COVID-19 Whats Now?

[Artistinquarantine]

How is your program dealing with the COVID-19? 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by iris@irisrichardson.com

[Artistinquarantine]

My MFA studio art program is in Florence Italy. The program send the undergrads home due to pressure form their home universities and parents. The MFA students had been told we would continue having access to our studios. However, only a week later we where informed that the school would be closing and we would loose access to our studios. If it had not been for the students talking to each other, we would have had only two hours to get out supplies. We first where still able to get together and have dinners together. Then all Italy went into lockdown which isolated us from our fellow students. Through all this time students where expected to create work like nothing had happened and things are normal.  We would get deadline reminders with no extensions helping us manage our current situations. As a unit we reached out to the administration and advocated for the MFA students. I was in lockdown for 3 weeks in Italy before I was forced to return to the USA due to travel advisory. I have been in self quarantine for 11 days our of the 14 days.  Our last semester is continuing online. As students we have to be our own advocates now and ensure that on top of the work which we are required to do we are not receiving needless busywork to make a stressful time worth. Our program will be concluding end of April. All official graduation plans have been canceled. The MFA group show now is turned into a larger show catalog. I know the institutions experience as much of a transition as we do as students. But grad students should not become the scarifying lambs. I am sure looking back we will see what works and what did not. Lets document our experience.