Student and Emerging Professionals
CAA understands the unique needs of students and young professionals in the increasingly competitive fields of art and academia–and we’re here to help! At the Annual Conference various workshops prepare students to enter the job market. Onsite mentoring programs provide free career advice and artist portfolio reviews in twenty-minute one-on-one appointments. And the CAA Student and Emerging Professionals (SEP) Committee, representing students and emerging professionals within the larger CAA and academic framework, organizes the SEP Lounge, a social space with free Wi-Fi and daily programming.
Read more about Student and Emerging Professionals programming below, and check back often for student deals on travel and lodging, as well as tips for making your CAA Annual Conference experience as productive (and as fun) as possible.
Student and Emerging Professionals (SEP) Lounge
Open daily throughout the conference
West Hall Meeting Room 511A, Level 2
Join CAA’s Student and Emerging Professionals committee in a social space offering relaxation and networking for student and emerging professional conference attendees. With free Wi-Fi and daily programming, the lounge creates a comfortable oasis specific to the needs of individuals just entering the field.
Welcome Breakfast
Inviting all students, emerging professionals, and friends!
SEPC Lounge
Thursday, February 26, 2009, 7:30–9:00 AM
Start off the conference with a complimentary breakfast and a warm welcome from members of the CAA Board of Directors. This is also a great opportunity to meet CAA’s Student and Emerging Professionals Committee and other colleagues! Engage in friendly conversation with your peers while enjoying breakfast snacks and refreshments. You can also enter a drawing to win a CAA student membership for the upcoming year!
Brown-bag Conversations
Current Career Expectations: Demands on Professionals
in the Visual Arts
West Hall Meeting Room 511A, Level 2
This year’s brown bag conversations and coffee hours focus on the challenges that emerging art professionals face in the early stages of their careers. Bring your lunch and join the midday conversations or drop by for a cup of coffee and a more casual discussion following up on the issues raised earlier that day. Take advantage of these opportunities to gain insider information, network with experts in your field, and have your specific questions answered!
Brown Bag Conversation
Defining the Emerging Professional
Wednesday, February 25, 12:30–2:00 pm
Moderators: Daniel Larkin, Friends of Materials for the Arts;
Hilary Batzel, independent artist
The Student and Emerging Professionals Committee invites emerging professionals to present their challenges and concerns in an open-ended roundtable. The goal is to gather feedback for the leadership of CAA as we strive to create a professional environment more conducive to your needs. In sharing your situation, you will aid us in defining the emerging professional in more inclusive terms. Everyone in the early stages of his or her career in art history and the visual arts is welcome to attend.
Brown Bag Conversation and Coffee Hour
What You Are Getting Into with Academia: The Joys and
Traumas of Those First Years in the Job
Thursday, February 26, 12:30–2:00 pm and 5:00–6:00 pm
Moderator: Mark Harris, University of Cincinnati
Join us at midday, and later for coffee, to discuss some of the crucial issues facing a junior faculty member: making yourself indispensable while still making time for research, getting on with your fellow faculty while getting the best advice from administrators, learning how to teach effectively without burning out, getting the community involved in your work, and securing grants.
Brown Bag Conversation and Coffee Hour
Performance Anxiety: New Demands on the
Emerging Professional
Friday, February 27, 12:30–2:00 pm and 5:00–6:00 pm
Moderator: Maria Ann Conelli, American Folk Art Museum From course management systems, rubrics, and assessments to publishing and departmental politics, this brown bag conversation and its corresponding coffee hour will address how the new PhD can manage the demands of the evolving workplace. Please join us as we explore these topics and help posit some solutions.
Conference Survival Guide
The Conference Survival Guide, a downloadable PDF, offers students, emerging professionals, and others attending their first conference guidance for traveling to Los Angeles and navigating conference activities. Suggestions provided in the guide include tips for finding travel funds, options for budget travel, suggestions for lodging and dining, information on transportation in Los Angeles, listings of events and ways to actively participate in the conference, and guidelines for successful networking during the four-day event. The Conference Survival Guide is an annual publication put together by CAA’s Student and Emerging Professionals Committee. For more information, please contact Vanessa Jalet, CAA executive assistant.
