News

Focus on Eric Steen

Congratulations to our recent graduate Eric Steen who just got a full-time teaching position at the University of Colorado Springs!

Please read our feature below on Eric to get a sense of all of the things he has been up to since graduation.

We are proud of you Eric!

1. Project residency at the Market Gallery in Scotland.
For my residency I am creating two main events: The Pub School and the Market Gallery Pub. The Pub School is a weekly class that will explore Glasgow’s beer culture through workshops, pub crawls, performances, tasting sessions, and more. The Market Gallery Pub is a one night pub in Glasgow that will serve homebrewed beers made by people from all over Scotland. The event will be open to the public and all homebrewers are welcome to participate. Unlike most beer fests that have booths, this event will transform the gallery into a pub where bartenders and servers will take orders and pour beers. This event is also part of the programming for the Glasgow International Festival for Visual Art.

2. Teaching Job
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Starts in the Fall, 2010
Info: Full-Time (but non-tenure track) position teaching Foundation and Upper Level Classes. Participation in the development of non-media specific foundation classes and an expansive approach to new media is essential. One of the classes I’ll be teaching, is one I’m building myself – New Media and Participatory Art

3. Teaching Job
Ox-Bow School of the Arts, Saugatuck Michigan
July 18-31
Title: Art in Social Contexts
In this class we will explore multiple facets of socially engaged art with the towns of Saugatuck and Douglas as our backdrop. Students will be asked to conduct multiple forms of field research in town that engage them with the town`s history, communities, and landscape. Assignments will ask students to use their research and interests to create socially engaged projects with themes that many social artists utilize such as: service, intervention, participation, and dialog among others. An emphasis will be placed on the process rather than product or outcome as many important questions arise from the process of working with other people. We will also discuss the shift of the role from maker to facilitator along with the aesthetics of social practices.

4. Group exhibition
The Mythical State of Jefferson
@ Schneider Art Museum at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, OR
Using the State of Jefferson secession movement as a point of departure for talking about democracy, regional politics, and “taking matters into your own hands.” I’m making a beer with one hell of a historical background that reminds me of the renewed regional political struggle of the State of Jefferson. A little info is on my blog now.