The mission of the Printmaking program is to cultivate the creativity and develop the skills of those who have the aptitude and the desire to communicate through visual language. The program supports students to formulate, create, exhibit, and market a body of work informed by a wide variety of media. The program emphasizes knowledge of historical and contemporary printmakers and encourages students to think critically. The program is committed to Student Equity, and currency in the Printmaking field. The Printmaking program strives to develop creativity, confidence, and art-entrepreneurial abilities in students in preparation for art-business and professional careers and/or transfer to an Art/Design school or university.
Courses in Printmaking are in great demand. We currently have one full class of 18-25 students in Art 23 Introduction to Printmaking in the Fall semester. Art 23 is a transfer course to CSU and UC. In the Spring we have two full classes, Art 22 Screen Printing and Art 23. Courses are taught by a part-time faculty member and supported by a part-time lab technician. In conjunction with the Sculpture/Fiber Arts program, the Printmaking program maintains an Advisory Board whose longtime community members include successful, internationally known business people such as David Hopper(Orient & Flume, Paradise Pictures) Sandy Fisher (Sandy Fisher Woven), and Majbritte Mobrand (Glimakra Weaving Studio), and successful entrepreneurs such as Mick and Aaron Needham (Needham Glass Studio), CSU, Chico Art Department Chair, Robert Herhusky, and Sculptor Dave Barda. The Advisory Board meets together once a year to offer guidance on program direction and art-business curriculum. Courses in Printmaking are offered in a large studio classroom it shares with drawing (ARTS 130), which houses state-of-the-art printmaking and darkroom equipment. The program also utilizes an outdoor lab space equipped with state-of-the-art screen printing equipment for the creation of student projects. Courses in the Printmaking program challenge beginning level students� creative problem-solving skills, allow students to acquire printmaking techniques, such as the transfer of photographic images into prints, and apply their knowledge of design elements and principles in their work. In addition, there is a strong program focus on practical application of printmaking skills through the creation of utilitarian objects such as t-shirts, cards, calendars, and book making.
Recommendations
Validation Team recommendation: As the Background Statement of the Art Department’s 2014 Program Review rightly states, “Art has been an integral part of human culture for over 30,000 years” (p. 1) and it remains essential by reinforcing our “shared beliefs and values” (p. 2), increasing our “empathy” (p. 3)
and reinforcing our “social bonds” (p. 3). Because of the Arts’ central importance in human development and behavior, it is extremely disheartening to see the cuts and restrictions Butte’s Art Department has suffered in recent years. Therefore, it is the Validation Team’s recommendation that the Art Department be allowed to expand its course offerings (which are also profitable for the college). It is also the team’s recommendation that creative solutions be sought to somehow address students’ needs for skills development in Studio Arts classes given current, inappropriate state-mandated limits on repeatability of classes.
In the Spring of 2016 the Printmaking program was allowed to add an Art 22 Screen Printing into its schedule of course offerings. This course has filled to above capacity each Spring and brought students from the community who would not have taken any other art class. In the past year the program has not offered any classes because the primary instructor is no longer available to teach.
Validation Team Recommendation: Instill departmental planning with entrepreneurial vision. The Validation Team recommends that the Art Department devise and implement strategies to showcase and maximize the use of Arts facilities, resources and talents, creating a community Arts venue. With District support, leverage the capabilities of other campus programs such as Drama, Music, Recording Arts and Digital Art and Design programs (and others), with events management staff, as necessary. Consider the collaboration with programs such as Child Development and the Child Development Center, generating revenues for Art Foundation accounts and adding value to the communities we serve by offering art-oriented children’s camp opportunities. Enhance Butte’s culture of inclusiveness to encompass the campus and local communities by supporting and showcasing faculty, staff and student success in our wonderful Arts venue.
The Printmaking program continues to maintain it entrepreneurial vision and has worked diligently to develop a Guided Pathway in the Arts - an Art Entrepreneurship Degree/Certificate that would assist art students in developing their professional and entrepreneurial goals. It has:
Strategy 1 - Develop a Guided Pathway in the Arts � Art Entrepreneurship Program
Design and implement a Guided Pathway in the Arts – an Art Entrepreneurship Program. The Art Entrepreneurship Program is a comprehensive course of study that addresses the need to prepare students to enter the art market as entrepreneurs and art-professionals, and offers a solid foundation in the technical and aesthetic aspects of their selected art medium. It is designed to meet the needs of students who desire to create, manufacture, and market aesthetically pleasing and functional objects in local, regional, and global art markets. The program develops student knowledge and understanding of the unique art business context with which they will be negotiating upon leaving school. The program prepares students to become successful wealth generators who will make significant contributions to both community economic development and the cultural advancement of global society.
The Art Entrepreneurship Certificate is designed to support students’ creativity and develop skill in students’ chosen art medium, while also developing entrepreneurial and professional skills and habits of mind. The program offers students the opportunity to:
1) to develop their entrepreneurial skills in marketing art products; 2) and, to develop as professional artists by creating high quality portfolios that will provide access to art galleries, commercial venues, and artist in residency programs.
