Program Description

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Pre-College Summer Studio
Boston, Massachusetts


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For More Information, Contact:
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
230 The Fenway
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
617-369-3644
Fax: 617-369-3679
http://www.smfa.edu/precollege
E-mail: coned@smfa.edu

Type of Program: Arts program
Participants: Coeducational, ages 15–18 (must have completed sophomore year of high school)
Enrollment: 75
Program Dates: June 28–July 31, 2009
Head of Program: Debra Samdperil, Director of Continuing Education and Artist’s Resource Center

Location

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is located in Boston’s Fenway cultural district, and the Pre-College Summer Studio will be held from June 28 to July 29, 2009. There is no better time to come to Boston than in the summer. Boston comes alive in June and July—whether one is strolling along the banks of the Charles River, taking in a free outdoor concert or theater performance, catching a baseball game at Fenway Park, or participating in the nation’s largest Fourth of July celebration.
Boston’s vibrant local art scene is always evident in the many fine art galleries from Newbury Street to the South End to the Fort Point area. Museums, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Harvard University Art Museums, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museums, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, are easily accessible using the city’s extensive public transportation system. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is just across the street.

Background and Philosophy

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA), recognizes that disciplines converge and influence each other and that contemporary art is truly interdisciplinary. The School encourages all students to build solid foundations and acquire skill sets in numerous disciplines in order to create new possibilities and forms of artmaking.
SMFA, one of the oldest and most distinguished fully accredited professional art schools in the country, is a division of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and is one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world. The SMFA and Tufts University have partnered in educating artists for more than sixty years. The SMFA also recently formed a partnership with Northeastern University. SMFA undergraduate and graduate students take studio art courses at the SMFA and academic courses at Tufts or Northeastern and graduate with a degree from Tufts or Northeastern.

Program Offerings

Pre-College Summer Studio students are a diverse group of young artists who are devoted to the evolution of their artwork. The SMFA’s five-week Pre-College Summer Studio is a unique and rigorous program focused on making art, sharing art, and living art. Students explore painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video, and digital photography, as well as sound art and performance, so that they may take their artmaking to the next level. These core courses encompass basic skills, experimentation, conceptual thinking, problem solving, critique, and discussions. The full credit value of the Pre-College Summer Studio is 5 credits.
Pre-College Summer Studio features individual-focused instruction. Highly skilled and experienced artists/teachers instruct students in studio work and lead them in discussions about the artmaking process. The SMFA’s unusually low student-faculty ratio (6:1) ensures that students get the attention they need as they evolve their artwork. Students are also matched with a graduate-student mentor from SMFA’s Master of Fine Arts program who, during regular meetings throughout the Pre-College Summer Studio, helps them further develop their individual vision.
Inspiring and encouraging, the program’s dedicated faculty members, teaching assistants, and graduate-student mentors create a space in which students have the opportunity to experience the intersection of disciplines as part of the artmaking process, advance their technical skills in all subjects, learn to work both independently and collaboratively, experience how artists engage through interaction with each other and the wider community, gain self-confidence around their own creative process, and develop critical thinking skills by learning how to ask questions and productively critique themselves and others. Every week, students engage in each of the curriculum areas below.
Art Jamming Sessions: The program begins and ends each week by bringing together the entire Summer Studio community: all students, faculty members, teaching and resident assistants, graduate mentors, and program staff members. These sessions include discussions, activities, and presentations that explore the interdisciplinary process, current art topics, culture and art, and student influences.
2-D: Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking: The two-dimensional area emphasizes both traditional foundations and contemporary issues of drawing, painting, and printmaking.
3-D: Sculpture: During sculpture sessions, students explore a variety of simple materials and techniques for realizing three-dimensional form while developing a vocabulary for understanding its relationship to meaning.
Digital Studio: Video, Digital Photography, and Sound Art: The Digital Studio area provides students with opportunities to explore digital art using video, digital photography, and sound art.
Artists in Action: Collaboration and Performance: This section focuses on the creation of a collaborative project—a chance to discover the classroom group as a community.
Professional Practices: During the final week of the program, students participate in Professional Practices sessions. The SMFA’s Admissions Office and Artist’s Resource Center provide presentations, resources, and one-on-one guidance in regard to portfolio building, career paths in the arts, and the college application process.

