(MSA^) is an artist-run school in Los Angeles founded in 2005 and operating continuously ever since. Each year, it convenes a small, selected group of international and local participants for a short, intensive period. There is no campus, no degree, and no curriculum that can be standardized or repeated. The program takes its form from those who are present and from the specific conditions in which it unfolds.
Operating through proximity to artists, to places, and to situations that cannot be fully anticipated in advance, MSA^ is structured around encounter rather than instruction. Time is spent visiting, moving through the city, talking, eating, and waiting. Led by a committed faculty, the emphasis is on rigorous exchange and serious inquiry rather than the production of work or professional outcomes. Whatever effects it has tend to surface later, often elsewhere, in practices and relationships that extend beyond the program itself.
Students are required to commit to the full duration of the program, and there are no fees for enrolling or attending classes.
