As students travel to the Montpelier, Vermont campus at Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) for residency from across North America, so does their artwork — whether commercially shipped, carefully packed in suitcases or loaded into cars and buses. Upon arrival, every MFA in Visual Art student installs a selection of their work in the VCFA galleries with support from the exhibition team.
Functioning as both a public exhibition and academic space, the galleries are central to critique and conversation at every residency. As Sumru Tekin, Exhibition Coordinator for the program, explains, “the exhibition spaces become dynamic sites for the exchange and negotiation of aesthetic and conceptual concerns between students, faculty, and guest artists as students share work completed, in progress or in idea stages.”
With five exhibitions total during their tenure in the program, students graduate with an understanding of best practices in the transportation and installation of their artwork. This experience is critical as students expand their professional exhibition record, showing their work in gallery settings across the country. Galleries are open to the public and are central to critiques and dialogue throughout each residency.
VCFA’s MFA in Visual Art, which formed in 1991, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and invites prospective students to visit VCFA’s campus and experience residency events and exhibitions, as well as meet with students, faculty, and alumni. The program offers free room and board during a prospective student’s stay. The upcoming winter 2018 residency is open to visitors January 25 – February 2nd, 2018.
For more information about MFA in Visual Art, its exhibitions, or how to visit a residency, contact Thatiana.Oliveira@vcfa.edu or call 866-934-8232, ext. 8636.
