MFA Now 2013 Slide Slam February 20, 2013

Root Division presents the MFA Now 2013 Slide Slam, featuring presentations by 12 current MFA candidates in seven Bay Area programs.

MFA Now began in 2012 in efforts to create dialogue and community between the Bay Area schools that are listed in a US News and World Report survey from 2012, as part of the top one hundred MFA Programs in Visual Arts in the country: California College of the Arts, Mills College, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley. This year’s presentation includes a comprehensive archive catalogue, juried exhibition, and slide slam.

The MFA Now 2013 Archive, is an inclusionary publication of all eligible MFA candidates with a full page dedicated to each contributing MFA candidate and a compilation of essays by Juror, Brian Karl, faculty from each MFA program, and Root Division staff. Designed by the Gold Collective, this printed archive will serve to navigate the contemporary moment in Bay Area MFA programs and find connections between the artists and institutions.

Juror, Brian Karl, Program Director of Headlands Center for the Arts, selected twenty-six works from the submitted archive materials to be shown in Root Division's gallery for the month of February. This Second Saturday event serves as an exhibition opening and release party for the archive project. Copies of the archive publication will be for sale at the exhibition opening, slide slam, or during business hours for $20.

The Slide Slam offers another opportunity for professional development in which emerging artists gain exposure and meet and interact with audiences. It also allows for the community to gain further insight into the work of up and coming local artists.