INTERNATIoNAl loW-RESIDENCY MFA + PhD

TRANSART INSTITUTE – International LOW-RESIDENCY MFA + PhD PrOGRAMS 2014
Artists attend Transart to bring their
practice to the next level, revitalize it or
take it in a new direction, to get a fresh
perspective on their work and to become
part of an international community of
artists, theorists and curators.
TRANSART INSTITUTE offers an international low-residency MFA, a practice-based PhD, and a non-degree
certificate program for working artists, teachers and professionals in related fields who are seeking
advancement in Visual Arts and New Media in a highly individualized format. In these a-disciplinary
student-centered programs, participants are free to pursue work in any art-related genre and to create their
own course of study, working independently and with the support of faculty and self-chosen studio and
research advisors.
Short periods of intensive residency permit students to continue living and working in their chosen home
communities while participating in an academic program. All programs are geared towards the development
of a sustainable artistic praxis rather than training in certain media or genres, challenging students to
think conceptually and work creatively in new ways. Current students work with animation, choreography,
curating, digital media, drawing, film, gaming, graphic design, installation, painting, participatory art,
performance, photography, robotics, sculpture, sound, text, video and film.
Students enroll in Transart Institute’s programs to bring their practice to the next level, revitalize it or
take it in a new direction; to get a fresh perspective on their work and to become part of an international
community of artists, theorists and curators.
MFA Creative Practice
The two-year MFA program comprises three intensive three-week long summer residencies in Europe and
two shorter winter residencies in New York. In the four semesters between residencies, students create
their own course of study realizing individual art and research projects with the support of faculty and selfchosen advisors.
“...much more immersive
than ten years of living and
working as an artist in New
York City.... I’ve developed
strong relationships with
many remarkable artists and
curators which have led to
three different exhibitions this
year alone.” Virgil Wong
During residencies, MFA students present their work and ideas in seminars and workshops, in small
critique groups and in individual sessions with faculty, getting the benefits of many different perspectives
on their work. Issues of delivery, content, aesthetics, technique, audience, media, genre, gender, culture
and process are discussed.Resources are shared and students learn to present their work to audiences
of varied size and purpose. Students prepare project plans with input from faculty in group and individual
planning sessions throughout the residency as their ideas develop, submitting year-long plans for approval
by the end of the first and second summer residencies.
First year, students create a year-long studio project and short related research paper. In the second year,
students have options: combine the studio work and research with a project report; write a thesis on a
parallel topic; or make a single project.
Critique groups are initiated at each summer residency. These groups continue throughout the year either
in person or through virtual channels. In addition to the individual critique sessions with advisors, students
enter various modes of exchange and critique.
“To work independently
can pose a challenge but
it also offers freedom and
flexibility. Since a large
number of students are
accomplished artists and
earn a living, Transart’s
concept is ideal to work
toward a degree and to
expand one’s artistic career
in addition to having a job.”
Angelika Rinnhofer
A guidance committee comprised of the student and their studio and research advisors meet at the
beginning of each semester.Any member may call a group meetings to discuss the projects at any time,
ensuring a vital and informed connection between theoretical and artistic aspects of the work. The MFA
program is considered a full time program, and there is an expected average time commitment of 25 hours
per week. Students are able to create their own schedule honoring their home and work life.
Summer Residency Certificate
The Summer Residency Certificate Program is offered for mid-career and emerging artists who are not
seeking a degree but are looking for a creative surge to refresh their practice. Participants join MFA and
PhD students in workshops, lectures and critiques and leave the residency with input on project plans for
the year ahead. Certificate students have the option to participate in a year-long critique group for long
term support with their artistic projects.
Studio Art PhD
Transart offers the first studio-based PhD in the U.S. in which the artwork (not theory or art history) is the
research, a low-residency PhD program for advanced studio art.The PhD at Transart is a three-year program
with an average work commitment of 30 hours per week, validated by Plymouth University, UK. The degree
is offered exclusively for practice-based research (creative work). Artists submit an initial proposal and will
further develop it through the first year at the MPhil stage. With the practice-based PhD, the artwork is the
research. Studio and written components of the PhD project are conceived of as a whole.
