February, 2016
SDSUAIR REPORT
Yvonne Mouser (Spring 2015) demonstrating bent laminations for the Intermediate and Advanced Furniture Design and Woodworking students.
SDSU Furniture Design and Woodworking Six Years of the Artist-in-Residence Program By Matthew Hebert
Thanks to the generous funding of the Windgate Charitable Foundation, San Diego State University’s Furniture Design and Woodworking Artistin-Residence Program (AIRP) is now in its fourth year. The AIRP has allowed for an amazing interchange between the community of SDSU and emerging and established artists working within the field of Studio Furniture. Over the six years (twelve semesters) we have welcomed 12 amazing artists working in diverse modes within the studios at SDSU. This document serves as a look at the successes of the first three years.
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Program Overview: The AIRP is a great opportunity for an artist to shake themselves free of their day-today routine and reenergize their creative process. An artist who is selected to participate in the AIRP is invited to work within the fully equipped woodworking, metalworking, and digital fabrication studios at SDSU for sixteen weeks. They are given their own bench space in a studio space shared with the graduate students and faculty of the Furniture Design and Woodworking Program (Furniture). The Artist-inResidence (AIR) interacts with the
students formally through teaching an undergraduate or graduate level course in Furniture, participating in critiques, and delivering in-class demonstrations. Less formal interaction with the students is always possible given the shared access to the studio. Outreach to the larger community of SDSU and the arts community of San Diego is accomplished through a public lecture and an exhibition of the artist’s work at the end of their residency. We have worked hard to find the best venues for each artist to exhibit their work. As a result we have been able to host exhibitions both on and off campus.