Fleming College

Designed for working artists and recent graduates, this advanced, independent studio program will challenge you artistically and intellectually, and will help you reinvigorate your work.

Offered in the summer, you have the option to work from your home studio or you can relocate to the art studio at the Haliburton campus for the months of May to August. You will be fully-supported and mentored by professional artists in the location that best suits your needs. In addition to studio work, there are class sessions held at the campus, and online course work. Since this program is not medium-specific, you can choose to work with any material conducive to a shared studio space if you are planning to be based at the campus studio.

The program also includes visits to Toronto galleries and studios, providing a first-hand look at the relationship between theory and studio practice. You will also build your artist document writing skills, grant and proposal writing abilities, and learn to prepare for exhibits.

During this four-month program, you will develop and complete one or more considered bodies of work, gain critical and evaluative skills, and further insight into your art career goals.

This program is delivered at Fleming College's Haliburton Campus, located in central Ontario's spectacular Haliburton Highlands region. The campus is home to the Haliburton School of Art + Design which has a longstanding reputation for outstanding arts programming. Haliburton is a welcoming, safe community known for amazing scenery and an eclectic group of resident artists and designers.

Our unique campus is designed for artists. The interior campus space maximizes natural light in the studios, classrooms and common areas, providing the best possible atmosphere for students to create and connect. All our programs are delivered in dedicated, fully-equipped studio space. Students in this program create their own individual working studio within the large open studio space; class sizes are small, providing ample time for personal attention from faculty.

You will learn from amazing artists. Our faculty members are well-established, professional artists from across the country.

• You have a Fine Arts degree or diploma and you are looking for a creative, challenging and supportive environment to explore your talent and start your own studio practice.
• You are an established artist seeking an opportunity to focus exclusively on your work to re-invigorate your existing practice.

This graduate certificate is designed for professional visual fine artists and fine crafts practitioners to re-examine and revitalize their work, as well as to provide students with the skills to inform direction for further studies. Graduates go on to enter artist residencies, participate in more extensive gallery exhibitions, or are prepared to show their work for the first time.

Applicants will also meet with faculty representatives to negotiate a suitable proposal for beginning their studio work and to establish their goals and objectives. The college and faculty will support students in pursuing studies using media and methods of their choice within the scope of available facilities.

• Interpret artwork using historical and/or contemporary perspectives to gain knowledge and understanding that can be applied to an independent studio practice.
• Negotiate ideological and critical discourse to further establish and clarify one's own perceptions, rationale (decisions), and artistic positioning within a broader artistic context.
• Present contemporary artwork which reflects various issues in our culture and ideologies.
• Develop concepts through studio and written work which challenge conventional artistic practices and perceptions.
• Produce a body of work in visual art that reflects a development in individual focus.
• Use best practices, with respect to environmental and personal health, in shared studio design and operations.
• Produce a summary of artistic development in both form and content through exhibitions, portfolio development and artist's document.

Students applying to Independent Studio Practice must meet the following requirements:

• Ontario College Diploma or University Degree in related field or equivalent. Interview, portfolio discussion.