Unlike traditional programs, Transart PhD students attend short semi-annual residencies throughout the
program. Residencies generally take place in Europe in the summer and the U.S. in the winter.
Transart is particularly keen on encouraging proposals that in the widest sense explore Memory, Forgetting,
Trauma and the Archive, Creative Fiction and Experimental Non-fiction, Language/Image, International
Diaspora and Post-Colonialism, Software Art and Network Culture, Art and Social Technologies, Land/
Sea, Liminality, Space/Place, Performance Activism Temporary Architecture, and the Role of Art in Peace,
Mediation and International Relations, and Foreignness, Otherness and the Uncanny. The proposal should
demonstrate systematic study, independence, critical competence and originality. It should include a record
of the ‘practice’ element and also serve to contextualize the practice intellectually. A sample proposal can
be found online.
SUMMER RESIDENCIES
The three-week summer residencies take place in cooperation with arts organizations in Europe, currently
Berlin, Germany. For all Transart students, summer residencies are milestones, and bring a wealth of
resources, beginning with closure to the previous year’s studies through intensive critique, exhibitions,
presentation and performances. New students’ work (created prior to commencing the program) is
presented, examined and discussed. Summer residencies include a triennial Transartfest and an annual
symposium. There are always performances, screenings, lectures and an open frame or pop up event with
exhibitions and performances organized by students as well as individual and small group exhibitions
created by graduating students.
Composer David Dunn: “I have no
lack of colleagues or opportunities
to present my work but my network
of association tends to reinforce
a particular set of intellectual and
aesthetic assumptions that become
‘the’ set of assumptions. Transart
succeeds at prying apart entrenched
viewpoints to provide space for
new ideas and concerns. The truly
international makeup of the students
and faculty reinforces this.”
Workshops, walk-shops, cultural theory seminars, cultural tours, group studio projects as well as student,
faculty and guest artist and curator presentations are at the heart of each summer residency. Individual
meetings with advisors take place weekly so that students can plan, inform and revise their project plans.
One on one as well as full and small group critiques for a multitude of voices and views occur throughout
the residency.
Courses range from one to five days are scheduled throughout the residencies. Workshops are topically
driven and not intended to further technical virtuosity but to enhance creativity by exposing students to
new approaches to working in various genres. Students respond to assignments, exercises, individual and/
or group projects in whatever media they wish. Seminars (which are the cultural studies’ equivalent of
the workshops) help students put their work in context and find ways to inform their art projects through
research while also getting used to articulating new ideas, exploring new ways of thinking and making
connections through discussions and possibly studio or writing assignments. Seminar and workshop topics
are developed by faculty from current cultural topics viewed through the lens of media studies, literature,
sociology, philosophy and history.
MFA students choose new courses for each week and new students have a refresher research and writing
workshop the first week of the program. PhD students have short MPhil seminars throughout the program
and additionally choose topical workshops and seminars.
“This program has
changed my life
in profound ways.
My art practice is
more informed,
better articulated,
more open, more
thoughtful, more
grounded in theory.”
Nicki Stager
Transart Institute provides a travel and accommodation page for students and faculty to make their own
arrangements.
WINTER RESIDENCIES
Winter residencies for MFA and PhD students take place in New York at various arts initiatives
and galleries. These weeklong residencies are scheduled at the end of the fall semester and focus
on presentation, critique, feedback and the sharing of resources mid-way through studio and
research projects.
A one day Pop-Up exhibition and performance event, hosted by the institute and organized by students is
held in Brooklyn or Chelsea. Gallery and Museum tours are scheduled on the framing weekends allowing
those with tight schedules to simply participate in critiques during the week. Guest artist talks, screenings
and practical topical workshops (i.e. the art of the artist talk, professional development, funding and grant
writing, and technical studio courses) are offered at student request.
