Spring 2020 – Institutional Garbage: At Work in the Archive (Online)

Institutional Garbage: At Work in the Archive (Online)
Sean Dickerson  
6 sessions >> Tuesdays, July 14- August 18
6:00-9:00pm, Online, $295

"The typewriter, the card index, and the filing cabinet: these are technologies and modalities of the archive. To the bureaucrat, archives contain little more than garbage, paperwork no longer needed; to the historian, on the other hand, the archive's content stands as a quasi-objective correlative of the "living" past."  Sven Spieker, The Big Archive: Art From Bureaucracy

As critical thinking has questioned the authority and practices of the archive, artists and curators have taken to creative approaches to archiving and the use of the archive as a site of creative practice. This class focuses on the multiple uses, meanings, and structures of archival work in contemporary art and exhibition making. Together we will consider how documentation (ephemera, photography, audio/video, oral history, etc.) functions in traditional archival collections and as a newly constituted artistic practice beginning in the 1960s. We will devote special interest to Bay Area art projects (Bonnie Sherk, Paul Kos, Jo Hanson, Suzanne Lacy, the programs at 80 Langton Street) that have used documentation for personal, political, and social purposes. The class will include lectures, readings and discussions, visiting artists, and one off-campus field trip to a local archive. Students will create a final project or presentation based upon their interest in the topic.

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Sean Dickerson is a writer and archivist living in Oakland, California. He has worked for public and private collections, including the Oakland Museum of California, the African American Museum & Library at Oakland, and the Oakland Public Library. His research interests include the relationship of memory and documents, exhibition histories, institutional politics, public space, and social practice. Currently he is researching the Bay Area Black Artists (BABA) Collective and the work of the Oakland Museum's Cultural and Ethnic Affairs Guild.

PLEASE NOTE: Public Education courses are held contingent on a minimum enrollment, which is determined two business days prior to a class start date. Public Education Staff will contact you ONLY if there is a course cancellation or change. 

FAQs

What materials (if any) will I need to bring to class?
Each course requires specific materials that we ask you bring to your first class session so you can get started making right away. Materials lists are available online on our  website here, click on your course title, and then click on the blue "Materials List" link underneath the course dates. If you have any questions regarding materials, please contact Public Education Staff.

What are my transport/parking options getting to San Francisco Art Institute?
All classes, unless otherwise noted, meet at 800 Chestnut Street, between Jones and Leavenworth. You can find directions to campus on the SFAI website.

SFAI is located in a residential neighborhood, and free two-hour parking is available on all of the streets immediately surrounding the school. The two-hour restriction cuts off at 9 pm, so evening Public Education students do not need to move their car, unless you arrive prior to 7 pm.
SFAI is easily accessible via public transportation, with Muni bus lines #30 Stockton, #45 Union, and #47 Van Ness located within a few blocks of campus.

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?
SFAI Public Education Staff are always happy to answer any questions you may have about the Public Education program, or our courses. We are in the office Monday-Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Call us at: 415.749.4554 or e-mail: publiceducation@sfai.edu

What is the refund policy?
Refund requests must be made in writing to publiceducation@sfai.edu.

For courses that meet for ten sessions or more, a 100% refund minus a $20 processing fee is given if written notice is received at least five business days before the first class. After five business days before the first class, an 80% refund minus a $20 processing fee is given when written notice is received prior to the third class. No refund is given after the class has met three times. Please allow two to three weeks to receive your refund.

For courses that meet for six sessions or fewer, a 100% refund minus a $20 processing fee is given when written notice is received at least five business days before the first class. After five business days before the first class, an 80% refund minus a $20 processing fee is given when written notice is received prior to the second class. No refund is given after the class has met two times. Please allow two to three weeks to receive your refund.