CUE Present Post-Graduate Students in Education Discussion on ART@COVID.EDU, 7/7
[Image Description: On a graphic white background is the light green text “MFA” repeated over and over. Laid over this background at the top On this is theis blue text reading t in blue at the top “art@covid.edu” and below that in black “Studio Art MFAs & the cost of Remote Learning, July 7 @ 6pm EDT.”]
ART@COVID.EDU: Studio Art MFAs and the Cost of Remote LearningFeaturing concerned students from Columbia, Hunter, UCLA, UPenn, and Yale
Tuesday, July 7, 6pm EDT
RSVP for meeting link
Special Guests: A.K. Burns, Dana DeGiulio, Sharon Hayes, and Tausif Noor
As the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the racial, economic, and cultural inequities in institutions, everyone is witness the rumblings and eruptions of social movements that are changing the way people think and live. This sense of unrest has been growing in universities across the country where the move online has placed a disproportionate burden on the most vulnerable and under-resourced populations. The cost of remote learning has hit studio art programs particularly hard as students depend upon facilities on campus and physical resources to fulfill their most basic educational needs. With universities unwilling to negotiate a reduction of exorbitant tuition rates in spite of these glaring losses, students have been organizing to reassess the value of their education and examine the priorities of the institutions entrusted to provide it.
Reimagining how higher art education is transacted in the post-COVID era takes on urgency with the Fall semester looming on the horizon. As universities announce plans for online or hybrid learning models and proceed with up to 5% tuition hikes, many MFA students are considering taking a leave of absence or, if denied that, dropping out altogether. Even the most prestigious programs may see dramatic drops in enrollment. Is it necessary to divest from institutions that have made it clear that delivering a quality education is not their top priority? Does this moment have the potential to transform how we think about higher art education?
In this forum, MFA students in the field will address the causes of this impasse, the gains made through student organizing, and the pressing issues they are facing as the Fall semester approaches. Following these short presentations audience members are invited to join breakout groups for focused conversations and Q&As featuring guest panelists.
You can rsvp for this conversation here.
You can find out more about CUE Art Foundation here.