Beka Economopoulos from Not An Alternative and mentee Estrella Payton discuss what it means to work and learn collaboratively.

Jen Liu & her mentee Christopher Willauer discuss working on projects together over the summer, and what it means to balance life and work.

See what ‪mentor Penelope Umbrico and her mentee Thomas Storey have to say about their process working together and sharing their expertise.

From building a website to constructing a gallery space, ‪‬mentor artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy and their mentee Jack Gregory discuss their summer working together.

Jen Liu and her mentee Nadia Stevens talk about spending the summer working together in the studio.

Applications are being accepted for the 2015 New York Arts Practicum, a summer arts institute where participants experientially learn to bridge their lives as art students into lives as artists in the world. The program is structured around apprenticeships with mentor artists, a critique seminar where participants produce work without access to their institutional facilities, and site visits to artist workspaces, galleries, and museums.

The intensive eight-week program offers participants a structured environment to experience the challenges of life as an artist and demystifies the many ways one can be an artist today. Mentees work in their mentor’s studio two to three days per week, meet Monday and Tuesday evenings for a critique seminar, and convene Fridays for site visits in artist studios, galleries, and museums. Past participants called the experience: demystifying, life changing, and an inspirational reality check.

By working with an artist on a day-to-day basis, participants gain a view of their near futures as artists, learning models for negotiating a creative life outside of school. Regular Mentors include: Brendan Fernandes, Marisa Jahn, Pablo Helguera, David Horvitz, Steve Lambert, Simone Leigh, Jen Liu, Eva and Franco Mattes, Mary Mattingly, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Brad Troemel, Penelope Umbrico, Andrew Norman Wilson, and Letha Wilson.

Mentors lead critiques structured around developing strategies for creating work without institutional studio facilities. Practicum mentors lead seminars on their work, or related topic; these sessions are intimate views into their in-progress work, with a focus on process.

Program Director Michael Mandiberg facilitates critique seminar, and guides site visits to artist studios, galleries, and museums, many of which will include conversations with curators and gallerists.

Past Mentors and Site Visits:

Last year’s mentors and visitors included: Sonel Breslav at Murray Guy, Sean Joseph Patrick Carney at BHQFU, Courtney Childress at On Stellar Rays, Julia Christensen, Zoe Crosher, Not An Alternative, Kate Gilmore, Pablo Helguera, David Horvitz, Robert Hult at Klaus von Nichtssagend, Marisa Jahn, Miao Jiaxin, Steve Lambert, Ernest Larsen & Sherry Millner, Martha Moldovan at David Zwirner, Leigh Ledare, Simone Leigh, Michelle Levy at EFA Project Space, Jen Liu, Matthew Lyons at The Kitchen, Eva and Franco Mattes, Mary Mattingly, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Douglas Paulson at Flux Factory, Stephanie Pereira at Kickstarter, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Sara Reisman at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art Program, Magdalena Sawon at Postmasters Gallery, Brooke Singer and Stefani Bardin at La Casita Verde, Benjamin Tischer at Invisible Exports, Brad Troemel, Penelope Umbrico, Clement Valla, Madeline Warren and Yuta Nakajima at Hauser and Wirth, Andrew Norman Wilson, Letha Wilson, Ed Woodham, and B Wurtz. You can see documentation of these visits on our Flickr page.

Application Details

The eight-week New York Arts Practicum runs from June 8th to July 31st, 2015. The application deadline is March 22, 2015.

You can read more about the program description and application here on our website. For questions, please see the FAQ, or contact us at info@artspracticum.org.

We met with Michelle Levy at EFA Project Space who talked about balancing her work as an artist with her work as an administrator.

Then we headed to Queens to talk with Douglas Paulson at Flux Factory, who introduced us to his work and the meaning of the term “fluxy.”

We visited Murray Guy, David Zwirner, The Kitchen and Hauser and Wirth.