SocialKonstruct

Possibly that could work but considering that last year was a crazy year with COVID-19, I would not rely too heavily on historical data which is anecdotal from previous threads here tbh. Schools changed funding on a dime in 2020.

Sadly enough, the two folks I don't know personally so I wouldn't have any hard stats (that's private) but I gather implicitly that VCU is very helpful. In fact, one of the folks is attending the MFA in painting and she is pretty happy about it.

We had two folks from the Utah area who went or are going to VCU and they tend to be rather generous with financial aid from what I gather :).

Yes and no. Most of that decision falls on the individual on whether the person will want to remain with the community associated with the MFA program or move elsewhere. But every artist has a different plan so one cannot generalize the future for each person here.

I believe that your MFA is key to where you want to lay down your roots for connections and post-graduate opportunities. If you want to be in NYC afterwards, SVA is probably best. Same for Chicago and SAIC.

Also there is the Los Angeles art scene too. (That's the other realm of Artforum reviews.) I agree with you here that the community engaged artist is important for sure but putting it as the primary source of how the contemporary art world function overlooks the fact that it's very complex. NYC isn't just top tier galleries. There are mid-tier galleries where folks are successful. And there are many ways to do your own type of thing. One good example was Momenta Art which did an exceptional job promoting very difficult art and right now Postmasters is very cutting-edge here. I agree that other cities are very nice alternatives as well but statistics have shown that in general the bulk of artists are still centered in NYC and LA and Chicago where the markets lie.

Indeed making random blanket statements about a city which is as huge as NYC is definitely bad advice. As a dude born in Brooklyn and involved in their scene (and I had two artist friends just move to NYC without any issues), I think if you can play it smart there without incurring a huge cost. SVA is a for-profit university and so is SAIC. In fact every MFA program is a for-profit place so I don't think SVA can be singled out. That's the nature of America?!?

Not sure what part of Brooklyn that would be apart from Williamsburg which is pricey. Bushwick and other parts of Brooklyn are quite reasonable if you know where to look. Plus NYC has the heavyweight galleries (Chicago tends to be more experimental and raw) as well if you want to engage with that scene. I am part of the Paradice Palase group in Brooklyn and their studio prices are very very reasonable. https://www.paradicepalase.com/join Not everything in NYC is pay to play until you are bribing the local government for a bar permit ?

I think 3 is rather too small and for critiques I honestly would not feel like I would be getting much or enough feedback.

In my art practice, I avoid all partying and smoking and pets... so doing well here :)... I keep a strict regimen of work and focus on my studio hours. I don't mind the time I get to hang out and help others too

I looked at everything but mostly I also used New American Paintings as a key component too. I think the low res SAIC was very nice but they were super small and sadly enough I didn't see anyone there atm whose work fit into the agenda of the gallery which I co-run. I don't have any pickiness at all with media in terms of what I am looking for. Right now our gallery is looking mostly for trans and Muslim artists, particularly we want to fill out our roster with very conceptual art (we have tons of painters atm) and new media works (internet and computer and video art mostly).

Yes... Jonathan Lyndon Chase is at a kickass but relatively smaller gallery- https://companygallery.us/artists/jonathan-lyndon-chase/ Alex Da Corte is here at a huge blue chip gallery- https://matthewmarks.com/artists/alex-da-corte Indeed, it doesn't paint the whole picture but still there is a huge difference between Company and Matthew Marks in terms of market and audience. Plus Da Corte has a few (I think) monographs out about his work.

I agree with that too. As a part-time gallerist and co-curator I know that I will be upfront when I say that I look at the MFA programs I select to represent because I don't have endless time to look at portfolios for every single MFA program. And yes, I did examine the SAIC graduates very closely.

I actually don't agree with that assessment. Getting a MFA cheaply is not bad but often, one can say that many MFA programs seem to be cake decoration. But then again it's like gambling. If you are confident that you can go to huge places in the contemporary art world then don't go cheap with the MFA (you could do more than one but...).

I suspect that he felt that going to SAIC would have opened up more doors of opportunity in the art world than MCAD would have?

I think much of it hinges on whether you want to enter into the contemporary art gallery system more easily. Gallerists (who often are not artists themselves) will see SAIC and are going to be partial to that.

I would vote heavily in favor of SAIC. But that's just me.

I actually think SVA studios have gotten a lot better since then. I have done their online residencies last summer and this winter.

It's hard to say... is there a final deadline for you to reply back to SVA? I would wait until SAIC drops their financial package tbh

I actually loved New Haven quite a bit. I enjoyed it better than Philadelphia. For me, I lived on Foster Street back in 2000-2001 and had no issues there.

Or could go to Rutgers and have your whole MFA paid for. And make it big like Matthew Day Jackson

Yes but hate crimes can be broadly extended to crimes even between Asian-Americans. Racism happens in my Taiwanese culture such as my mom's dislike of Koreans etc. Or the tension between Japanese-Chinese. Even a love triangle can be motivated by hate too.

A lot of folks tend to work 2-3 jobs after graduating with their MFA, usually adjunct professor jobs. In fact, I know of 3-4 folks who are in a few top galleries who are still paying off their debt after 15-20 years after the fact.

Also on a side note, I think that the MFA application process tends to be a huge me-me-me solipsistic activity. For me, being an artist has always been about finding your tribe (as universal as it gets) and helping others. One good outlet is at: https://www.paradicepalase.com/join which I found to be very awesome. And they are very helpful. In fact, they are doing a feature on me next month- https://www.paradicepalase.com/shows-and-programs-calendar/2021/3/16/316-virtual-visit-with-albert-abdul-barr-wang People think that the MFA program is just about their own portfolio but there is a myriad of factors. Being involved in the arts community is very important whether it's local or international. Granted they may not look at that but during the interview they will weigh in on that. The myth of the lone genius Van Gogh moody artist is just that... a myth.

Plus whatever happened at USC was 5 years old. In the art world that's a long time ago. Roski did everything to improve afterwards. And they have a very admirable program right now. SDS, such wonderful work. Wow. I am part of two artist collectives So I value group work.