UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES Documents from a 10-week professional practice course taken by MFA students in the Art and Social Practice program at Portland State University. Facilitated remotely by Lee Walton.
INTRODUCTION This course was about the future. This course brought together 11 artists, each working in different ways and approaching their art practice from different perspectives. As a group, we asked the very simple question: How do we develop and sustain an art practice? Through collective brainstorming, experience-based projects, guests, and conversation, we attempted to tackle this question. This document serves as a record of these questions, meandering musings, and ideas that transpired during our talks. This document is a starting point and resource that builds off our original questions to ask more questions. We have a hunch, that through doing art the way we want to do it, we are making new models that will become real. Eventually, values will shift to reflect what we value. Feel free to share this document. Participants: Katherine Ball, Nolan Calisch, Dillon de Give, Grace Hwang, Adam Moser, Carmen Papalia, Molly Sherman, Jason Sturgill, Lexa Walsh, Lee Walton. Guests included: Steve Lambert (Artist), Sheryl Oring (Artist), Anne Dennington (Flux Projects), George Scheer (Elsewhere Collaborative)