Tyler School of Art's SPI is a 4-week immersion program for artists interested in developing their work in a challenging and supportive environment.
The program has three components:
Intensive studio time: Students are expected to put in significant time in the studio. The chief function of the program is to provide students with an opportunity to engage in a sustained and intensive studio experience. Each student accepted to the program will be given a private studio space and have free use of Tyler’s large new studios. Students will have 24-hour access to the fine arts building
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Field studies: There will be weekly visits to major art centers in New York and Philadelphia, including the Chelsea gallery district, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, the Slought Foundation, and the Barnes Foundation. These trips will include visits to artist’s studios and galleries.
Critical studies: Students and faculty participate in weekly group discussions of contemporary ideas, theory and issues based on readings and current events. The seminar provides a critical exchange about artistic production and its institutions and discourses. Time will also be given for discussions of topics important to students seeking to apply to graduate programs or otherwise taking steps towards becoming a working artist.
The program is a non-credit, post-baccalaureate-style residency suitable for BA and BFA seniors and recent graduates aiming to hone their artistic and intellectual skills, for students building a portfolio for application to graduate school, as well as professional artists seeking to strengthen their abilities and expand their outlook.
SPI / SSI program seeks to give participants a foundation in concept and craft while providing students with the tools to think critically about their own practices and art in general. Week by week, group critiques, individual studio visits and critical studies seminars form the primary support to individual studio practices. The program is led by an artist-director, and the faculty consists of Tyler’s full-time faculty as well as visiting artists and critics, curators and art historians. Students will discuss their work in group settings and in one-on-one conversations with leading members of the contemporary art world. The session will culminate in a group show of student work.
