The education of artists in the US was already in a state of crisis before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Questions of equity, purpose, the infection of art by capital, and the legacy of colonial systems of thought and education left many to wonder whether an arts education was either viable or valuable. Old institutions struggled with rapidly changing social mores, and the economics of education in America made art school unavailable to all but the most privileged. Initiatives sprang up at arts schools around the country to try and remediate the schools’ shortcomings in ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ - but as fast as these initiatives were launched, deeper levels of the crisis reared their heads, from unsustainable debt accrual by students to the economic exploitation of part time faculty.

Then the pandemic hit, and many of these programs lost one of the last elements of undeniable value in an arts education - the presence of a community of critical peers and supportive teachers. Classes moved online, and thousands of students (and faculty) around the country wondered whether an arts education via video conferences was worth it anymore.

A wave of artists went on leaves of absence, deferred their studies, or simply dropped out, unable to rationalize the cost of an arts education when the classes were moving out of the studio and onto their computers. And beyond graduation, the landscape of arts professions was decimated by the economic devastation of Covid-19. 

This is why we launched the Pandemic Pedagogy Projects - to serve learning-artists whose educational support system were interrupted by the pandemic, and by arts’ institutions insistence on economic ‘normalcy’ even in the midst of global disaster.

TEACHING ARTISTS: DO YOU HAVE AN EXPERIMENTAL COURSE OR CONCEPT THAT YOU THINK WOULD UNIQUELY SERVE ARTISTS DURING THE PANDEMIC? REACH OUT TO US AT INFO@ARTISTSLITERACIES.ORG AND LET’S TALK! WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR EXPERIMENTS IN ARTS EDUCATION AND THE CHANCE TO TRY NEW, MORE EQUITABLE MODELS FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND LEARNERS-

PANDEMIC PEDAGOGY 3 is now open for registrations!

Pandemic Pedagogy returns for Fall 2022!

Learn more and apply to the two new courses below.

Note: All participants will receive tuition grants (i.e. free tuition!). There is a $50 deposit, for participant accountability, which will be returned upon successfully completing the course.

PANDEMIC PEDAGOGY 2 - FALL 2021:

COURSES FROM PANDEMIC PEDAGOGY 1 - WINTER/SPRING 2021