Thesis Exhibition
Parsons School of Design: School of Art, Media, and Tech
CRN: 10575
Credits: 3
Participation in group exhibitions, from artist-curated to working with independent curators to major museum exhibitions, forms a crucial part of the career of a professional artist. Furthermore, group exhibitions are an especially significant venue for emerging artists. This required class offers graduating students the opportunity to investigate and master the parameters and logistics of participating in such exhibitions by offering the curated thesis group exhibition as a site of critical learning. Students will have the opportunity to work with a professional curator in the development of their Thesis Exhibition. Sitting at the nexus of a pedagogic and real life professional experience, the completion and final outcome of this class, the Thesis Exhibition, is a key requirement to successfully complete the MFA Fine Arts degree. In preparation for the exhibition and over the course of the semester, in one-to-one studio visits and group discussions lead by the curator-instructor/s, students will be asked to concretely articulate and defend their artistic strategies in both oral and written form. This articulation is crucial to ensure an appropriate representation of their work in the Thesis Exhibition. The instructor of this class will be the Thesis Exhibition curator, allowing students a valuable real-life experience. This professional experience will afford students to self-consciously reflect on, and engage with the development of their thesis work to exhibition standards. Over the course of the semester students gain an in-depth understanding of the roles of both the artist and curator. They will gain valuable tools to engage in an effective professional relationship with a curator. Students will understand the necessity to be aware and mindful of their needs as individual artists while keeping the larger group of students in the exhibition in perspective. The class will discuss and learn the parameters of professional conduct in this public intersection with the professional field. Furthermore under the guidance of the curator all graduating students will collectively develop an on- or offline publication that accompanies the Thesis exhibition. They will engage in design and realization of such publication and in fund-raising if necessary. Students will be assessed on their professionalism, their innovation in the realization of all aspects of the Thesis Exhibition and their ability to work both individually and collaboratively. The instructor for this course is responsible for curating the MFA Thesis show, working closely with each student and their thesis advisors to determine the works to be included in the exhibition as well as to develop an over-arching theoretical structure for the public presentation of the work on display.
College: Parsons School of Design (PS)
Department: School of Art, Media, and Tech (AMT)
Campus: New York City (GV)
Course Format: Seminar (R)
Modality: In-Person
Max Enrollment: 16
Add/Drop Deadline: February 3, 2025 (Monday)
Online Withdrawal Deadline: April 15, 2025 (Tuesday)
Seats Available: Yes
Status: Open*
* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 9:02am EDT 10/8/2024