Alternate Currents is one of only a few programs across the US which prioritizes free access to a cohort learning experience and funding outside larger institutional systems. AC cohort members learn together, share resources, publish their work, and organize exhibitions and panel discussions.
Alternate Currents (AC) is a two-year program designed to support artists and organizers working to thoughtfully challenge dominant systems, forge collaborations, and engage with their communities. An alternative to a conventional MFA, AC cohort members work together to understand how justice in the arts is interpreted, documented, and enacted.
Applications to join the Alternate Currents cohort are now closed. Applications for 2025’s cohort will open in October of 2024.
In their first year, cohort members:
Organize and lead monthly site/studio visits.
Share resources to contextualize group discussions during site/studio visits.
Publish their work in a collaborative group publication.
Collectively identify projects to pursue for exhibition at Generator Space the following year.
Receive a $1,500 stipend to support their work.
In their second year, cohort members:
Organize and carry out projects, exhibitions, and panel discussions at Amplify’s Generator Space.
Invite artists, organizers, arts workers, and educators from outside of the cohort to participate in projects, exhibitions, and panel discussions.
Receive a $1,500 stipend to support their work.
Receive additional funding to support Generator Series projects and panel discussions.
Cohort Meetings
Monthly site/studio visit meetings are organized and led by individual Alternate Currents cohort members who research and share articles, videos, podcasts, and prompts that shape discussion, feedback, and critique. Monthly meetings also offer dedicated time explore collaborative working relationships and channels of mutual support within the cohort.
Generator Series
Projects and exhibitions developed within the cohort receive additional Generator Series project funding enabling work to take shape in physical space. These awards are designed to encourage Alternate Currents cohort members to continue working collaboratively in meaningful ways by self-organizing outside larger institutional systems.
Discussion Series
Alternate Currents cohort members offer insight, context, and expand upon the themes in their work during panel discussions with artists, arts workers, educators, and organizers from outside the cohort. Panel discussions also serve as a public forum to welcome feedback and new perspectives around how justice in the arts is interpreted, documented, and enacted.
Blog
Panel Discussions are recorded and posted to the Alternate Currents blog, a space for ongoing conversation and deeper investigations. The blog is also home to an extensive archive of articles, interviews, critical writing, and creative research that bring issues around justice in the arts into clearer focus.
Publications
AC cohort members create work for a limited edition publication that opens space for critical reflection around how justice in the arts is interpreted, documented, and enacted. While participating in the research and editing phases, cohort members deepen their understanding of how their work intersects, compliments, and challenges that of other group members.