Making A Life of Art

with Nato Thompson

In this course, Thompson will address and workshop the complexities of living an artistic life. Ranging from practical issues like artistic work routines and navigating the art world to more philosophical issues of community, sustainability, and life-work balance; the course is meant as a hands-on workshop for artists and curators interested in making a cultural life amidst a difficult and socially arduous world. The course will also include visiting artists, readings, and discussions.

Office Hours: TBA

***ALL Classes include FREE & Continuous Membership Access to our virtual campus Programming called Student Life
** Payment Plans Available

September 13th - October 25th

Wednesdays
12:30 - 3pm EST

20
Students Max

$1,500 New Student
$1,250 Returning Student
USD

Nato Thompson is an author, curator, and what he describes as “cultural infrastructure builder”. He has worked as Artistic Director at Philadelphia Contemporary, and Creative Time as Artistic Director and Curator at MASS MoCA.

Thompson organized major Creative Time projects including The Creative Time Summit (2009–2015), Pedro Reyes’ Doomocracy (2016), Kara Walker’s A Subtlety (2014), Living as Form (2011), Trevor Paglen’s The Last Pictures (2012), Paul Ramírez Jonas’s Key to the City (2010), Jeremy Deller’s It is What it is (2009, with New Museum curators Laura Hoptman and Amy Mackie), Democracy in America: The National Campaign (2008), and Paul Chan’s Waiting for Godot in New Orleans (2007), among others.

He has written two books of cultural criticism, Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21st Century (2015) and Culture as Weapon: The Art of Influence in Everyday Life (2017). He founded the Alternative Art School in 2020.

Drifting in Daylight, 2015, Collaboration with Central Park Conservancy.
Chto Delat, A Monument to the Century of Revolutions, 2017 Creative Time Summit, Toronto, Curated by Nato Thompson.
Living As Form, 2011, With Creative Time.
Kara Walker, A Subtlety, 2014, with Nato Thompson and Creative Time.

More Classes

Live online classes with the world’s best artists and curators

Carving Connections

An independent study workshop with Amber Imrie

In Carving Connections, we will be following the threads through our practice, into our community and out into the world. Everything is connected, but to see through the chaos we must move with clarity, intention and passion. Over six months we will engage in exercises to further illuminate your authenticity through your art. We will focus on strengthening your daily art practice routines to build resiliency, confidence, and self-assurance.

Monuments

With Krzysztof Wodiczko

In “On the Use and Abuse of History for Life,” Friedrich Nietzche asked, “What is the use to the modern man of this ‘monumental’ contemplation of the past, this preoccupation with the rare and classic?” That was 1874. Today, monuments to racism, white supremacy, colonialism, war, patriarchy, and oppressions across the world are toppled, disgraced, vandalized, and defaced. The course will provide space for an informed and open discussion and for development and sharing of the artistic concepts, and proposals for monuments.

Professional Practice for Artists

with Lexa Walsh

In this 7 week class, we will move intently toward building our professional practices as artists. We will cover the many ways to be in the Art World(s), and how to get there: Goal Setting, Grants, Budgets, Pricing, Residencies, Open Calls, Artist and Project Statements, Elevator Pitches, CVs, Documentation, Websites, Networking and Promotion, and the importance of Community. We will share tips and strategies to help define and finesse each of these, by identifying our audiences, contexts, processes, research and challenges.