What is Critical Forum?

The Arts Center of the Capital Region’s Critical Forum program is an intensive professional development opportunity for emerging and mid-career artists looking to advance their work and to expand their artistic practice. Each year 12 participants are chosen for this 6-month program (May to October) through a free and open application. The selected cohort meets once a month at the Arts Center for group critique sessions, travels twice to New York City for “immersive” visits, and has the opportunity to participate in the annual Critical Forum exhibition plus attend additional monthly critiques with Critical Forum alumni. 

Group Critiques + Art Theory Discussions

The group critiques (“crits”) are led by the Critical Forum director and occasional invited arts professionals from the Hudson Valley region and beyond. The aim of critiques is to foster an engaging dialogue among artists who maintain a regular studio practice while encouraging a peer-driven review of their work in a supportive community environment. The Critical Forum program also includes an optional monthly online art theory discussion via Zoom. 

Visits to New York City

Critical Forum includes two full-day visits to New York City—in July and October—to explore diverse aspects of the contemporary art world. During these intensive “immersive” experiences, Critical Forum participants will visit galleries, museums and/or artists’ studios as part of these day-long intensives. The group will also meet with curators, gallerists, and other NYC visual arts professionals.

Alumni Crit Nights

The Critical Forum program also offers monthly crit nights at the Arts Center. These sessions are open to all alumni of the program. The 2023 Alumni Crit schedule is listed below.

Apply for 2024 Program

Applications for Critical Forum 2024 are being accepted now through Monday, April 1st.  To apply, contact Taliesin Thomas, Critical Forum Program Director, at taliesinthomas@gmail.com

Critical Forum is led by Taliesin Thomas, Ph.D., an artist-philosopher, writer, lecturer, and collector based in Troy. She studied fine art practices, aesthetic theory, philosophy, and Buddhism at Bennington College (BA), Columbia University (MA), and The Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (PhD). During her 30-year career she has worked in various professional capacities including the artist studio, museum, commercial gallery, artist residency, and art foundation setting. Since 2007 she is the founding director of AW Asia and the manager of Art Issue Editions—two private art collections based in New York City that serve as the platform for curatorial projects and collaborations with museums and artists worldwide. Thomas has lectured and published widely on contemporary art including Dirt, Chronogram, ArtPulse, Journal of Daoist Studies, Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, ArtAsiaPacific, and most recently with Yale University Press. She is a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts, NY. 

Contact Critical Forum Program Director, Taliesin Thomas at taliesinthomas@gmail.com