MFA STUDIO ARTSCONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

THE ARTWORK IN THIS PUBLICATION WAS PRODUCED BY CURRENT STUDENTS AND

ALUMNI OF CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY’S MFA PROGRAM IN STUDIO ARTS. WE THANK

THEM FOR THE GENEROUS USE OF THEIR REMARKABLE IMAGES.

MASTER OF FINE ARTSSTUDIO ARTS The MFA in Studio Arts at Concordia University is an intensive studio-based

program for those wishing to explore creative production and exhibition in a

challenging academic environment.

Housed in the Faculty of Fine Arts—one of North America’s largest and most

respected schools for graduate fine arts study—our program will allow you

to engage critically and creatively in a supportive environment of peers

and internationally recognized faculty. You will be encouraged to reflect

on tradition, experiment with new materials and technologies, develop

interdisciplinary collaborations, and explore shifting modes of exhibition

and intervention. Your position as a professional artist will be strengthened

in a self-directed process that will also prepare you for the multiple roles in

contemporary art practice including teaching, curating, criticism, publishing

and research.

CHIH-CHIEN WANG

COURSES

The MFA in Studio Arts is a disciplinary program within the context of a

pluralist theoretical framework. It is composed of discipline-specific studio

classes and academic seminars in art critism, history and theory, which are

augmented by workshops, visiting artist lectures and special projects.

Core studio courses form the backbone of the program, offering an

opportunity for rigorous disciplinary investigation and a forum to debate

issues relevant to your personal practice. Core classes meet weekly during

the two-year residency under the supervision of faculty who are engaged in a

diverse range of studio art practices and research activities.

At the end of each term you will present your work to a review committee

composed of faculty, invited artists, curators and critics whose feedback will

assist you in preparing your thesis defence.

Practice-led inquiry is contextualised by critical seminars that provide an

interdisciplinary conceptual framework for the development of ideas in

relation to creative practice. Seminar topics vary regularly to reflect the

shifting nature of contemporary art and culture.

MARTIN VERREAULT

CONCENTRATIONS

FIBRESFILM PRODUCTIONOPEN MEDIAPAINTING AND DRAWINGPHOTOGRAPHYPRINT MEDIA SCULPTURE AND CERAMICS

The 60-credit MFA in Studio Arts is a professional, terminal degree

normally completed in three years. The two-year residency allows for

concentrated study and focus on individual studio experimentation and

theoretical seminars. The third year is devoted exclusively to studio work and

professional practice and culminates in the exhibition and defence of your

final thesis project.

ERIN GEE

INTERNSHIP AND INDEPENDENT STUDY

Internships and independent studies provide flexible opportunities to

supplement your learning. Internships enable you to acquire practical and

research experience in the context of a professional arts organization,

industry or other relevant affiliation. Independent Study courses facilitate

specialized academic research conducted outside the curriculum. You

may elect to substitute six credits of seminar courses for Internship or

Independent Study.

EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

The MFA program offers exciting opportunities for students wishing to

participate in exchange programs with other universities or art institutions.

Past exchanges include the Glasgow School of Art (Scotland), California

State University (San Francisco,USA), Bauhaus University (Weimar, Germany),

University of Gothenburg (Sweden), University of New South Wales (Sydney,

Australia), Université d’Aix-Marseille (Provence, France), Université de Paris 8

(St-Denis, France), Bezalel Academy of Art and Design (Jerusalem, Israel), and

Zurich School of Fine Arts, ZHDK (Switzerland).

ESTHER CHOI

NINA KATCHADOURIAN / KIMSOOJA / RYSZARD W. KLUSZCZYNSKI / JACQUES LEDUC / GUY MADDIN / BRUCE MCCLURE / PETER METTLER / ANTONIO MUNTADAS / MARIELE NEUDECKER / ALISON NORLEN / MARTIN PARR / ED PIEN / J. LEIGHTON PIERCE / WILLIAM POPE L. / GENESIS P-ORRIDGE / WILLEM DE ROOIJ / PATRICIA ROZEMA / JAYCE SALLOUM / CAROLEE SCHNEEMANN / ANDRES SERRANO / TOM SHERMAN / STEPHEN SHORE / LISA STEELE AND KIM TOMCZYK / JANA STERBAK / ALEC SOTH / ASTRIA SUPARAK / ANDRÉ TURPIN / JULIE VOYCE / JEFF WALL / DAVID WILSON / ETIENNE ZACK

