Alternative Art Schools Across North America Challenge Traditional Education Models
A recent examination of non-traditional art education initiatives across North America reveals a variety of methodologies. In the 1970s, John Baldessari nurtured a dynamic atmosphere at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). The Rhode Island School of Design produced prominent artists during the 1990s and 2000s. The Massachusetts College of Art and Design stands out as the only public art college in the U.S. In Mexico, La Esmeralda and the National Autonomous University operate alongside soma, which was established in 2009. Key institutions include Guatemala's National School of Plastic Arts and Cuba's Escuelas Nacionales de Arte. Puerto Rico's Beta-Local ran La Práctica until 2019, while Texas Tech launched Land Arts of the American West in 2008. Materia Abierta transitioned online in 2021 after its founding in 2019, and the School of the Alternative (SOTA), created in 2016, resumed in 2022. Additional projects include Dark Study and the Ellipsis residency.
Key facts
- CalArts in the 1970s was described as chaotic by John Baldessari.
- Rhode Island School of Design had a renaissance in the 1990s/2000s with students including Kara Walker and Do-Ho Suh.
- MassArt is the only public art and design college in the US.
- La Esmeralda in Mexico had tutors Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
- Land Arts of the American West at Texas Tech University began in 2008.
- Materia Abierta in Mexico City was founded in 2019 by Federico Pérez Villoro.
- School of the Alternative in Black Mountain, NC, was founded in 2016.
- La Práctica in San Juan, Puerto Rico, ran until 2019.
Entities
Artists
- John Baldessari
- Hans Haacke
- Jonas Mekas
- Kara Walker
- Do-Ho Suh
- Laura Owens
- Ryan Trecartin
- Jack Pierson
- Christian Marclay
- Rashid Rana
- Diego Rivera
- Frida Kahlo
- Ricardo Porro
- Fred Moten
- Stefano Harney
- Bill Gilbert
- Chris Taylor
- Lucy Lippard
- Joan Jonas
- Federico Pérez Villoro
- Natalia Zuluaga
- Xul Solar
- Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil
- Reza Negarestani
- Mônica Hoff
- Sara Garzón
- Pedro Neves Marques
- Chakanetsa Mavhunga
- Black Quantum Futurism
- Heidi Gruner
Institutions
- California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
- Cooper Union
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)
- Dark Study
- La Esmeralda
- Faculty of Art Design
- Institute of Aesthetic Research
- National Autonomous University of Mexico
- soma
- National School of Plastic Arts
- Escuelas Nacionales de Arte
- Beta-Local
- Land Arts of the American West
- Texas Tech University
- University of New Mexico
- College of Architecture
- Center for Land Use Interpretation
- Materia Abierta
- Terremoto
- School of the Alternative (SOTA)
- Black Mountain College
- Ellipsis residency
- ArtReview
Locations
- Los Angeles
- USA
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Massachusetts
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Buenos Aires
- Argentina
- Guatemala
- Cuba
- San Juan
- Puerto Rico
- Lubbock
- Texas
- Florida
- Black Mountain
- North Carolina
- Portugal