SUMMER CERTIFICATE

INTRO 

History  Transart Institute was founded in 2004 by two artists. The MFA in New Media program was accredited by the Austrian Ministry of Education and Culture through Donau University Krems, Krems, Austria and the first summer residency was held in 2005 with an international body of 25 students and eight faculty. The current MFA Creative Practice program is validated through the School of Art and Media at the University of Plymouth in the UK.

Goals  In this a-disciplinary program, students are free to pursue work in any art-related genre and to create their own course of study, working independently and with the support of faculty and self-chosen studio and research advisors. Short periods of intensive residency permit students to continue with their professional work and keep a balanced personal life while participating in the program. 

Purpose   The program is intended to lift the boundaries between applied and fine arts, traditional and new media, artists and scholars. The program aims to create a space for students of all disciplines to interact with a wide range of artists, scientists, theorists, media practitioners and visionaries. Students investigate their work independently and transdisciplinarily in both a cultural and studio context. Whatever genres students choose to work in, the program is designed to: enrich students’ praxis; foster change; facilitate a connection between group and personal work; provide the means for contextualizing work in the wider world; and develop interaction strategies with audiences.

Location  Transart Institute is an international program. Summer residencies take place in cooperation with arts organizations in Europe. This summer residency location will be Tanzfabrik in Berlin. Winter residencies take place in New York at various arts initiatives and galleries.  Transart Institute provides a range of accommodation listings and arranges a special group rate at a student hotel each summer as well as student travel and city guides. Most students prefer to stay together but students make their own arrangements for travel, accommodations and meals during the residencies so many options are available. Travel info can be found >> here.  

Language  The on-site part of the program takes place in English. Many languages are spoken but courses, critiques and lectures all take place in English. Students must have a very good command of spoken English. Student off-site semester work can take place in any language that the student and their advisors have in common. Research projects must include a synopsis in English. All administrative paper work (including student and faculty evaluations) must be in English. If English is not their first language, students may be required to provide a TOEFL with a score (iBT) of 52 or better.

Facilities, Equipment and Resources  Studio and production spaces for workshops and Macintosh computer stations with scanners and printers fulfill the institute's summer residency needs. Beyond a wealth of electronic resources at University of Plymouth, Ti also houses a Presence Library which includes frequently quoted texts from the seminars as well as a collection of seminal video and media works. Online databases and library resources include: Art Full Text (Wilson), ART bibliographies Modern (CSA), JSTOR, Project Muse, Web of Science, Dawsonera, and Oxford Art Online.

Community  Alumni continue to participate in residencies by giving and receiving critiques, exhibiting, as program advisors, and as members of the newly formed Transart International Exhibition Collective. 

SUMMER RESIDENCY

Summer Residencies The summer residencies are both milestones and resources. Each residency begins with closure to projects done prior to coming to the program through intensive critiques, exhibitions, presentation and performances. Residencies open with the thesis exhibition, performances and a public vernissage. Weeks one and three consist of studio workshops, week two focuses on cultural studies seminars, Fridays center on student presentations. In addition, guest lectures, artist and curator talks and critiques as well as individual meetings with faculty take place each week in order for students to plan, inform and finalize the coming year’s project plans (optional). This summer's schedule can be found in the calendar.

Presentations  Students participate in project presentations and critiques with residency faculty and alumni. Students present in three thirty minute formats: in the plenum with faculty, in a group of six students which continues throughout the semesters, and two individual sessions with faculty thus getting the benefits of many different perspectives on their work. Issues of delivery, content, aesthetics, technique, audience, media, genre, gender, culture and process are discussed, resources are shared and students learn to present their work progressively in two, five, ten and then fifteen minute presentations to audiences of varied size and purpose.

Seminar  Students partake in one elected cultural studies seminar per residency. Seminars which are the cultural studies equivalent of the workshops help students put their work in context and find ways to inform their art projects through research while also getting practice articulating new ideas, exploring new ways of thinking and making connections through discussions and critiques. Seminars are chosen from current cultural topics viewed through the lens of media studies, literature, sociology, philosophy and art history. 

Workshops  Students participate in two elected studio workshops per residency. Workshops are not intended to further technical virtuosity but to enhance creativity by exposing students to new approaches to working in various genres. It is recommended that students work with what they are technically familiar with for these sessions. Students should bring their own tools, whatever they like to work with i.e. cameras, powerbooks, sketch pads. Scanners, video projectors and printers will be available. 

Exhibition  Students experiment with exhibition and performance possibilities at the winter residencies in preparation for the summer Transartfest. As appropriate to the nature of the thesis project, students have the option to exhibit, perform or document their projects with shared spaces for digital presentations, reading and listening. 

 

OPTIONAL SEMESTERS OFF SITE

Independent Study  Students work intensively in the summer residency on-site with faculty, artists, curators, media practitioners, writers and theorists. Certificate students have the option to pursue approved project plans during the fall and spring semeseter and participate in critique groups facilitated by Transart doctoral students.

Study Plan  Students prepare individual art and research project plans with the input from faculty in individual planning sessions throughout the residency as their ideas develop, submitting a two semester project plan for approval at the end of the residency. Students have the opportunity to make adjustments to their plans up to the mid-term to accommodate change and growth.

Critique Groups  Doctoral student-lead critique groups formed at the summer residency continue through the semesters either in person or through virtual channels.