VISITING ARTIST PROGRAM

The Studio Arts visiting artist lecture series annually invites internationally

acclaimed artists, theorists and curators who reflect the diversity of issues and

approaches debated in our program. Past visiting artists include:

REBECCA BELMORE / LOUISE BOURQUE / STAN BRAKHAGE / JANET CARDIFF AND GEORGE BURES MILLER / CHRISTO AND JEAN CLAUDE / LYNNE COHEN / PIERRE DORION / R. BRUCE ELDER / ROBERT ENRIGHT / FASTWÜRMS / COCO FUSCO / RODNEY GRAHAM / ANDREA GROVER / LEON GOLUB / SUNIL GUPTA / ANN HAMILTON / MONA HATOUM / RAFAEL LOZANO HEMMER / GREG HILL / DAVID HUMPHREY / THEO JANSEN / ISAAC JULIEN /

GALLERIES

Concordia has multiple exhibition sites including the FOFA (Faculty of Fine

Arts) Gallery, MFA Gallery, Sub Gallery and the Leonard & Bina Ellen Gallery,

which showcase graduate student work in juried exhibitions. Each year our

students participate in an array of professional exhibitions in local galleries, art

museums and research centres.

Montreal’s vibrant artistic scene informs and inspires student work. The

downtown campus is surrounded by galleries including the Montreal Museum

of Contemporary Art, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, DHC Contemporary

Art, McCord Museum, Parisian Laundry, Arsenal Contemporary Art, Artexte,

Cinémathèque québécoise, Canadian Centre for Architecture, ExCENTRIS,

Segal Centre for the Performing Arts, Darling Foundry and the largest network

of artist-run centres in Canada (RCAAQ).

OPEN STUDIOS

The annual Open Studios event fosters connections with the larger Montreal

arts community. Each fall graduate students open their studios to the

public, attracting critical attention from curators, gallery directors and local

professional artists.

JIM HOLYOAK

CONCORDIA

Located in the heart of the vibrant, cosmopolitan city of

Montreal, Concordia is one of Canada’s most innovative

and diverse comprehensive universities.

Our openness to the world and to new ideas attracts

more than 6,000 graduate students and postdoctoral

fellows from over 150 countries, enhancing our

reputation as an international hub for learning, research

and social responsibility.

The creative and intellectual culture at Concordia’s

Faculty of Fine Arts provides an inspiring setting for an

unparalleled range of art production and study including

visual arts, performance, cinema, design and digital

arts. Concordia alumni and faculty regularly receive top

honours and awards for their outstanding contributions to

the international visual arts landscape.

MONTREAL

Montreal is renowned for its thriving nightlife, culinary

pleasures, eclectic music scene, groundbreaking dance,

extravagant circus spectacles and unrivaled festival

culture.

As the second largest French-language speaking city in

the world after Paris, it is the epicentre of cutting-edge

arts and culture and home to world-class museums,

galleries and collections.

The student populations of Montreal’s six centrally

located universities make it a flourishing centre for

education and instil a youthful rhythm to its urban beat.

More than 3.6 million people are passionate about living

in this multi-lingual, cosmopolitan city where French,

English and a mosaic of ethnic communities thrive side-

by-side.

The island city has a unique mix of old world European

charm and North American sophistication that make it

incredibly seductive, astonishingly affordable, safe and

endlessly intriguing.

ELISABETH PICARD

FIBRES

ELIZABETH PICARD

SUZEN GREEN

FIBRES

The Fibres concentration provides a dynamic environment for the

development of contemporary art practice in which studio production is

central. A range of traditional and innovative approaches are supported

including the creation of objects, installation, performance and new media

work. Extended practices may include writing, curating and collaborative

projects. Each year the program addresses a broad range of issues tailored

to student interests and may include gender and identity, textiles and digital

technologies, and cloth as a site of political action. You will develop your

own process of artistic expression and contribute to the expanded field of

contemporary textile arts.

