In 2008 the Studio Art program initiated a trip to New York City to expose Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts Studio Art Seniors to contemporary art and practices. This experience is a capstone component for the successful completion of the Studio Art BA and BFA degrees. It has proven a crucial step in student development as art makers due to the intense exposure to both relevant art and to a vibrant art community like the one in New York.
The students research and present the work of artists in preparation for the trip, once there, they visit museums and galleries where they see the work they have been studying and visit artists’ studios who are working and showing in New York and beyond. Upon their return, the Seniors present highlights from their experience to the Junior class of Studio Art majors. The artwork they are exposed during the trip often times becomes a reference point for the work they do during the whole school year.
This trip is a highlight of the early fall semester, and it sets the tone for a full academic year of interactions and collaborations among this group of students, who will share studio space for the next two semesters and exhibit their work in a group exhibition at the end of the spring semester. This opportunity allows the students to forge connections in their own work, experience other artists working and understand the contemporary art world through a direct and lived experience.