Enrollment

Students may enroll as residential students or as commuters. Residential student stay in the state-of-the-art Artist’s Residence Hall (see Facilities below). Local participants who choose not to stay in the Artists’ Residence Hall may enroll in the program as commuters. Commuters are required to attend all class sessions, Monday through Friday, as well as gallery, studio, and museum visits and artist talks. Studio space may be available for commuters to work in during the evenings. While on campus, commuters must follow the same rules and guidelines as residential students, including check-in and checkout procedures.

Extra Opportunities and Activities

In addition to unlimited access to the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which is just across the street from the SMFA, students also enjoy presentations by Museum professionals working in conservation and exhibitions, as well as behind-the-scenes tours of special collections such as rare books and prints.
Boston is an extended classroom for the program. Visits from renowned artists and excursions in the Boston area provide opportunities for direct engagement with the local art and culture scene. Students participate in off-site interactive tours at several area college museums such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. They also attend special programs at local studios and galleries. Just a short shuttle ride away, the collections of the Tufts University Art Gallery/Aidekman Arts Center are available.
During the weekends and in the evenings, students have the opportunity to use their assigned studio space to pursue independent work and class projects. They also participate in organized outings that complement the program’s curriculum. Sample outings include First Fridays gallery openings, city tours of Boston, public art walking tours, open studios, performance events, film screenings, and some exciting day-long adventures. In addition to organized activities on weekends, students also have free time.

Facilities

The strong sense of community that develops between students is an important part of the Summer Studio program. That spirit of creativity and collaboration continues in the Artist’s Residence Hall (ARH) at the end of each day and during the weekends. The state-of-the-art residence hall, located two blocks from the School, is custom made for artists, with shared studios on each floor. The ARH offers 24-hour security, full-time residence life staff members, first-floor laundry facilities, elevators, seminar rooms, outdoor courtyards, gallery space, a convenience store, and a smoke-free living environment. Each two-story studio has floor-to-ceiling windows, worktables and easels, temporary storage space, special ventilation, work sinks, and an Internet connection.

Staff

One of the Museum School’s strongest assets is its faculty of working artists and professional teachers who bring a wealth of experience and background to the classroom. These teachers encourage students to push themselves to their limits and engage with their work, while helping them develop an ongoing dialogue with materials, content, and process that will continue long after they have finished the program. Graduate-student mentors provide additional support in the form of one-on-one advising.
The experienced residence life staff members who live in the Artist’s Residence Hall foster a sense of community and lead weekend activities and field trips.

Medical Care

All students must have proof of health insurance to participate in the Pre-College Summer Studio program.

Costs

The cost of the 2008 Pre-College Summer Studio for residential students was $6700, which includes tuition and student life and activity fees ($3600), room ($1775), and board ($1325). The cost for commuters was $3800, which includes tuition and student life and activity fees ($3600) and lunch ($200). For 2009 costs, students should visit http://www.smfa.edu/precollege.

Financial Aid

All applicants to the Pre-College Summer Studio are eligible to apply for scholarships. A limited number of need- and merit-based partial- and full-tuition scholarships are available. Applications for scholarships must be received by April. For exact deadlines, students should visit http://www.smfa.edu/precollege. To request a scholarship application, students should call 617-369-3644.

Transportation

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, can be easily reached by public transportation or car. Students who are flying into Logan Airport can take a 20–25 minute cab ride to the School.

Application Timetable

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with all applications due in April. Acceptance decisions are mailed within ten days of receipt of application. For exact deadlines, students should visit http://www.smfa.edu/precollege.
All applicants must submit the application form and nonrefundable $50 application fee, one letter of recommendation from an art teacher or guidance counselor, a typewritten essay (2–3 pages) on why the student wants to attend the Summer Studio, and at least eight images (slides, photographs, or digital images) of the student’s recent artwork (completed within the last year) sent on a DVD, CD-ROM, or VHS tape (NTSC format only). International applicants should visit the Web site for additional requirements.