In Depth: Summer Residency Program
SFAI’s Summer Studio Residency Program combines the benefits of a prestigious artist’s residency with the rigor of graduate-level study in the arts.
Unique for its demanding critique structure, individualized support, and personalized engagement with internationally recognized artists and scholars, the residency is an eight-week intensive specifically designed for undergraduates or recent baccalaureate graduates who wish to advance and refine their work. The location of the program in San Francisco—a vibrant community with world-class museums, a robust emerging artist scene, dynamic food culture, and breathtaking natural resources—offers students an uncommon urban experience.
Students who pursue this residency must have significant studio experience and demonstrate a readiness for graduate-level work through their statement of intent, project proposal, and portfolio.
Residency includes:
- 3 units of upper-division undergraduate college credit
- Studio space at SFAI’s new Fort Mason campus
- Professional and conceptual development through the residency seminar—weekly critique and discussion course
- Access to SFAI facilities and technical support services, including painting studios, printmaking studios, sculpture studios, darkrooms, digital imaging or film processing equipment, and film/video editing suites
- Attendance at the Graduate Lecture Series (GLS), with one-on-one studio visits from acclaimed series guests and other visiting artists
- Excursions to San Francisco museums, galleries, and alternative art spaces
- Culminating group exhibition at SFAI’s Diego Rivera Gallery
- Access to SFAI’s Summer Institute Public Programs, which include exhibitions, symposia, and special events
- Option of enrolling in additional undergraduate courses and tutorials (additional tuition cost)
- Access to available housing in SFAI’s residence hall (additional cost)
How to Apply
All applicants must submit the following materials electronically.
- Residency application form
- A statement of intent or project proposal
- Ten examples of work (digital images)
- Two recommendation letters from faculty members of the applicant’s home institution
2018 Program Tuition Cost
$6,000
Optional Housing Cost
$3,800 for 8 weeks or $475 - $525 per week (depending on room type and availability)
2018 Visiting Artists
About the Seminar Leader
Ebitenyefa Baralaye is a sculptor and designer. He comes to SFAI from Michigan where he received his MFA in Ceramics from the Cranbrook Academy of Art (2016). With a history spanning Nigeria, the Caribbean and the United States, his work abstracts conditions of desire and identity around themes of spirituality, ethnicity, utility, and personal narrative. His work has been featured in various domestic and international venues including the 2011 Gyeonggi International Ceramix Biennale and a 2017 solo exhibition at the Museum of the African Diaspora. Ebi is the recipient of the AICAD Post-Graduate Teaching Fellowship for 2016–17 and 2017–18. He is currently represented by David Klein Gallery in Detroit.
