create a unique platform for learning and social engagement. The program offers a studio- and research-based curriculum developed specifically to address the contributions of art, artists, and researchers to the understanding and shaping of the subjectivity of the city. The broad vision of our URBAN STUDIES program allows you to design your own course of study. (BA and MA)
The Master of Arts in EXHIBITION AND MUSEUM STUDIES at SFAI is founded on the understanding that museums and exhibitions are both historical objects and subjects. Through this program students develop a thorough understanding of the history and roles of institutions of modernity (museums, historical societies, archives, libraries, architectural commissions) in contemporary culture, the economy of the art world, and the politics that affect it. The curriculum comprises curatorial models, exhibition systems, institutional mediation, and education, and addresses such topics as historical preservation, heritage management, the ethics of trade in antiquities, and the complex issue of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary curating involving works understood as primarily ethnographic, anthropologic, and archaeological. (MA)
SFAI’s Summer Institute offers a low-residency MFA degree program, the City Studio Pre-College and Teacher Professional Development programs, as well as studio and interdisciplinary courses for credit and noncredit. Intensive courses range from one- to eight-week sessions, and include studio disciplines, art history and theory, study/travel, and more.
For more information about these and other programs offered at SFAI, as well as information about how to apply, please see http://www.sfai.edu or call 800 345 SFAI / 415 749 4500.
