above anna von mertens in 2001 at work on Migrations, in which she drew an 1,800-square-foot world map on the floor and asked visitors to connect up all the places they had ever lived
undertaking was, by all accounts, almost like an archaeologi-
who are doing amazing things you may never have imagined.
cal excavation and involved removing decades of paint from
I remember when I was accepted to CCA and first set foot on
the stamped-tin ceilings and pillars, stairwell, and railings.
the San Francisco campus, I felt surrounded by all this elec-
Jensen describes Headlands as more than just a support structure for individual artists. “We’re also supporting new work that wouldn’t get made otherwise. That’s a pretty
tricity. Activity was never more than 10 feet away. Everything was always in process, happening in real time.”
amazing thing, and an ambitious agenda.” He notes that the
on now, and coming up
overlapping groups of Headlands and CCA artists, alumni,
At a sprightly 30 and 105 years of age, respectively, Headlands
faculty, staff, board members, and audiences are parts of an
and CCA continue to intertwine, collide with, and shape
art and design ecosystem that is larger than any of the people
each other. liam everett (MFA 2012) is the current CCA
or institutions involved. “One project leads to another; one
Graduate Fellow. The 2012 AIRs have included suné woods
artist leads to another. There’s never more than two degrees
(MFA 2010), zachary royer scholz (MFA 2006, MA
of separation.”
Visual and Critical Studies 2009), and jeremy mende (Graphic Design faculty). An exhibition celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Tournesol Award is on now through
“There is enormous creativity on the board, enormous
December 16 and includes work by faculty member shaun
thinking about what the organization is, and what it might
o’dell and alumni leslie shows and neil ledoux. In fall 2012, anthony discenza (MFA 2000 and Fine Arts faculty) returned to Headlands for an Alumni New Works residency; his last stint there was in 2001. And the 2012 Affiliate Artists include victoria gannon (MA Visual and Critical Studies 2008), christina seely (Photography faculty), and luke damiani (Sculpture 2004). Headlands Open Houses take place three times per year. At the Open House on Sunday, April 28, 2013, the public is invited to see recent work by Everett, Gannon, Seely, Damiani, and the 2013 AIRs. A
be, moving forward.” One key challenge, he says, is how to simultaneously be a local resource and maintain a presence on the international stage. “You want to be able to reach out to people in New York or Reykjavík or Tokyo. Applications come in from across the globe.” This strong community of artists and scholars from around the country and the world is another thing the place has in common with CCA. “The two are very complementary,” continues Maisel. “In both places you delve into things in a very open way and get involved with people from everywhere
features
David Maisel believes the 30th anniversary of Headlands represents a very interesting moment for the organization.
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