–The Art Entrepreneurship Program addresses the needs of Arts students who desire to be self-employed or to develop their arts business in tandem with other employment. The literature on arts economic development indicates that, “artists are self-employed at much higher rates than others in the workforce. About 34 percent of artists in the U.S. are self-employed, 3.5 times the national workforce average, according to a paper released today by small-business organization the Kauffman Foundation that cited research from the Census Bureau's 2011 American Community Survey.” “[Artists'] innovative challenges differ greatly from those faced by scientists and engineers. Artists and related cultural workers tend to fall through the cracks in traditional workforce and small business development programs,” Markusen says in her report. The Arts Entrepreneurship Program is designed to assist these arts entrepreneurs in successful professional and business practice.
According to many arts entrepreneurs the New Jobs are the jobs people are creating on their own/for themselves. In a recent interview with Meredith Kelley, artist and owner of Drifter Vintage she remarked that a lot of young people are reaching to entrepreneurship because jobs are not available. “Everyone I know who’s an Arts major or who recently graduated with an Arts degree, myself included, is creating their own employment. There’s a whole new wave of people living on their own creations.” Kelley explained that “ARTS training helps you to think outside the box, because to invent your own job you have to think creatively, you have to be able to identify a need, and then create a product or develop a service. So many of us are in this situation, we help each other and compare notes. Kelley went on to explain that there is an important correlation between this new wave of entrepreneurs and the technology they have at their disposal. Everyone communicates and promotes their businesses through internet sites such as Artfire, Etsy, and Pinterest, and social networking sites like Twitter, and facebook, she explained. The technology makes it more possible to be in business for yourself because it tremendously expands your market possibilities. However, she says, “it is vital to promote your business through a creative look on the web. If you don’t have these skills, or have someone on your team who has them, you won’t survive.” In a recent survey 42% of Butte College arts students responded with a resounding “yes” to a question asking for interest in earning an Arts Entrepreneurship certificate or degree.
Extensive economic data "points to an appealing argument in favor of arts entrepreneurship: The arts attract the educated, and the educated make more money. That means many arts-related businesses should profit, and so should municipalities, through higher tax receipts; developers, through more expensive homes; and all sorts of higher-end shops and restaurants, by locating near the cultural amenities that better educated people enjoy. Public officials and private-sector businesspeople might then stop looking at arts projects as charity and see them more as smart investments that attract the most appealing residents. Arts entrepreneurs are likely to find far more sympathetic ears among community leaders, who are more likely to offer tax incentives, lower rent for arts-related businesses in new developments or other mutually rewarding partnerships.”
Arts businesses not only revitalize dying downtowns in cities across the nation, they address the rise of robots as an economic force. According to Marguerite McNeal of Wired.com, “The robots haven’t just landed in the workplace—they’re expanding skills, moving up the corporate ladder, showing awesome productivity and retention rates, and increasingly shoving aside their human counterparts. One multi-tasker bot, from Momentum Machines, can make (and flip) a gourmet hamburger in 10 seconds and could soon replace an entire McDonalds crew. A manufacturing device from Universal Robots doesn’t just solder, paint, screw, glue, and grasp—it builds new parts for itself on the fly when they wear out or bust. As intelligent machines begin their march on labor” what are our young people to do when their entry-level jobs are taken by machines? It is not only entry-level jobs that are threatened. Some sources believe that by 2045 “robots will likely automate 50 percent of the global workforce”. While a small percentage of students will build the bots, the majority of them need alternatives. Self-employment in the arts is one answer. The handmade, human quality of their art products will offer a valuable counter-point to cold, machine-made objects.
The program finds its antecedents in the Arts and Crafts Movement in Great Britain and the United States from the 1850’s through the 1920’s. It will focus, like this movement, on the value of the well-made, handcrafted objects. Those who collect art and antiques can testify to their increasing value over time. Entire industries, such as appraisal and conservation studios, and auction houses are built/find sustenance in quality hand-made aesthetic objects. The program will promote the development of self-sufficiency and entrepreneurial abilities. This strategy is whole-heartedly supported by our Advisory Board who view this new program as the best way to insure that students who do not plan to transfer to university, have a fighting chance in the art-business world.
Advertising assistance.
We have developed a marketing campaign - Unleash Your Creative Side. We need help marketing this to local communities who are unaware of what we offer in Art, Design, and Performing Arts, or were put off by the lack of opportunities the college offered during the last deep budget cut and the repeatability changes.
Revenue is raised by the Printmaking program through donations of materials and funds, and the sales of artwork and merchandise.
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Printmaking | Operating Expenses | 11-000-512-1-093600 | $0.00 | $1,000.00 | |
| Budget Augmentation - | During the last budget crisis the ART-D budget was cut. Since that time there has been an increase in the cost of living making materials and equipment more expensive. While we are raising our student materials fees from $30 to $40 (from a student population that is 55.% Economically Disadvantaged), we could do much more to support student success and completion with a slight increase to our budget. This ongoing budget increase address faculty Assessment discussion on all ART-D PLO's, Goals, and Strategies. |
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