LANGUAGE
At Transart Institute, English is the primary language. Many languages are spoken, but residency activities
are conducted in English and it is required that all participants have mastery of the English in order to
speak, understand, read critical texts, and correspond at a proficient level. Students can work with their
Advisors in any language they choose.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND FINANCES
Tuition and related costs for all Transart programs can be found online. Applicants accepted by the early
deadline in February can attend the MFA at a 20% reduced tuition rate. Scholarships of up to 50% are
given to students on the MFA program who are residents and citizens of developing countries. There are no
scholarships for the PhD and Certificate program.
Student loans are available through Sallie Mae International for US citizens and residents. Low-interest
three or four year payment plans and two year “pay as you go” plans are available through the institute.
For questions please contact: tuitionfinaid@transart.org.
FACULTY AND ADVISORS
Students choose their own Faculty and Advisors. Transart Faculty and Advisors are an international
community of artists and thinkers coming from a wide range of academic and artistic backgrounds as well
as geographic locations. Current theoretical areas of expertise include curatorial work, African diaspora,
interface technologies, digital arts, continental philosophy, media, social studies in colonialism, word and
image relationships, and contemporary Asian art history. Studio faculty include international artists working
with sound, performance, dance and choreography, photography, drawing, sculpture, film and video,
intervention and installation. Details and bios can be found on the website.
CURRENT & PAST MFA FACULTY Deborah Aschheim, MFA, US; Tatiana Bazzichelli, PhD, IT/DK; Myron Beasley, PhD, BR/US; Lynn
Book, MFA, US; Michael Bowdidge, PhD, GB; Jeremy Beaudry, MFA, US; Jean Marie Casbarian, MFA, US; Cella, MFA, US; Ofri Cnaani,
MFA, IL/US; Andrew Cooks, PhD cand. AU/US; Geoff Cox, PhD, GB/DK; Dorit Cypis, MFA IL/US; Rosina Santana Castelon, MFA, PR;
Thomas Helyar-Cardwell, MA, GB; Gaye Chan, MFA, HK/US; Claire Daigle, PhD, US; David Dunn, MFA, US; Nicolás Dumit Estévez, MFA,
DR/US; Laura Gonzalez, PhD, ES/GB; Carolyn Guertin, PhD, CA/US; Christopher Hewitt, BA, GB/DE; Victoria Hindley, MFA, US/AT; Leon
Johnson, MFA, ZA/US; Klaus Knoll, PhD, AT/US; Caroline Koebel, MFA, US; Heimo Lattner, MA, AT; Aaron Levy, MPhil, US/GB; Yuen Fong
Ling, PhD cand. UK; Alanna Lockward, PhD, DR/DE; Sophia Lycouris, PhD, GR/GB; Dafna Naphtali, MFA, US; Nancy Price, MFA, CA;
Merete Røstad, MFA, NO; Giaco Schiesser, CH; Gebhard Sengmüller, MA, AT; Nandita Sharma, PhD, CA/US; Radhika Subramaniam,
PhD, US; Wolfgang Sützl, PhD, AT; Mary Ting, MFA, CN/US; Jeff Thompson, MFA, US; Noam Toran, MFA, UK; Ming Turner, PhD, GB/CN;
Marjorie Vecchio, PhD, US; Thomas Zummer, BFA, US. MFA ADVISORS, GUEST SPEAKERS/ARTISTS Iole Alessandrini, MA, IT/US;
Patrik Andersson, PhD, CA/US; Antonio Arroyo, PhD, US; Isak Berbic, MFA, RS/AE; Louise Lemieux Bérubé, BA, CA; Ruth Bianco, PhD,
MT; Lynn Book, MFA, US; ; Jean Marie Casbarian, MFA, US; Martina Corgnati, PhD, IT; Geoff Cox, PhD, GB/DK; Jennifer Hope Davy, PhD,
US, US/DE; Ellen Flanders, PhD, CA; Coco Fusco, MFA, US; Tina Gharavi, PhD, GB; Rafael Goldchain, MFA, CA; Derek Holzer, MFA, NL;
Transart’s self-motivated structure made
it possible for me to tailor the program
and learning goals to my specific needs
and interests while relying on a support
system of peer critique and professional
advice from faculty and advisors.
