Alternate Currents (AC) is a two-year program designed to support artists and organizers working to incubate liberatory ideas that move our community forward. An alternative to a conventional MFA, AC cohort members work together to understand how justice in the arts is interpreted, documented, and enacted.
Alternate Currents is one of only a few programs across the US which prioritizes free access to a cohort learning experience and funding outside larger institutional systems. AC cohort members learn together, share resources, publish their work, and co-organize public programs.
AC Cohort
Monthly site/studio visit meetings are organized and led by individual Alternate Currents cohort members who research and share articles, videos, podcasts, and prompts that shape discussion, feedback, and critique. Monthly meetings also offer dedicated time to explore collaborative working relationships and channels of mutual support within the cohort.
Discussion Series
Alternate Currents cohort members offer insight, context, and expand upon the themes in their work during panel discussions with artists, arts workers, educators, and organizers from outside the cohort. Panel discussions also serve as a public forum to welcome feedback and new perspectives around how justice in the arts is interpreted, documented, and enacted. Visit our Happenings page for info about upcoming AC discussions.
Blog
Panel Discussions are recorded and posted to the Alternate Currents blog, a space for ongoing conversation and deeper investigations. The blog is also home to an extensive archive of articles, interviews, critical writing, and creative research that bring issues around justice in the arts into clearer focus.
Publications
AC cohort members create work for a limited edition publication that opens space for critical reflection around how justice in the arts is interpreted, documented, and enacted. While participating in the research and editing phases, cohort members deepen their understanding of how their work intersects, compliments, and challenges that of other group members.