We came to Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, with the goal of advancing our artistic practices while forming ties within the greater University community, the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts (made up of the Architecture and Fine Arts Schools), and the city of Saint Louis as a whole.

In the past year, the Sam Fox MFA program has almost doubled in size.  The MFA students come from diverse backgrounds with degrees including: all areas of fine arts, sociology, geography, women’s studies, and education. Our origins span the globe, and our global interests are reflected in our current work and our goals.

The Lewis Center, which houses MFA the graduate student studios, is located approximately one mile from the main Washington University campus.  We are physically removed from the rest of the student body, and aside from our Graduate Director, there are no permanent faculty offices in our building.  This position has given us plenty of hours to work in quiet solitude to pursue our independent projects, but it also promotes a sense of isolation and lack of identity for our program, within the greater University community.

a wustl workshop has been established as a nucleus around which all artistic collaborations are conceivable.  It functions both a physical place and a mental space in which our collective ideas and identity can take form.  Located on the North side of the Lewis center (where the greatest number of studios are in one room) this outpost was conceived of as merely one franchise of many potential wustl workshops.  We hope to use our cooperative powers to promote awareness of this dynamic and talented group of artists.  As well we strive to convey our interest in the rest of the Washington University community and aim to integrate our presence at the University and in the general Saint Louis area.