The deadline for the MFA program in Printmaking at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is fast-approaching! The program is fairly small across all areas, fostering direct personal relationships between students and faculty mentors. While students enter into a specific area, the MFA program allows for interdisciplinary study and graduates can request to take focus hours with any professor. In addition to their studies, most graduate students will serve as teaching assistants for their first semester or year and then go on to be instructors of record for their last 2 years. This provides necessary teaching experience for those who wish to pursue higher education. Accepted graduate students can also expect full tuition remission and a stipend. Additionally, there are biannual grant opportunities open to MFA candidates wherein students can apply for funding for materials, residencies, conferences or other activities. The art department hosts several visiting artists each semester and grads have the opportunity for studio visits from a range of voices in the contemporary art world.
Now for some fussy print info for those so inclined!
The printmaking area is situated on the third floor of Woods Hall. The first room includes a studio for intaglio, relief and monotype. We have a 24″ x 48″ French Tool press, a 24″ x 36″ Charles Brand and 24″ x 36″ Takach. We have two vertical ferric chloride tanks and a large horizontal bath to accommodate 24″ x 36″ etching plates. There is also a large rosin box with a motorized fan! The second room houses two Takach litho presses and a range of stones, including several full and half sheet rocks. Down the hall there is a mixed-use studio which houses book arts, screenprint and the printmaking fabrication lab. There are two Vandercook presses, a guillotine, book presses, a screen exposure unit, an overhead exposure unit, laser cutter and large Epson printer. Graduate students have their own print studio, with a larger French Tool press and a Takach litho press. In addition to the communal shop, grads have their own, private studios on the same floor as printmaking.
Outside of the university, Lincoln has a vibrant art scene. Karen Kunc’s studio, Constellation Studios, offers community printmaking and exhibition opportunities. The Lux Center is a community organization that hosts artist residencies, kids and adult classes and camps, where several graduate students have found opportunities for employment or exhibiting their work. Lincoln is located an hour southwest of Omaha, which houses the Bemis Center, the Kaneko Art Center and many other galleries. There is a lot of art happening here!