About Chautauqua School of Art

The School of Art is a centerpiece of Visual Arts at Chautauqua (known as VACI — pronounced VAH-chee). The School is an incubator of inclusive and expansive programming in the visual arts composed of workshops and one-on-one time with mentors covering all media. The curriculum intentionally breaks apart the traditional methods that silo disciplines from each other and instead embraces a full range of studio and pragmatic studies including professional development for artists, the art of pedagogy, writing in the 21st century, archiving and the relevance of art history today. Learn more about the VACI Experience and check out our Instagram page to see what we've been up to.

The Chautauqua School of Art residency program welcomes artists who have yet to receive wide recognition of their work, including those as young as 21 years old. College enrollment is not a requirement to attend our program. Artists who engage in all media are encouraged to apply. This is an environment that promotes intergenerational collaboration, exchange, research and an openness to other art forms at Chautauqua, including dance, theater, music, literature and more. It is meant to be a safe, brave space to share, experiment and freely express.

Every participant in our residency program has the opportunity to show their work in a group exhibition in our galleries, opportunities to sell their work, engage in group projects, present other artists' works, and have the freedom to do performances, group projects, lectures and more. We welcome international artists from far and wide.

Download the 2020 Chautauqua School of Art Digital Poster

Core Mentors

Professional Development

Participating artists will receive contemporary, nuanced, reality-based, peer-to-peer professional development workshops from Artistic Director Sharon Louden and guest speakers while at Chautauqua the first, middle and last weeks of the season. This type of Professional Development includes adopting basic tools, however, the overall emphasis is community building. 

Workshops, Visiting Artists and Special Studies at VACI

Technical workshops and Special Studies in printmaking, figure drawing, digital media, painting, ceramics and other subjects explored will be offered throughout the season through week 8. In addition, many visiting artists and guests will also come for short stints weekly to provide unique experiences, studio visits, one-on-one access with participating artists and the Chautauqua visiting public. Technicians will also be on-site for general assistance. We welcome everyone to come and experience, learn and explore the visual arts with us. For information about our facilities, check out some of our places of making and thinking here.