FACILITIES

• brightly lit, well-ventilated, individual studio spaces

• fibres structures studio with weaving and knitting equipment

• printing and dyeing studio with ventilated wax room

• darkroom facilities

• paper-making studio

• computer lab with custom textile software

• industrial and electronic sewing machines

• digital knitting machine

• AVL Dobby loom – 24 harness

• 2 Mimaki textile printers for printing on cotton, silk and synthetic fabrics

• digital Jacquard Loom

• digital embroidery machine

SUZEN GREEN

FILM PRODUCTION

ALEXANDRE LAROSE

GINA HARASZTI

FILM PRODUCTION

The Film Production concentration promotes an expanded notion of cinema.

Emphasizing innovation and experimentation, the program facilitates all

formats of image support, including animation, film and digital-based media,

and examines various forms of exhibition from traditional single-channel

projection to installation. You will be encouraged to explore the diverse

theoretical frameworks, processes and methodologies of contemporary

moving image practices. This program is ideal for media-makers committed to

an independent studio art practice.

FACILITIES

• sync and non-sync 16mm and 35mm film cameras

• professional lighting kits and grip packages

• Oxberry optical printer and animation stand

• comprehensive online post-production facilities

• digital recording and mixing in a Protools environment

• analogue editing facilities

• animation lab for digital projects

• graduate film production office

• 10.4 surround sound studio

• professional HD video cameras and accessories

• black box studios

STEVE BATES

OPEN MEDIAOPEN MEDIA

OPEN MEDIA

The concentration in Open Media is grounded historically and intellectually

in a tradition of art production that is hybrid in character and encourages

an interdisciplinary atmosphere of study. The program provides a venue

for diverse practices including performance art, installation, robotics, video,

programmation, sound and electronics. Integrating critical theoretic and

production practices from the humanities, sciences and creative arts, this

concentration allows you to engage with community based networks,

formalized and objectivist productions, gender, queer, trans-gender and

postcolonial theoretics and performative, sociopolitical interventions.

FACILITIES

• brightly lit, well-ventilated, individual studio spaces

• project rooms and labs

• video and sound editing suites

• equipment and video depot

• post-production facilities

• eletronics and robotics labs

PAINTING AND DRAWING

MATT SHANE

JEANIE RIDDLE

PAINTING AND DRAWING

The Painting and Drawing concentrations embrace a broad scope of

practices and reflect the diversity of approaches operating within the fields

today. Building upon the extensive histories of the disciplines, the program

emphasizes the continuing relevance and innovative potential of painting

and drawing in the context of contemporary culture and new media. You

will engage in exploring all aspects of the disciplines including traditional

oil and acrylic on canvas and wet and dry media on paper, as well as

extended practices, process-oriented material explorations, installation-

based approaches, conceptual approaches and new modes of figuration

and abstraction. Emphasis is placed on artistic experimentation as part of the

search to locate individual practice within a larger artistic context.

FACILITIES

• brightly lit, well-ventilated, individual studio spaces

• stretcher-building room

• wood and metal shops

• solvent dispensers

• spray booth

• computer labs

• project rooms

JEANIE RIDDLE

PHOTOGRAPHY

JACYNTHE CARRIER

PHOTOGRAPHY

The Photography concentration provides an opportunity to develop an

advanced body of professional work that reflects the shifting formal and

conceptual concerns of contemporary photographic practices. The program

acknowledges photography as a traditional discipline with a distinct

artistic, technical and historical identity, and encourages you to integrate

this knowledge with current practices in unique ways that extend to digital

photography, time-based work, projection and installation. You will benefit

from proximity to esteemed Montreal institutions and artist-run centres such as

Occurrence, Vox and the biannual Le Mois de la Photo, a major international

photography event.

