Job Discussion Forums

[_anethon]

This is kindof a long shot, but do any of you know about art schools in Mexico? I want to get my MFA, and I'm wondering what are tbe best schools in Mexico.
Thanks.

[geaaronson]

More than likely there will be extreme difficulty in transferring your credits from a Mexican art school to an American counterpart. As for getting an MFA in Mexico, it won�t hold water in the USA for academic credentials when looking for a job, I am pretty certain.
Your best bet is to find a program in the USA that will allow you a semester or full year abroad. There is such a program with one of the Californian state universities. I believe it is UCAL at Fullerton or Santa Barbara. It is an extremely competitive program with 300 applicants for 10 positions. You might also consider a program that has two courses of internship, such as Savannah College of Art and Design, and do both courses in Mexico.

[notamiss]

The University of Mexico's National School of Art ("ENAP" http://www.enap.unam.mx/) was recently recognized by several relevant organizations as the "best art school in Mexico". (See http://www.el-universal.com.mx/notas/511735.html.)

There is information here http://www.artesvisuales.unam.mx/convocatorias.html about foreign student applications to a Master's program in Visual Arts offered jointly by the ENAP, the Faculty of Architecture and the Institute for Art History Research (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instituto_de_Investigaciones_Est%C3%A9ticas).

[MO39]

Something you'd have to consider is if your language skills are up to the challenge of getting an MFA here, where I'm sure the courses are all given in Spanish as well as in the universal language of art.

[geaaronson]

Although I find your interest in imbibing with such a rich artistic environment as Mexico`s, I would also caution you against any rash move until you have explored the possibilities. Consider what the job prospects would be after gaining the MFA. Are prospective teachers with foreign degrees in art likely candidates for museum positions, university teaching or arts council administrative jobs. I would begin my research by checking to see if people holding those jobs have degrees from Mexico or abroad.
As an art professional for over ten years myself, I can not at all recall a single instance of any such occurence. I have studied the issue and have noted which schools have a preponderance of graduates in key art positions and have noted that Yale, Cranbrook, Art Institute of Chicago, and UCLA high on that list.
I have noted numerous foreigners taking their MFA studies in the USA who have gone on to university and arts administrative positions, but not one with a foreign degree achieving any kind of job security with a permanent position.
Having said that, let me add, that when there is no question of cronyism and the hiring agent sincerely wishes the best person for the job, then portfolio means quite a bit. So going to study in Mexico and producing a more original body of work than executed in the States may produce a win for you in that situation. Again, that is a long shot.
If I were you, I would strategize and think, if I engage in a program in Mexico, what would be the career possibilities? That you would have a shot at art positions in Mexico`s prepas is a given, Westhill Prepatoria of Santa Fe had a Canadian as an art teacher this past year. Other schools would hire you as well as I was offered a position in Merida at a collegio.

You would also be better positioned in any kind of transcultural programs between Mexico and its northern neighbors, a career option that I have explored with limited success. To such an end you might also consider some additional academic training in ARTS ADMINISTRATION.
Needless to say, the experience would be stupendous, given that you are fully bilingual.

[john_n_carolina]

...someone once told me a MFA with a minor in Journalism or Publishing is a very valuable degree for many different careers....advertising, etc....if you have those things and are computer savvy (Quark?)....it might have some weight...

whether or not it's accredited in the U.S. is another matter...most likely, it will be worth something...but, they will delete a few of the courses you took. (not transfer)

i had a friend from Cuba come over to the U.S. with a B.A. and lost quite a few credits...

[MO39]

[john_n_carolina]

yes, exactly....i'm not sure why '_anethon' doesn't talk to her undergraduate profs / academic counselors. they could advise him/her on what courses will transfer or if there is even an MFA that she/he could get abroad.

also, you'll need to get all those courses transferred/translated by www.wes.org

[MO39]

[J Sevigny]

The subject, I think, was not transferring but getting an MFA here.

I can see it from both sides in terms of work.

a)"Ha ha ha ha, you got your masters at a Mexican school and you want to work at Pratt/Art Institute of Chicago/Parsons?"

b) "No isn't that interesting. You have your masters from a Mexican university. I guess you're bilingual. I guess you deal well with diversity. You're hired."

In any case, there are some excellent art schools in Mexico. La Universidad Veracruzana has a nationally famous photography program. Casa Lamm in Mexico City has an MFA program, I believe.

If you study your MFA in art here, you may very well find that the job market here is better than in the States. Many private universities, including La Universidad del Valle de Mexico, have art classes and the pay is not too shabby. Those same schools are also frequently inclined to hire foreigners who are native English speakers.

I would highly recommend looking into a few of the schools people here have mentioned and paying a visit.

[geaaronson]

Here`s a thought.
Should you take your degree here in MX, keep in mind that it might help you find a particular niche in state supported arts council artists teaching residencies. This is a very difficult situation to maneuver and would only enable you to draw some very short but lucrative teaching gigs. You would have to be extremely flexible in times, ie. a 6 week residency in South Carolina teaching Mexican art to 4th graders and creating a mural for the school.
These are long term in procurement positions but there have been occasional successes I`ve encountered in people actually making a very nice living doing this. And should you decide to keep a six week slot for your own art making, well you just would not schedule a residency for that period.
There was a short period of time in my own life that I seriously considered doing exactly that because I had gotten a short term residency in Arkansas, followed by summer camp in Connecticut, immediately followed by a second, longer art residency in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. I would have loved to buy myself a small camper attachment to my car, and strolled from state to state doing residencies. I have know two such people who have done exactly that. One had done more than 10 years of residencies, mostly in Alabama and South Carolina with one in Florida and a few in Georgia. Most of the residencies were 6 week long and he did murals in schools. He had bought a house in South Carolina so that was where his studio was.
another artist specialized in pinhole cameras and had gotten so good at that craft that he was hotly pursued by both county and state arts councils for art residencies in Georgia and South Carolina.
If you developed a program of Mexican traditional crafts you could effectively peddle it stateside to summer camps, arts centers and art residencies. You could return to Mexico in the interim.
Unfortunately for me, my expertise is in darkroom fotography and the lack of facilities hindered my marketing along the lines of the other two
artists.

A word of warning though in that such a process of application for residencies is long and laborious. You have to go before peer review at the state capitals. It may take several years before you accumulated enough of a rep to easily garner artists residencies.

[Samantha]

I don't think you noticed, but the original post is more than 5 years old.

[geaaronson]

Duhhh. I think we noticed Samantha. Thanks for the reminder.

[MO39]

To tell the truth, I hadn't noticed how old the original post was. Thanks for pointing that out, Samantha.[/u]