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Corcoran School of the Arts & Design

Columbian College of Arts & Sciences

Corcoran NGA

National Gallery

 

Where Art and Ideas Meet:
The Corcoran x National Gallery Partnership

Hands-on learning, world-class art, and bold collaborations that shape the future of civic engagement.

 

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ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

In 2023, a new agreement between the George Washington University, the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the National Gallery of Art unveiled a new initiative to facilitate immersive learning, art-making and interdisciplinary research that will drive exhibitions, performances and curriculum at the Corcoran School.

The partnership includes space for students, artists, community members, museum professionals and faculty to collaborate as well as opportunities for students to gain hands-on learning with National Gallery experts. We want to foster work that is civically engaged, interdisciplinary and collaborative. The work will be experimental and help us consider how to do what we do differently.

RESIDENCY SPOTLIGHT: FOR FREEDOMS

The partnership is supporting a three-year residency program (2024-2027) with For Freedoms, an artist-led organization that centers art as a catalyst for creative civic engagement, discourse, and direct action.

The second year of the For Freedoms residency, produced by the Corcoran/National Gallery partnership, unfolds as a Civic Arts Lab, an active space for civic and cultural inquiry and collective experimentation. Rooted in a spirit of collaboration, the Lab invites ongoing dialogue and creative practice that explore the intersections of artistic expression and civic life. Through participatory engagements and open-ended exploration, the Lab is a site for testing ideas and nurturing new ways of thinking, making, and being together.

 

 

“The kind of world that I want to live in demands that people be critically engaged and creative members of society,” Gottesman said. “As a result, I believe that we need to allow for more questioning and less dogma, more nuance and more ways of engaging so that we can have real conversations that may not align with the current political options that we have.”

Eric Gottesman, Co-Founder, For Freedoms  
2024-25 William Wilson Corcoran Visiting Professor of Community Engagement

Gottesman
 

 

 

SELECT PHOTOS FROM
CORCORAN x NATIONAL GALLERY PROGRAMMING
 

Kite-making workshop
Kite-making workshop and other events at the Corcoran, part of the official launch of the For Freedoms residency. Photos shot during “Interdependence,” a convening on Oct. 4-5, 2024, by photojournalism student Lily Speredelozzi.
Kite-making workshop
Kite-making workshop and other events at the Corcoran, part of the official launch of the For Freedoms residency. Photos shot during “Interdependence,” a convening on Oct. 4-5, 2024, by photojournalism student Lily Speredelozzi.
Artists’ billboards on display
Artists’ billboards on display (in smaller reproductions) at the Corcoran School through December 14, 2024. The exhibit is part of the official launch of the For Freedoms residency. Photos by photojournalism student Lily Speredelozzi.
Artists’ billboards on display
Artists’ billboards on display (in smaller reproductions) at the Corcoran School through December 14, 2024. The exhibit is part of the official launch of the For Freedoms residency. Photos by photojournalism student Lily Speredelozzi.
Kite-making workshop
Kite-making workshop and other events at the Corcoran, part of the official launch of the For Freedoms residency. Photos shot during “Interdependence,” a convening on Oct. 4-5, 2024, by photojournalism student Lily Speredelozzi.
Wesaam Al-Badry
Talks by Jessica Ingram and Wesaam Al-Badry, moderated by Susan Sterner, during “Interdependence,” Oct. 4-5, 2024. Photos by Maria Luz Bravo (New Media Photojournalism ‘17).
Susan Sterner
Talks by Jessica Ingram and Wesaam Al-Badry, moderated by Susan Sterner, during “Interdependence,” Oct. 4-5, 2024. Photos by Maria Luz Bravo (New Media Photojournalism ‘17).
Reflection of Woman

Reflection of Woman

Past work of For Freedoms. Mahvash Mostala, Reflection of Woman | نز†ساکعنا New York, NY, 2022, Eyes on Iran, Photographed by Austin Paz, Image courtesy of Even/Odd.
Future Ancestral Technologies: We Survive You

Future Ancestral Technologies: We Survive You

Past work of For Freedoms. Cannupa Hanska Luger, "Future Ancestral Technologies: We Survive You", Mandan (Standing Rock), 2021, Landback.Art, Photographed by Justin Deegan.
Billboards campaign

Billboards campaign

Images from For Freedoms’ Billboards campaign, part of their 50 State Initiative, which asks “How can artists spark honest dialogue and reflection about issues that affect them locally and nationally?” Since 2016, For Freedoms has been inserting artists’ voices into the American media landscape.
Wide Awakes at Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Wide Awakes at Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Past work of For Freedoms. Wide Awakes at Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles CA. Photograph by Jessica Chappe. "For Freedoms Congress", 2020.
Chaos or Community?