Markus Wernli
Julia Holzer, PhD, UK; Phillis Ideal MFA, US; Wilma Kiener, PhD, AT/DE; Christine Keith, MA, US; Stefan Keller, MFA, CH; Jan Korbes,
MA, NL; Stephen Kovats CA/DE; Manuel Lima, MFA, US/GB; Juan Pablo Macias, MFA, MX/US; Liz Magor, BFA, CA; Chris Mann, AU/
US; Astrid Menze, MFA, DE; Helen Mirra, PhD, US; Linda M. Montano, MFA, US; Dafna Naphtali, MFA, US; Alison Nordström, PhD, US;
Freya Olafson, MFA, IS/CA; Stewart Parker, MFA, GB/US; Christiane Paul, PhD, DE/US; Nancy Price, MFA, CA; Zoran Poposki, MFA, MK;
Pierre Proske, BS, AU; Radhika Subramaniam, PhD, US; Claudia Reinhardt, MFA, DE; Cate Rimmer, MA, GB; Kerry Schuss, MFA, US; Aili
Schmeltz, US/FI; Dread Scott, BFA, US; Analia Segal, MFA, US; Igor Siddiqui, MA, US; Dianne Smith, MFA, US; Alec Soth, MFA, US; André
Stitt, GB; Tom Stroud, BA, US; Anita Thacher, MFA, US; Dimitris Tzamouranis, GR; Jan Verwoert, MA, DE; Annette Weintraub, MFA, US;
Debra Werblud, BA, US/IT; Wochenklausur, AT; Virgil Wong, PhD cand. CN/US; PHD FACULTY ADVISORS Myron Beasley, PhD, BR/US,
Sarah Bennett, PhD, UK, Lynn Book, MFA, US, Michael Bowdidge, PhD, UK 2012, Jean Marie Casbarian, MFA, US. Geoff Cox, PhD, UK/
DK, Laura González, PhD, ES/UK, Klaus Knoll, PhD, AT/US, Wolfgang Suetzl, PhD, AT.
IN BRIEF
- Studio art and creative media MFA and independent certificate residencies.
- First studio-based PhD in the U.S. in which the artwork (not theory or art history) is the research.
“Transart pushes faculty to teach in their top form...
everyone comes with such a genuine desire to expand
their practice... the kind of competition that exists in a
normal MFA program – I don’t see it here... incredible
bonds develop out of this program, the intensity and
intimacy is of such a level that it can last a lifetime.”
Mary Ting, Transart Faculty
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Highly individualized contemporary learning experience.
International diversity fosters exchange across cultural boundaries.
MFA development of a vital and sustainable artistic praxis.
PhD projects contribute to a creative cultural dialogue through published, exhibited or performed work.
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Summer intensives in Berlin.
Winter reflective residencies in New York City.
Workshops, walkshops, culture tours, seminars, critiques, lectures and artist talks.
Exhibition and performance opportunities in New York and Berlin.
-
Low-residency format balances professional and family commitments.
Offsite study, critiques and advisement wherever you live and work.
Individual creative projects realized with the support of self-chosen advisors.
Alumni and faculty form an ever expanding international exhibition collective.
One-on-one reviews and interactions with curators, artists and theorists.
- Previous graduate level credits can be applied for advanced standing.
- No first degree required with equivalent experience.
- Fast track from MFA to studio PhD in one year.
USA: +1 (347) 410 9905, Fax: (508) 682 2853
Mail: 228 Park Ave S. #34726, NY, NY 10003
Residencies: New York and Berlin
Contact: admissions@transart.org
Complete information: www.transart.org
Validated by Plymouth University, UK