About the MPAS Program
The two-year Master of Public Art Studies (MPAS) program welcomes students from a range of academic backgrounds and professional interests, and offers a unique context for the study of key historical notions of public space and the public sphere, and the influence of these ideas upon the work of contemporary artists, theorists and architects who seek to reconsider the public realm as a space of possibility.
Immersed in a cross-disciplinary curriculum comprised of seminars, directed research, practicum opportunities, and guest lectures, students have the opportunity to participate in the development of a hybrid cultural discourse—and adventurous modes of curatorial organizing—that draws from aspects of art history and criticism, exhibition history, urban theory, architectural history and theory, social science, geography, and urban planning.
An introduction by the new Director of the Program, Joshua Decter
MPAS Lectures, Events, and News
There are no events of this type scheduled at this time.
Video: Architecture, Design, Art: Strategies for Survival
April 6, 2009
Architecture, Design, Art: Strategies for Survival was a conversation among Teddy Cruz, Marjetica Potrc and Krzysztof Wodiczko that took place on April 6, 2009. The event was organized and moderated by Joshua Decter, director of the Master of Public Art Studies Program (Art in the Public Sphere) at the USC Roski School of Fine Arts, and was the second part of the "Participation and Friction: Rethinking Art and Architecture as Public Culture" series, sponsored by Visions and Voices: The USC Arts and Humanities Initiative.
Video: Art and Architecture in the
Public Sphere of Cities
Feb 2, 2009
Joshua Decter, director of the Master of Public Art Studies Program at USC, organized and moderated this event exploring art and architecture in the public sphere, and unorthodox ways of engaging the public. The panel featured Anne Pasternak, president and artistic director of Creative Time, New York; Los Angeles based installation artist Doug Aitken; and Peter Zellner, Los Angeles-based architect and founding principal of ZELLNERPLUS. The event was presented as part of Visions and Voices, and was held on February 2, 2009, at the Davidson Conference Center.