Professional Practice (FULL) - Nicole Charbonnet

Professional Practice is designed as a rigorous, supportive space for artists to develop their work through ongoing discussion and critique. During our weekly meetings, participants present work — both finished and in progress — for focused, constructive feedback from the instructor, classmates, visiting artists, art historians and gallerists. Critical conversation, the exchange of ideas, and exploration of larger cultural contexts is a tried-and-true path to clarifying artistic identity.

Class discussion is focused on formal, conceptual and contextual concerns, with an emphasis on how individual works operate within a broader artistic, cultural and historical framework. Through dialogue, participants sharpen their interpretive and evaluative skills while developing a shared language that supports both making and thinking.

This class was previously called Independent Study: “Art and Identity,” but as the skills of our Wednesday night group have grown, it has evolved into more of an art group than an art class. Throughout time art groups and artists’ relationships to one another have been at the forefront of all the historical art movements. When artists challenge each other through creative exchange, they expand the collective understanding of what is possible. This holds true today, in this class, and in the contemporary art world, at large.

Given this change in the group and leaning on my experience teaching the “Professionalism” and “Seminar” classes in the Tulane MFA program, I concluded “Art and Identity” was ready for a slight shift. My intent is to further creative exchange within the group, and to prepare students pursuing gallery and exhibition opportunities to talk and write about their work in all personal and professional forums.

Despite the new title, our aim remains the same: to provide support for artists in identifying, articulating and developing a coherent artistic identity. The goal is to clarify intention without foregoing experimentation, and to position identity as an ongoing process of inquiry and refinement rather than a fixed endpoint.

This class is not limited to professional artists; it’s for anyone, at any level, who wants to hone their skills, engage in a dialogue about work and ideas and expand their connections within the art community, including opportunities to participate in exhibitions.

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Prerequisites: Previous classes in drawing and painting are strongly suggested.

Supplies: Student should bring what supplies they want to work with.