FACILITIES

• brightly lit, well-ventilated, shared studio spaces

• digital lab

• drum scanner, two Imacon scanners, negative and flatbed scanners

• 44” inkjet printers and other smaller printers

• color darkroom equipped with 20 color enlargers

• 30” and 40” color processors and print viewing areas

• mural print darkroom and finishing area

• two black and white darkrooms

• large and medium format film cameras

• medium format digital camera

• professional flash and lighting equipment and accessories

JINYOUNG KIM

PRINT MEDIA

PRINT MEDIA

The Print Media concentration provides a multidisciplinary environment for

the investigation of contemporary print practices. The program supports

photo-digital and print-based processes in intaglio, lithography, screenprint,

digital print and book arts, as well as an expanding range of new media

practices including computer graphics, internet art, e-publishing, animation

and installation. You will be encouraged to master professional print skills and

examine the aesthetics and theory of print practice. Recent thematic topics

include narrative, hypertext, databases, networks and cultural aesthetics. The

concentration maintains associations with professional collectives including

Atelier Circulaire, ARPRIM and GRAFF and provides an opportunity to work

with invited master printers.

FACILITIES

• brightly lit, well-ventilated, shared studio spaces

• lithography studio equipped with five presses

• two Vandercook typography presses

• developing unit for photopositive and polymer plates

• intaglio studio equipped with four large presses

• ferric chloride etching system

• screenprint studio equipped to print both acrylic and UV ink

• digital lab with large format printers and a flatbed scanner

• two graphic arts darkrooms

LUKE PAINTERLUKE PAINTER

MACARENA RUIZ-TAGLE

SCULPTURE AND CERAMICS

MACARENA RUIZ-TAGLE

SCULPTURE AND CERAMICS

The concentration in Sculpture and Ceramics is committed to the

development of spatial, material and immaterial practice in the context

of contemporary art issues and ideas. This integrated and challenging

program acknowledges individual, traditional, discipline-based work and

histories while recognizing the potential for interdisciplinary production

that includes collaboration, installation, performance, autonomous objects,

readymades, new media and kinetics. The explosion of three dimensional

works and situations in current art practices presents a staggering list of

possible materials, methods and means which activate unlimited contexts for

presentation.

FACILITIES

• brightly lit, well-ventilated, individual studio spaces

• fully equipped individual studio spaces

• common assembly spaces

• wood and metal shops

• mould-making area

• model shop with rapid prototyping and 3D scanning

• spacious facilities for presentation of work in progress

• ceramics studios with kilns and glazing rooms

* Please note that only Sculpture MFA applications are currently being accepted.

Ceramics MFA applications will be accepted beginning 2013.

MICHAEL DOERKSEN

DAVID SPRIGGS

LYNN HUGHES

DANICA JOJICH

RICHARD KERR

CHERYL KOLAK DUDEK

LOUISE LAMARRE

JEAN-PIERRE LAROCQUE

BARBARA LAYNE

ERIN MANNING

LUANNE MARTINEAU

FRANÇOIS MORELLI

MARIELLE NITOSLAWSKA

LEOPOLD PLOTEK

MARISA PORTOLESE

ÉRIC SIMON

LEILA SUJIR

KELLY THOMPSON

PATRICK TRAER

JANET WERNER

FACULTY

ERIKA ADAMS

GISELE AMANTEA

RAYMONDE APRIL

INGRID BACHMANN

SHAWN BAILEY

YVES BILODEAU (BILL VORN)

ELEANOR BOND

JEAN-CLAUDE BUSTROS

GENEVIÈVE CADIEUX

TIM CLARK

DANIEL CROSS

ROY CROSS

GUYLAINE DIONNE

ANDREW DUTKEWYCH

DAVID ELLIOTT

EVERGON

JUDY GARFIN

TREVOR GOULD

ELIZA GRIFFITHS

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Students may be eligible for the following funding opportunities. Visit

the Graduate Studies Award Directory for a complete list of awards and

application deadlines.

