Education
Professional development for artists.
The Questions
Do you consider yourself an emerging or mid-career artist ready to advance your practice? Are you craving access to critical conversations about your work and how it fits into the contemporary art landscape?
The Answer
The Center Program offers the unique opportunity to develop a new body of work, receive feedback from professionals in the field, and work towards an exhibition to be held in our main gallery. Over the course of six months, a supportive peer network, guest artists, gallerists, critics, and professionals push Center Program artists to answer tough questions, evolve their art, and ultimately produce a strong, new body of work to show.
The Opportunities
We are pleased to announce that our next Center Program offering includes partnerships with other Chicago-area institutions to offer a variety of entry points into the program. The Joyce Foundation will support up to four full tuition scholarships for artists of color, and the Art Center will provide a special scholarship opportunity for up to two members of our faculty of teaching artists. You can apply for these scholarships directly within the application form below.
In addition, in partnership with The University of Chicago Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies, The Center Program will be aligned with the Graham School's new year-long Visual Arts Certificate Program, allowing Center Program artists to be directly connected to the Graham School, and enabling easy enrollment in one or all (4) VACP courses. Click here to visit the VACP website to discover more about this partnership, or RSVP below for an informational webinar.
The Details
Structure: Formal seminar meetings with visiting professionals take place every other Monday for six months, beginning in early February 2013. The sessions will include critical group discussions around individual work and work toward group goals. The program culminates in a two-week exhibition in the Art Center’s main gallery.
Guest professionals: critic Susan Snodgrass (Art in America); Art Institute of Chicago's Annie Morse (Museum Education), photographer and educator Dawoud Bey; artist Juan Angel Chavez; Jim Dempsey (Corbett vs. Dempsey); founder of Stockyard Institute and chair of Arts Education at DePaul University, Jim Duignan; curator and founder of 6018 North Tricia Van Eck; artist and urban planner Theaster Gates; and gallerist Dan Devening (Devening Projects).
Access: In addition to critical discussions, Center Program artists also have access to the Oakman Clinton School & Studios at the Art Center, including: Painting & Drawing, Digital Lab, Darkroom, Printmaking/Silkscreen, Ceramics, and Mixed Media.
Tuition: Tuition for The Center Program is $1500. Limited scholarships are available, and payment plans can be arranged. You can apply for full tuition Joyce Foundation or Art Center scholarships directly in the application form on the Art Center’s website. Additionally, some past Center Program artists received funding through the Community Arts Assistance Program offered by the City of Chicago. Click here to learn more.
If you have any questions about The Center Program, please contact Director of Education Mike Nourse by email at mnourse@hydeparkart.org, or at 773.324.5520 x1005.
