LOW-RESIDENCY MFA IN VISUAL STUDIES

MFA-MEETS-ARTIST RESIDENCY SHARPENING CRITICAL, FORMAL, AND INTELLECTUAL TOOLS WITH INTERNATIONAL GUEST FACULTY

THE LOW-RESIDENCY MFA IN VISUAL STUDIES, rooted in critical investigation and rigorous, selfdisciplined creative practice, is ideal for motivated students who can work independently, desire a flexible structure, and are seeking the challenge and community of an immersive graduate program, inclusive of both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary practices. This 60-credit low-residency, mentorbased art program combines intensive graduate seminars, an exceptional visiting artist program, and a focus on each individual student's educational and professional goals. Intensive courses occur during three consecutive Summer Intensives with two brief Winter Intensives. Learning is achieved through independent inquiry, in-depth studio exploration, peer-to-peer dialogue, intensive cross-disciplinary group critiques, and exposure to a wide range of visiting, emerging, and prominent national and international professional artists, curators, scholars, and critics.

For students unable to commit 18- 24 months to full-time schooling, this program provides a platform to engage in rigorous study with a diverse range of contemporary cultural voices. Students gather on-campus each summer for an eight-week intensive that includes graduate seminars, critiques, studio visits, visiting artist lectures and demonstrations, and intensive periods of studio practice. Each student receives their own studio space where they develop new work and have one-on-one studio visits and critiques with visiting artists. Each week during the intensive, a Visiting Artist or Scholar is hosted by the program introducing MFA students to the breadth of contemporary artistic, scholarly, philosophical, and cultural voices. Each summer, the Low- Residency MFA also hosts an Artistin-Residence who works for an extended period within the program. Visiting Artists, Scholars, and Artists-in-Residence are selected specifically in response to the MFA students within the program and their areas of inquiry.

The Fall and Spring semesters are periods of deeper contemplation and productivity. The MFA students work off-site in their personal studios to incorporate the ideas and insights gained from the Summer into their studio practice, research, and writing. The MFA Chair assists in selecting a mentor for these semesters, an expert in the student’s area of focus who will provide guidance and support while maintaining the program's rigorous standards. This mentorship is an integral component of the program bringing diversity, richness, and depth of experience to the MFA candidates.

During five days in January, students meet on campus for Winter reviews. They receive feedback on work produced during the Fall and engage in intensive seminars and short workshops.

Ryan Pierce

Visiting Assistant Professor

Ryan Pierce

Ryan Pierce has exhibited internationally and his work has been recognized by grants from the Joan Mitchell and San Francisco Foundations, and an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission, as well as by reviews in Art in America, Art Papers, and The Oregonian. Pierce has been an artist in residence at the Ucross Foundation, Caldera, and Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder in Norway, and a fellow at the Jordan Schnitzer Printmaking Residency at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology. Pierce has taught at colleges and universities throughout Oregon and lecture das a Visiting Artist at more than30 institutions. In 2019 his work was showcased in the Portland Art Museum's inaugural triennial of Northwest Art, titled the map is not the territory... He is represented by Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland.

Pierce is the co-founder, with activist Amy Harwood, of Signal Fire, a group that facilitates wilderness residencies and retreats for artists of all disciplines. He is also founding Director of Wide Open Studios, an arts and ecology field program.

Ryan Pierce's paintings, prints, and experimental artist books envision a world recovering from human industry amid the throes of climate chaos. He draws on influences from ecological theory, literature, and folk art to create scenes that portray the resilience of the natural world.

SELECTED VISITING FACULTY

Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries (Seoul, Korea) Aria Dean (New York, NY) Dorothée Dupuis (Mexico City, Mexico) Claire Fontaine (Palermo, Italy) Sky Hopinka (Vancouver, Canada) Suhail Malik (London, UK) Beatriz Santiago Muñoz (San Juan, Puerto Rico) OEI (Stockholm, Sweden) Clifford Owens (New York, NY) Ruth Estévez (Mexico City, Mexico) Sondra Perry (Perth Amboy, NJ) Mikko Kuorinki (Helsinki, Finland) John Riepenhoff (Milwaukee, WI) Jessica Jackson Hutchins (Portland, OR) Natalie Ball (Chiloquin, OR)

Chloë Bass (New York, NY) Young Chung (Los Angeles, CA) Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz (La Paz, Bolivia) Minerva Cuevas (Mexico City, Mexico) Keyna Eleison (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Ruth Noack (Washington DC) Kyung Me (New York, NY) Biquini Wax ESP (Mexico City, Mexico) Miguel A. López (San José, Costa Rica) Jackie Im and Aaron Harbour (San Francisco, CA) Maricel Alvarez (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Prem Krishnamurthy (Berlin, Germany)