Armand C. Archambault Graduate Fellowship

Bourses d’études Hydro-Québec

Brucebo Fine Art Foundation Scholarships

Concordia University Graduate Fellowships

The Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art

Dale and Nick Tedeschi Studio Arts Fellowships

Dick and Gretchen Evans Fellowship for Photography

Dora and Avi Morrow Fellowship for Excellent Achievement in Visual Arts

Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la societé et culture (FQRSC)

France and André Desmarais Graduate Fellowship

Glay Sperling Scholarship

Government of Quebec International Tuition Fee Remissions

Graduate Studio Art Advisory Committee (GSAAC)

Incoming Student Award

Harriet and Abe Gold Entrance Bursaries

Hexagram: Studio and Research Assistantships

International Student Tuition Fee Remission Awards

J.W. McConnell Memorial Graduate Fellowships

Melville Memorial Scholarship

Mildred and Margot Lande Scholarship

Mills Purchase Prize for the Fine Arts

Power Corporation of Canada Graduate Fellowship

Roloff Beny Foundation Fellowship in Photography

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Teaching and Technical Assistantships

graduatestudies.concordia.ca/awards

MASKULL LASERRE

CORE FACILITIES

Students have 24 hour access to all private and shared

studio spaces. A wide range of facilities and equipment is available

for traditional studio as well as digital and media based production. In

addition, students can use core technical fine arts facilities, technical support

and services, which include metal shops, wood shops, a maquette lab, a rapid

prototyping lab, and all Hexagram infrastructure.

HEXAGRAM

Hexagram Institute for Research-Creation in Media Arts and Technologies is

the largest arts and design based new media lab in Canada and is recognized

internationally as the Canadian centre for interdisciplinary research in new

media art, design and interactive technologies.

Graduate students can access Hexagram labs and equipment for production

and post-production in photography, sound and video, textile weaving and

printing, three-dimensional scanning, printing and machining. Hexagram also

offers various multi-use spaces, ranging from small project rooms to a two-

story black box with grid available on a short-term basis for research activities.

More than 80 researchers are currently members of Hexagram and over 400

graduate students have used the resources in their research projects.

CREDITS

Cover: DIL HILDEBRAND, Descending, 2007.

Courtesy Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain.

CHIH-CHIEN WANG, Newspaper Wrap, 2004. Courtesy Pierre-François Ouellette Art

Contemporain / MARTIN VERREAULT, Untitled (flowers), 2010 / ERIN GEE, Orpheux Larynx, 2011.

Performed at the University of Western Sydney as part of MARCS Robot Week at the invitation

of Stelarc. Photo: Erin Cvejic. This research project was supported by the Social Sciences

and Humanities Research Council of Canada and MARCS Auditory Labs at the University of

Western Sydney. The Thinking Head project is funded by the Australian Research Council and

the National Health and Medical Research Council. / JIM HOLYOAK, Holocene, 2011. Photo:

Guy L’Heureux / Montreal image © Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Jean-François

Leblanc / ELISABETH PICARD, Flot, 2011. Detail. Photo: Michel Dubreuil / SUZEN GREEN, Some

Good That Did, 2011 / ALEXANDRE LAROSE, La Ronde, 2008 / GINA HARASZTI, Film still, Rei,

2012 / STEVE BATES, Beacons, 2010. Photo: Guy L’Heureux / MATT SHANE, Cast Away, 2010.

Photo: Rachel Granofsky / JEANIE RIDDLE, California, 2009. Detail. Photo: Guy L’Heureux /

JACYNTHE CARRIER, Commémore, 2011 / JINYOUNG KIM, Fall, 2010 / LUKE PAINTER, Victorian

Bust, 2007. Courtesy of Le Gallery / MACARENA RUIZ-TAGLE, Blind House, 2010 / MICHAEL

DOERKSEN, Arrangement in White, 2011 / DAVID SPRIGGS, Vision, 2010. Detail. Courtesy of Art

Mûr Gallery / MASKULL LASSERRE, Secret Carpentry, 2011. Courtesy of Pierre-François Ouellette

Art Contemporain / Images of Concordia by David Romero.

Publication Design: Adam Simms

Text and Image Editing: Gwynne Fulton, Sabrina Russo, Ann Tanner-McDonald,

Marisa Portelese and Patrick Traer

CONTACT INFO

514-848-2424 ext. 4607mfa@alcor.concordia.ca

For full details on application procedures and admission

requirements, visit:

studio-arts.concordia.ca/mfa

Information is accurate at the time of printing, 2011.

Printed in Canada.