What is a SMP in Studio Art?

The St. Mary's Project in Studio Art is a year long capstone experience where students explore and develop their own artistic identity in the context of a close knit group of peers and faculty mentors. Students undertake sustained independent studio work accompanied by written formulation of artistic concerns and research into related art and ideas.

Students publicly present their work in a number of ways. Twice a semester, students present current work in the context of a public, all-department critique where studio and art history faculty, visiting artists, other non-art faculty and fellow students offer feedback and evaluation of works in progress.

The fall semester culminates with the mounting of a mid-year group exhibition in the Boyden Gallery along with a published document book that contains various writings and research conducted through out the summer and fall months. In the spring semester, students ramp up their studio and research activities resulting in the presentation of a coherent body of work for public exhibition in the Boyden Gallery accompanied by a written artist statement , annotated bibliography of readings and research, and a public lecture as a way of addressing artistic goals in the context of art historical and theoretical ideas.

Any student that has completed a St. Mary's Project in Art will tell you they have never worked so hard and often describe their experience as one of most rewarding things they have ever done. It must be true because the results are always impressive. Individual student project portfolios can be viewed by selecting from the menu on the left sidebar.