This MFA Program, headed by Suzanne Lacy, is the only educational program in the Southern California region dedicated exclusively to providing artists with advanced skills to work in the public sphere.

Graduate Public Practice, taught by a team of nationally and internationally prominent curators and artists, prepares students in visual arts-based practices based in collaboration, context, and contributions to the public good. The emphasis on field-based learning, opportunities to intern, and a professional practice curriculum that examines teaching methods produces graduates who are highly creative problem solvers in their communities. Connections are vital among students, among students and professionals, and between Los Angeles and international art scenes. Students explore cultures as diverse as a small farming town in the San Joaquin Valley or hurricane-ravaged New Orleans.

This year, students did fieldwork in the Camino Verde neighborhood of Tijuana, Mexico, where they collaborated with artists, researchers, community leaders and organizations. The semester-long research project was led by faculty member Bill Kelley Jr., along with cognate collective (San Diego, California) in collaboration with Polen Audio-Visual (Tijuana, Mexico).

Faculty: Andrea Bowers, Sara Daleiden, Sandra de la Loza, Dana Duff, Kate Johnson, Bill Kelley Jr., Consuelo Velasco Montoya, Julio Morales Karen Moss, Renee Petropoulos, and S.A. Bachman.

Recent visitors: Kim Abeles, Judy Baca, Dan Cameron, Mel Chin, Karla Diaz, Sam Durant, Pablo Helguera, Grant Kester, Lucy Lippard, Rick Lowe, Mary Miss, Sally Tallant and Stephen Wright.

Applications currently being accepted for fall 2014
otis.edu/admissions/graduate_admissions

otis.edu/gpp