VAC38: Writing about Art in the Present

Collaborative Goals

We are junior colleagues who connected under the auspices of this grant application to build a network of junior faculty working on modern and contemporary art across Art History programs and related disciplines in the Corridor. Recognizing the need to strengthen intellectual community in this large geographic region, we will host manuscript workshops aimed at providing substantive feedback on writing, prioritizing junior faculty as a point of mentorship and career development. The working group will also host writing retreats and workshops for department faculty, department artists, graduate students and advanced undergrads. Acknowledging how scholars of contemporary art think fruitfully alongside living artists, we also aim to bring practicing artists to the region through programmatic collaboration with galleries, special collections, archives, and institutions across all three schools (University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery, Cornell’s Herbert Johnson Museum, RIT’s numerous university galleries).

In its first year, the working group will focus on a manuscript workshop and writing retreat for members, expanding in subsequent years to include book talks, artist talks, and public panels. As it develops and we add new group members, we hope to explore a broader audience: hosting workshops and programming on writing about art and artists for non-academic audiences, in non-traditional or experimental styles and presses, and considering how we write and work with audiences beyond academia.