Scholarship in Favour of Ms Olimpia Ferrari at the International Center of Photography, New York
Project location: United States, New York
Project start date: August 2009 -
Project end date: August 2011
Project number: 2009-16
Beneficiary: International Center of Photography
Founded in 1974, the International Center of photography continues to be New York City's only museum dedicated exclusively to photography. Troughout his thirty-year history, ICP has presented more than 500 exhibitions, showcasing the work of some 2.500 photographers and other artists.
ICP has long recognized education as an area of special emphasis and unique opportunity. The School at ICP is on of the world's most extensive and best-equipped schools of photography. ICP creates programs of the highest quality to advance knowledge of the medium. These include exhibitions, collections, and education for the general public, members, students, and professionals in the field of photography.
Drawing from the creative community of New York City, ICP's graduate students go on contributing to the field as artists, photojournalists, teachers and other professional working in galleries, museums, schools and photography agencies.
The ICP-Bard Program in Advanced Photographic Studies, a two-year graduate program leading to a master of fine arts degree, integrates the practice, history, and critical study of photography with an emphasis on both academic study and field experience.
With faculty from ICP-Bard, the program offers students guidance from some of the best professionals at work today, as well as connections to accomplished artist in the field. Students also have rare behind the scenes access to the Museum, which houses one of the most important archives pf photograph in the worlds. In the School, students are provided with state of the art technical resources to foster their photographic explorations.
The 60 credits required for the master of fine arts degree cover the production of a final exhibition of original artwork and cumulative written document, as well as the completion of class assignments and internships.
At the center of the program is an exploration of the ways in which the photograph operates in society and the ways in which students' own practice works for them.
The ICP-Bard approach emphasizes creative vision and an openness to examining the many iterations of the image from photography to digital imaging, installation, and video. By considering how photographs are created, presented, discussed, used, and documented, students gain an intimate knowledge of the entire life cycle of the image.
The graduate seminars blend in-depth study, intensive discussions, and individual work. Students also gain an understanding of the role of art historians through working with ICP's curatorial team and extensive archives; they learn how exhibitions are curated, archives are maintained, and research is conducted. In master classes and internships, students learn firsthand from contemporary artists about the practical conditions of art making and innovative approaches to photographic practice. With its strong emphasis on writing, the program encourages students to articulate the relationship between their practice and that of other artists. Students challenge their ideas and test new approaches to image making, synthesizing the program's varied experiences and defining their own way of working.
Throughout the program, students receive individualized attention and support from a distinguished and dedicated core faculty, as well as noted visiting artists who conduct master classes and mentors with whom students intern. Because the visiting faculty consists of practicing artists, scholars, critics, and historians who have other professional commitments, participants vary from year to year.
