IDSVA student Margaret Coleman and “Slump” at Pelham Art Center, NY
For me, IDSVA has been an opportunity and a challenge to take my practice so much further than I could on my own. My work has become completely intertwined with my life, so far past the point of definable product, an exploration of pushing boundaries. IDSVA gives me an intensive opportunity to investigate how and why we, as creative practitioners, think the way we do, make the choices that we do. It’s let me seek perspectives, points of grounding or unsettling, as needed. The program has seeped into my daily life, enriching my work as I find myself applying the concepts we study to projects. It’s giving me a new level of confidence in articulating the relevance of what I’m doing. IDSVA has given me tools to expand my creative potential, and that is invaluable. IDSVA is an immersive experience into a community of people truly excited to engage thoughtfully with one another, and to support one another, creatively and intellectually.
Margaret Coleman received her BFA from the University of MN in 2005 and her MFA from Pratt Institute in 2009. She is a founding member and the Executive Director of ArtShape Mammoth, a nonprofit organization and collaborative artistic practice that explores potential for a new model and carries a mission to connect artists with new communities by cultivating research and education. Her projects include organizing cross cultural exchanges and exhibitions nationally, planning an annual wilderness symposium for artists (the Visitor Center Artist Camp), and running a small community art center in Burlington, VT. Margaret is currently in her third year at IDSVA.
IDSVA’s pioneering curriculum — fusing distance learning with intensive residencies — allows working art professionals to pursue rigorous advanced scholarship without having to interrupt or abandon their teaching careers, art practice, or other professional responsibilities. Residency & fieldwork sites include Rome, Spannocchia Castle (Tuscany), Siena, Florence, Venice, Berlin, Paris, NYC, and Colby College. The IDSVA Visiting Faculty brings together the world’s leading philosophers, artists, and scholars.
To learn more about IDSVA visit idsva.edu.
