Black Mountain School

 What was your motivation?
Black Mountain School is an experiment in education and community. As a fundamental departure from corporatized profit-driven learning, a “one size fits all” curriculum, and  the programmatic, and bureaucratic uniformities that define accredited institutions of higher education, Black Mountain School is an opportunity for students and educators to collaborate in generating knowledge and forming new visual experiences.We aim to provide a participatory model of education that encourages progressive thinking, making, and connecting. A non-hierarchical approach to organization, self-directed study in a wide range of subjects, as well as communal activities and events combine to provide students and teachers with the ability to learn from one another openly in an inclusive environment.

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Number of organizers/responsible persons of the project.
18
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How are programs funded?

A base budget model will be supported through tuition only. This is to allow for the project to happen regardless of external support. However, we have two additional budget models that allow for the necessities of an advanced educational setting; scholarships, stipends for instructors, stipends for staff, supplies for classes, more nutritional and plentiful food options, transportation while at the facility, and production of documentative materials to name a few resources.

Who is responsible for the programming?
Faculty create courses but a review board helped pick faculty based on their proposed classes.

Number and average duration of exhibitions/events per year.
We have forty five classes confirmed however time is set aside for unannounced classes, lectures, and events.

What kind of events are usually organized?
Our forty five classes take experimentation as an aesthetic drive, pushing ideas, traditions and their justifications to their limits in order to negotiate the possibilities of a new experience. Examples of topics explored include: anti-State philosophy, contemporary fresco experimentation, sound recording and alteration, gif animation and mobile media, giant loom weaving, mycology, collaborative practice, printmaking, no-math architecture, Fluxus instructions, and chance operations. These classes will range from structured courses and single-session workshops, in addition to events, performances and talks.

How is your programming determined?
We held an open call for classes in January 2016 that was organized by our faculty admission committee.

Do you accept proposals/submissions?
Yes.

What is your artistic/curatorial approach?
We seek to create the conditions necessary for education to exist as an equal exchange between learners and educators; we promote an environment of  co-education and communal living. Faculty are free to plan their class according to their own instruction, and are welcome to join other classes as students; students are expected to design their own curriculum but are also given the opportunity to teach. All members will participate in the school’s physical maintenance through farming, cooking, cleaning.

What kind of role do you hope to play in your local art scene or community?
We hope to expose the creative spirit of the Blue Ridge mountain that once inspired artists/thinkers at Black Mountain College and is still here today.