Chaos or Community?

Past work of For Freedoms. For Freedoms x Combo©, "Chaos or Community?", Denver, CO. Photograph by Jeff Scroggins. In Collaboration with McCourt Global and Orange Barrel Media. For Freedoms "2020 Awakening", 2020.
Atrium of the historic Flagg Building

Atrium of the historic Flagg Building

Atrium of the historic Flagg Building at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. Future residency events will be hosted here as well as at the National Gallery of Art.
Corcoran students

Corcoran students

Corcoran students at the National Gallery of Art (2023-24).
Performance at the National Gallery of Art

Performance at the National Gallery of Art

Performance at the National Gallery of Art (2023-24).
Michael Lapthorn Sculpture Garden Nov 2023
In November 2023, Corcoran students were led through the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden by its Chief of Design Michael Lapthorn, in a client-designer scenario. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art Press Office.
Preventative Conservation Concepts
Students in Prof. Mary Coughlin’s “Preventative Conservation Concepts” course learn about the intricacies of caring for art under various conditions. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art. 2023
Dorothea Lange
Photojournalism student presenting at the National Gallery of Art’s Dorothea Lange: Seeing People exhibition, discussing how her work still impacts their photographic studies. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.
Dorothea Lange
Photojournalism student sheds light on Dorothea Lange’s contributions to humanizing the effects of the Great Depression through her photography, at the National Gallery of Art’s Dorothea Lange: Seeing People exhibition. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art. 2023
Dorothea Lange
Photojournalism student presenting at the National Gallery of Art’s Dorothea Lange: Seeing People exhibition, discussing how her work still impacts their photographic studies. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.
Dorothea Lange
Photojournalism student sheds light on Dorothea Lange’s contributions to humanizing the effects of the Great Depression through her photography, at the National Gallery of Art’s "Dorothea Lange: Seeing People" exhibition (November 5, 2023-March 31, 2024). Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.
Nightmare at the Museum
Corcoran student Sage Wilson presents pop-up talks at "Nightmare at the Museum" in 2023, a part of the NGA's National Gallery Nights. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.
Nightmare at the Museum
Museum Studies student Meta Miller guides visitors through art at "Nightmare at the Museum" in 2023, a part of the NGA's National Gallery Nights. Photo courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.
Modulating Movements
<p>Corcoran music &amp; dance students at the National Gallery of Art for “Modulating Movements.” The two part series was a unique event presenting collaborations between electronic music composition and students of dance choreography, led by faculty members Heather Stebbins and Anna Kimmel. This immersive series was hosted by the National Gallery, as a part of their monthly First Saturday series.</p>
Modulating Movements
Corcoran music & dance students at the National Gallery of Art for “Modulating Movements.” The two part series was a unique event presenting collaborations between electronic music composition and students of dance choreography, led by faculty members Heather Stebbins and Anna Kimmel. This immersive series was hosted by the National Gallery, as a part of their monthly First Saturday series.
Modulating Movements
Corcoran music & dance students at the National Gallery of Art for “Modulating Movements.” The two part series was a unique event presenting collaborations between electronic music composition and students of dance choreography, led by faculty members Heather Stebbins and Anna Kimmel. This immersive series was hosted by the National Gallery, as a part of their monthly First Saturday series.
Corcoran Workshop Serie
As a part of the Corcoran Workshop Series, students received a detailed view of organizing museum exhibitions by Steve Mann, the head of exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art. Mann described his many job responsibilities and explained how exhibition planning branches out into the many areas of the art world. Photo courtesy of GW Today.

IN THE NEWS
 

Steve Mann

GW Students Given an Inside Look at Organizing Art Museum Exhibitions

November 2, 2023

Steve Mann of the National Gallery of Art presented an overall view of his job.

Flagg Building

Corcoran-NGA deal revision will connect students and gallery staff, faculty say

October 2, 2023

Officials will turn gallery space in the school’s Flagg Building into a hub for interdisciplinary learning.

For Freedoms DC event

George Washington University, National Gallery of Art, Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery Advance Historic Partnership

September 22, 2023

First major programmatic partnership between the National Gallery and a university serves their missions as incubators for students, artists and scholars.

Viewers admire final projects by Corcoran interior architecture students at the NEXT Festival in spring 2023. (William Atkins/GW Today)

GW’s Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and the National Gallery of Art Collaborate on New Home for Emerging Art and Education

September 21, 2023

First major programmatic partnership between the National Gallery and a university to provide immersive learning opportunities for students.

 

CONTACT & RESOURCES

 

Campus Address

Flagg Building
500 17th St, NW

 

Program Information

Program Manager
Babette Pendleton
bpendletonatgwu [dot] edu (bpendleton[at]gwu[dot]edu)