Traveling seminar for curators of contemporary prints

The Brodsky Center at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), Philadelphia, announces a traveling seminar designed to deepen the understanding of techniques in the print discipline employed by contemporary artists. 

The seminar will be held from April 6 to 10, 2020.

Ten national and two international curators will be selected to travel to organizations in Philadelphia and New York that support the creation, collection, and interpretation of contemporary artworks in the print medium, including the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts, New York Public Library, Museum of Modern Art, Two Palms, and Prints of Darkness, among others, and attend demonstrations and lectures in printmaking, and caring for, exhibiting, conserving, and publishing prints. 

Criteria
Funded through a grant to PAFA from the Getty Foundation through The Paper Project initiative focused on training and professional development for early- to mid-career curators of prints and drawings, the seminar covers all travel, lodging, meals, entrance fees, and session expenses.

Selected participants will be early-career curators with a demonstrated research interest in contemporary graphic arts, including curators who are working with prints in exhibitions and collections and desire to deepen their technical knowledge, and curators of drawings who are learning about prints.

Curators will be expected to arrive in Philadelphia by April 5, attend the seminar over the five-day period between April 6 and 10, and depart on April 11.  A schedule of activities will be sent upon acceptance.

The seminar will promote dialogue around the most promising trends and ideas being developed by contemporary artists, print workshops, and art curators in the field of prints and paper, in the hope of enhancing the impact of the print medium through future exhibitions, acquisitions, and educational initiatives.

Application
Under “Traveling Seminar” heading, email application in PDF format (not to exceed 5MB) to the Coordinator of the Traveling Seminar at jwaddell [​at​] pafa.org, including: 

(1) Letter of interest detailing applicant’s training in the history and techniques of prints and works on paper since 1960; three past and two upcoming exhibition projects, collection acquisitions, and/or publications in prints; and goals in attending seminar (2 pages, maximum).

(2) Updated CV.

(3–5) Three letters of support, one of which must be from applicant’s museum director and/or department head.

About PAFA
Founded in 1805, PAFA is America’s first school and museum of fine arts. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, PAFA offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the fine arts, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and a world-class collection of American art. PAFA’s alumni include Mary Cassatt, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Thomas Eakins, Barkley L. Hendricks, Violet Oakley, Louis Kahn, David Lynch, and Henry Ossawa Tanner.  The Brodsky Center provides professional opportunities for PAFA students in the process of making, editioning, marketing, and selling artists’ prints. Since 1986, the Center has completed over 300 editions with emerging and established artists, including Melvin Edwards, Chitra Ganesh, Joan Semmel, and Richard Tuttle.

*Image above: Artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase (center) with Brodsky Center at PAFA Master Printer Peter Haarz (right) and PAFA Educator Stephen Coleman (left) editing the artist’s new edition in The Julie Jensen Bryan and Robert Bryan Printmaking Studio, Philadelphia, May 2019.