Announcing Summer & Fall Sessions!

I’m excited to announce 3 upcoming sessions at our new MU Art Farm Coop!

Summer Session: August 1 – September 13
Fall Session 1: September 26 – November 8
Fall Session 2: November 21 – December 31

We don’t yet know the themes for Fall 1 & Fall 2, but I’m pleased today to announce our 4 themed islands or “lands” of activity for Summer Session:

A. Ward 81
B. Bad Teacher
C. Babel Infocalypse
D. MUGA

Ward 81

Dorm Mom: Oona Nostra
Documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark passed away last month.

Mary Ellen Mark (March 20, 1940 – May 25, 2015) was an American photographer known for her photojournalism / documentary photography, portraiture, and advertising photography. She photographed people who were “away from mainstream society and toward its more interesting, often troubled fringes”.

— Wikipedia

Among Mark’s best known works was Ward 81. For Ward 81 Mark lived for six weeks with the patients in the women’s security ward of Oregon State Hospital. I thought about creating some sort of photo space to be inspired by Mark’s work. And then I thought about Oona’s work at MU@LEA23. Other people “made art,” as in “here’s a photograph, here’s a sculpture.” But Oona “lived art” in a very engaged and present “performance of public space.” The idea for Ward 81 is that this quarter of LEA28 be used for these 6 weeks a little bit like Mary Ellen Mark’s project: it’s a Ward, a place for people to live and interact. But it’s also a place for photography. For the documentation of avatar life as it is lived. So my thought is that it would be spaces that people could inhabit and spend time at as they liked. Rez a space to spend time in. Spend time. Interact. And also that photographers would be welcome to respectfully document life there.

Bad Teacher

Dorm Mom: TBA

Last semester so many people offered wonderful Classes, Workshops, Interactive Studios, and Visiting Artists. So much sharing and collegiality! Art Farm’s Bad Teacher land will be the home for all of these activities and more. There may be specific facilities installed, like a Life Drawing Studio or a Tai Chi Dojo. There will also be general use facilities for classes, visiting artists, and more!

Babel Infocalypse

Dorm Mom: TBA

So many people created, collaborated, and engaged at MU@LEA23 that it’s a little crazy to single out any one of the amazing artists. Still, I was honestly blown away by the intensity, consistency, scale, and ambition Neeva Torok created with all semester long. That kind of large-scale installation work is an amazing possibility in SL and with the LEA AiR Land Grants. At Babel Infocalypse land you’ll be able to “make a mess!” To create solo or collaborative installations with physical prims and whatever else you like.

MUGA

Dorm Mom: TBA

The Medici University Gallery of Art (MUGA) wasn’t born till very late last semester, but once Myra Wildmist got it rolling she became a truly compelling curatorial force. It’s remarkable how much was achieved in a single 16 x 16 meter gallery space. For Summer Session 2015 MUGA will expand to an exciting 100 x 100 meters of exhibition space! Hopefully we’ll be showing your work! Do message the Curator / Dorm Mom, once they’re appointed, with your ideas and suggestions for shows at MUGA!

Communication

We’ll be using the same 3 primary communication tools as MU@LEA23 did:

VBCO Slack Team
MU/Talk
In-world, VB Friends chat & notices

The Rules

We’d like to have as few rules as possible. One thing that will make many people happy is that unlike MU@LEA23, Art Farm Coop WILL allow flying!

No Skyboxes. You can fly, you can point-2-point teleport, the only restriction is No to Skyboxes. I really want everyone to share what they create right on ground level where everyone can see, share, and interact.
Art Farm Coop will have a Creative Commons Non-Commercial license. No one but you can sell your work. However if you rez anything at Art Farm, or say anything in Local Chat, or VB Friends chat, then it’s fair game for anyone to post it. No asking for people to take down photos of the public space of Art Farm or transcripts of things publicly said.
Be present. MU@LEA23 was a huge success. Still, many artists rezzed a gallery and then moved on. The focus of Art Farm is to be present. Yes, you can rez stuff in the “land” of your choice. You can work with others or on your own. But the focus is not on “having your space” but on being present. In order to participate in Art Farm Summer Session I ask that you commit to spending at least 1 hour per week at the farm, for each of the 6 weeks of summer session. Of course, you’re welcome to spend a lot more time on the farm! But if you can at least do 1 hour, I hope we can create a vibrant community.
What else? That’s all the rules for now. LMK if there are other issues that should be covered.