Wednesday April 10 2013 is the first project meeting for the 5-week unit of the Siena Art Institute’s Art & Society class with visiting instructor Bernardo Giorgi, introducing a 5-week project exploring walking and mapping as means of artistic creation.  This blog serves as the documentation of the project as it progresses, with each student controlling their own project page.

The 13 students in the course come from the US, Macedonia, Albania, S.Korea, India, and Montenegro.

The Art and Society course is part of the core semester program of the Siena Art Institute.  The goal of the class is to support students’ ongoing portfolio development, and to encourage students to employ their artistic practices in a holistic exploration of the intersection of art and civic life, and the roles art can play in a society. Course activities include discussions of assigned readings, viewing films, hands-on projects in a variety of disciplines, visits to galleries, museums, and other locations in the local area, presentations from guest artists and creative professionals, community collaborations, and assignments encouraging students to create art for public contexts (both individually and collaboratively). There is also an organized calendar of group critiques and individual advising sessions, to ensure that students are receiving constructive feedback about their developing portfolio of work. This course encourages students to think seriously about their roles as artists, and to break out of the “comfort zone” of their existing studio practices.

For more info on the Siena Art Institute, visit www.sienaart.org