Exhibition history, does it matter for those just out of college?

[evd]

How heavily do grad school admissions committees take exhibition history into account? I'm in a situation in which I really haven't had many aside from a solo show coming up in september and a couple group shows.

 

I have a friend who got his MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute who hadn't had any exhibitions prior to grad school, and he said it didn't matter. I just want to get other people's perspectives on the matter.

[manohman]

ooooooooohh! yes yes! i wanted to know that too.

[aschelp]

it doesnt matter unless you have something really impressive. then it will help.

[jaybird]

I took a year off and then got in to Hunter and a couple other programs that I applied to without any real exhibition experience outside of school related shows in undergrad. At the end of the day it's your work that matters. I was never asked any questions about my exhibition history, and most applications don't require resumes but allow you to include them as supplementary material (which they probably don't even have time or interest to look at). First and foremost they are going to look at your portfolio and statement, and the most competitive programs will require interviews. Often times an artist's ability to exhibit is not a relevant reflection of their intelligence or capabilities. They want students who devote their time to making and critically assessing their work in an effort to grow as artists and thinkers.

 

The graduate admissions committee understands that exhibiting isn't a major focus for undergrads while they are in school, and really shouldn't be. That being said, if an applicant has been out of undergrad for several years and hasn't made any recognizable effort to show their work and engage in critical artistic dialogue outside of their studio, it's probably not going to reflect well upon them because it may appear as if they haven't taken their career seriously, and graduate school is specifically for those who have made the decision to devote their lives to a career in the fine arts. If you're right out of undergrad and have no exhibition resume, you're fine. 

[lady rainicorn]

Exhibition history isn't important, or at least with my experience with the whole admissions process, it wasn't important to the schools I applied to. I have been out of undergrad for 7 years now and got into mfa programs this past application season, but I would say that my art resume isn't terribly impressive. However, depending on the program, I think a rich personal history is more important, or at least beneficial when presenting a story of yourself/your intellectual interests/motivations for making art to the admissions committee.

 

In the end, a person with solid work and no exhibition record vs a person with mediocre work and a long exhibition record, the person with the better work will have a much higher chance of getting in. All of the conversations I had with faculty during this process were focused around the work, and never about my past showing record.

 

Good luck to everyone applying for 2014!