New MFA in Art and Ecology at the University of New Mexico

The new MFA program in Art and Ecology at the University of New Mexico is an interdisciplinary, research-based program engaging contemporary art practices. Students develop ecological and cultural literacy with a conceptual foundation and a wide range of production skills, including sculpture, social practice, and digital media. Students in Art and Ecology have the opportunity to work on various collaborative and interdisciplinary projects with departments across UNM and on comprehensive thesis projects integrating community and ecological research. Coursework includes the Land Arts of the American West program, a semester-long travel and place-based arts pedagogy.

PARTNERS
Sustainability Studies at UNM
Landscape Architecture at UNM
SEV, Long Term Ecological Research at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
Centro Artistico y Cultural, El Paso, TX
The Center for Land Use Interpretation, Wendover, UT
Art + Environment Center, Nevada Art Museum, Reno, NV
The UNM Center for Advanced Research Computing (CARC)
Fodder Project: A Collaborative Research Farm
The American Society for Acoustic Ecology

CURRENT AND PAST PROJECTS
Paseo del Bosque Ecological Restoration
A design partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers on an ecologically-degraded section of the Rio Grande Bosque creating a design to engage art, access, and restoration of the bosque ecosystem.

Open Source/Open Culture
A learning community in collaboration with the Depatment of Theatre and Dance, the Department of Engineering, the Department of Art and Art History, and other programs at UNM, offering students and faculty an opportunity to develop virtual infrastructure and open source technologies.

ISEA2012 Machine Wilderness: The International Symposium for Electronic Art
A wide-ranging series of public events highlighting art, technology and environment in conjunction with the prestigious International ISEA Symposium  (www.isea2012.org) and created in partnership with 516 ARTS, The Albuquerque Museum, The City of Albuquerque Public Art Program, Creative Albuquerque and others.

USDA FoodShed Field Study
A summer UNM field program involving Art and Ecology, Sustainability Studies, the Department of Communications and Journalism, the Department of Geography, and the Department of Civil Engineering.

Barrio Buena Vista
A long-term project in the Buena Vista neighborhood in El Paso, Texas, working with the Centro Artistico y Cultural and the City of El Paso on wetland restoration, a mural series, and an urban pocket park.

Clean Livin’
A collaboration with Simparch and the Center for Land Use Interpretation on an experimental sustainability project at an abandoned military Quonset in Wendover, UT.

Bosque Environmental Monitoring Project
Engagement in the monitoring of local bat species and the creation of habitat-promoting sculpture through a coordinated program of volunteer citizen and student groups who gather long-term data on the forest ecosystem located along the Middle Rio Grande.

Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Flood Control Agency
A series of proposals and implemented projects addressing flood control structures, including detention ponds and wetland trash settlement areas, through art intervention.

For more information:
http://ae.unm.edu/

To apply:
http://art.unm.edu/academics/graduate_programs.html