Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Exhibiton Lab- A new photography school

Gallerist and The Exhibition Lab founder Michael Foley
Photo by Janine Noelle

It's been said that during Economic Recession times, the best works, collaborations and creativity in the Arts, tend to flourish. Well now, here we have two new ones. One is when, two great gallerists in NYC, Michael Foley and Sasha Wolf are now also becoming the new founders of a new photography school called The Exhibition Lab.

Fantastic no?
They both got all my support!

Speaking of support, number Two is that, I am also happy to inform you that a dear gallerina named Janine Noelle is going to start contributing with articles and interviews for ARTmostfierce Art Blog since us truly is sooo busy... collecting/blogging/photographing/showing/curating/judging/writing...did I forgot something that, I don't have my hands or my name lately?...Oh trying to save the world! ha ha!

So... Janine is the new ARTmostfierce News Correspondent/ aka Mafia Hit Girl!

Here is her first contribution to ARTmostfierce Arts Blog, a quick interview about The Exhibition Lab.
Welcome Janine!

Enjoy!

This June artists and art lovers will join hand in welcoming The Exhibition Lab, a new school founded by gallerists Michael Foley and Sasha Wolf.

Janine Noelle: What was the main concept behind starting The Exhibition Lab?

Michael Foley: We realized that there is a community of photographers at large that might enjoy coming together, meeting one another, sharing ideas and feedback regarding there work. We wanted to provide a meeting place, like a clubhouse, open to all.

JN -Can you explain what the structure of the school will be?

MF- Students at The Ex Lab will have several options. We offer 3-hour seminars, one, two and three-day workshops and longer classes. We also have assigned credits to each of the classes so that once a student takes a certain amount of classes, they are eligible to take an additional class for free. Classes are small, no more than 12.

JN -From what I understand the school is starting with a strong photography base. Will it be strictly/primarily photography?

MF- That is how we will start. We are open to possibilities, but would like to stick with our core audience, which we believe are photographers. That being said, we will offer several classes for people who have an interest in photography, but might not be interested in making pictures. We have Susan Bright teaching a class on curatorial practice and another class taught by another instructor will address gender identity in contemporary photography.

JN -With the city already saturated with photography schools and continuing education programs, what will this school offer to differ from others?

MF- Several things...first is the option to just come in for one 3-hour seminar. With so many things to choose from here, it’s nice to know that you just can commit to one evening and not schedule out a 5 or 10 week class. Our class topics are very targeted and specific. The Ex Lab is associated with two photography galleries and their gallerists who will be active in all programming and who will likely be on site during class sessions. It will give incoming students a chance to meet us and put a face to the school. We will also host talks and panel discussions, so I think students will feel encouraged to participate in the programming regardless of whether they are attending classes.

JN -Can you talk about your choice in teachers? You seem to have some really great names on the list.

MF -Sasha and I started to reach out to people that we knew to have teaching experience and could make classes engaging and entertaining. We tapped people who were passionate about a subject and who shared the same ideal of supporting a community. We are fortunate to have met some amazing individuals over the years and we were reassured to find many of them willing to contribute their time and expertise to support the goals of The Ex Lab.

JN -Will running a school and a gallery become too much?

MF- Probably not enough! I think both Sasha and I thrive on generating new ideas and since Foley Gallery and Sasha Wolf Gallery will be occupying the same space, we will have a lot more time together to launch new initiatives and expand the school. We believe that everything we do in the new location will support each other.

Thanks Michael Foley, I can't wait to sign up!

For more information on The Exhibition Lab and sign up for classes, visit http://www.theexhibitionlab.com/

1 comment:

Robert said...

For those wishing to see the work of some of the students at the Ex Lab, here's a link to a current show:

http://www.foleygallery.com/exhibitions/exhibitions_cur.php3