Apply to the School of Art’s 2023 MFA Program at the University of Manitoba

January 15 Submission Deadline

ARTlab, University of Manitoba.

About the Program
The University of Manitoba School of Art MFA program is a two-year, full-time program in fine art. Develop your practice in a vibrant artistic and intellectual environment with state-of-the-art facilities, large private studios, focused instruction and technical support for a diversity of approaches to contemporary art production.

Our Philosophy—Visual learning through an interdisciplinary lens
Our MFA program welcomes experimentation, and students are encouraged to study within a focused discipline or across traditional and experimental boundaries in the realization of impactful work.

Facilities
The School of Art covers an impressive 150,000 sq. ft. of the University of Manitoba, Fort Garry campus—most visibly in the award-winning ARTlab (Art Research Technology lab), which boasts state-of-the-art facilities and technology for intensive studio production.

The purpose-built facilities and high-calibre equipment provide everything students need to hone work in various media, including printmaking, papermaking, and photography (analogue and digital). There are also bright and spacious painting and drawing studios, a MAC lab and private editing suites, a large-format digital print shop, a substantial sound stage, a recording booth and even a microscopy lab for use by artists. Additional satellite locations on campus offer a well-equipped ceramics area, extensive sculpture fabrication facilities and the Architecture/Fine Arts Library, which houses one of the largest collections of published material on art, architecture, design and planning in Canada. All of our facilities are accessible. All graduate students have 24-hour card-swipe access to all facilities and locked private studios with full internet and studio furniture (approx. 380 sq. ft. each).

2nd Year MFA Research Presentations, School of Art Student Gallery, 2022.

Mentorship and Community
The MFA program at the School of Art emphasizes intensive studio research under close mentorship and peer engagement. As a graduate student, you’ll work closely with acclaimed professional artists and designers who teach at the School of Art and share a wide range of knowledge – including Indigenous and Métis knowledge – along with a deep commitment to working with students to meet their individual needs.

Beyond the studio and enriching the MFA experience, we offer:

our Visiting Speaker series, with opportunities to engage with professional Canadian and international artists, curators, critics, designers, and art historians
access to the School of Art Gallery collection of 5000+ historical and contemporary artworks and the UM art collection of over 1500 works
multiple gallery spaces, creating unique opportunities for exhibition, collaboration, and dialogue within our vibrant cultural community
a thriving art history program enhancing the intellectual depth and breadth of the community
publication opportunities in School of Art print and digital catalogues and periodicals
group critiques and seminars
the chance for professional practitioners from the vibrant Winnipeg art and design community to join your advisory committee
access to the exciting events, elective course offerings and resources that a comprehensive U-15 university offers, including in the Desautels Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Architecture, and the programs in film and theatre within the Faculty of Arts

Funding
The School of Art is committed to providing students with generous financial support. Our competitive funding package starts with a substantial yearly stipend from the School of Art and the opportunity to receive one of the $14,000/year University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowships. Our second-year students can also apply for one of our substantial ($1300-$11000) internal awards and scholarships. Additional paid teaching assistantships are guaranteed for the duration of our program.

Moving Matter, School of Art Gallery, 2022.

Winnipeg
Friendly, open, and highly diverse, Winnipeg is a supportive, remarkably affordable, and vibrant place to be an artist, and is known both nationally and internationally as a cultural hub that punches way above its weight. It’s no accident that in a series of exhibitions on lesser-known art centres organized by La maison rouge in Paris, Winnipeg was the first city to be featured – ahead of Johannesburg and Buenos Aires! Art is everywhere, from murals to public art installations to a vibrant contemporary architecture and design scene. Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, aceartinc, Blinkers, C2 Centre for Craft, La Maison des artistes visuels francophones, Gallery 1C03, Martha Street Studio (Manitoba Printmakers Association), Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Platform Centre for Photographic & Digital Arts, TakeHome BIPOC Arts House, Video Pool Media Arts Centre, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery – Qaumajuq, which comprises the world’s most extensive collection of Inuit art, are among its many exciting gallery venues. Complementing the city’s vibrant gallery scene are prominent cultural institutions such as Border Crossings magazine, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (Canada’s oldest ballet company), the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Le Cercle Molière, the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Winnipeg Cinematheque (run by the renowned Winnipeg Film Group), the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, GroundSwell New Music Series, and exciting events and festivals such as Cluster Festival, Nuit Blanche, Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition (Western Canada’s leading electronic music and digital arts festival), the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, send + receive: a festival of sound, Wall-to-Wall Mural & Culture Festival, Winnipeg International Writers Festival, Winnipeg Design Festival, Winnipeg International Jazz Festival, and a host of winter activities, such as the longest river-skating trail in the world and the associated, cutting-edge Warming Huts architectural competition.

The School of Art is at the centre of the city’s art and design scene, with faculty and alumni connections providing you with many networking opportunities.

The University of Manitoba campuses are located on the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples and on the homeland of the Métis Nation. Honoured to be chosen as the host of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the University of Manitoba is dedicated to advancing Indigenous research and scholarship and to becoming a centre of excellence for this work.

Application Deadline: January 15, 2023