The Canopy Program

The Canopy Program is a year-long intimate program, providing artists access to work exclusively with a Faculty Mentor and a Cohort of 10 artists for three semesters. Cohorts are available virtually via Zoom for artists based across the world, in-person Cohorts are available for artists living in the New York City area.

Artists will meet regularly throughout the program’s year for critiques, discussion and resource building in professional practices and art history lectures. Each Cohort will receive the opportunity to engage in special workshops, lectures and critique with Guest Speakers, Visiting Artists + Critics. Each Cohort will culminate in a pop-up group show with an opening reception in New York City at the end of program!

View The Canopy Program’s FAQs to learn more!

NYC Crit Club Courses

We provide online + in-person courses.

Online courses are held virtually via Zoom and are open to artists around the world.
In-person courses are hosted at our studio in Chelsea (NYC).

Course offerings change each semester + new courses are continuously being developed! Courses are available 4 times a year; Winter, Spring, Summer + Fall.

Artists share work online via Zoom by screen sharing images of their work with the group and faculty. Advantages of this include that artists can share more work easily, including images of large work, installation, writing, video, and etc.

Note: Performance must be shared via video documentation.

Drop ins are not permitted. We offer 5-6 week courses, making it easier for busy artists to enroll. If you are short on time or cannot commit to a 6 - 8 week course, we recommend checking out our Independent Study Program if you are seeking feedback on your work!

Art Career Intensive is the perfect course for artists who want to realize their professional aspirations. Each Art Career Intensive is designed specifically with key focuses on topics such as communication, applications + writing, and website/social media presentations, etc. Artists enrolled in this course will be able to share their work + writing for constructive feedback and guidance.

Select Guest Speakers are invited to present talks and provide advice based on their professional experiences. Art Career Intensives are typically online courses hosted via Zoom.

The Seminar and Art History Department was born out of the need to expand on conversations within the critique courses. Over the years, we have noticed that continuing the conversation about major topics in Modernism or art theory were needed. For years we have been expanding the ideas about how to write about art, how to better discuss terms and language within art and how to contextualize history to one’s own work.

The seminars range from theory of Drawing & Painting to intensives on writing and poetry and Queer Art History. All Seminars are led in a way where the artists are working with faculty on selected readings and films to contextualize content. Presentations are given weekly and discussion groups in out-of-class meet ups build relationships and give voice to artists within an open discussion in class. 

No seminars or art history courses are pure lectures - as we value and understand the voice of the NYC Crit Club artists. The faculty guides and shapes conversations in an inclusive way to highlight varying degrees of experience and questions within a group setting. The Seminars and Art History courses are ideal for an artist who needs a break discussing their work but seek to further the ideas of their thinking and research within the art historical canon.

Eligibility for Courses

Courses are designed for serious visual artists. Participants currently range in age from 22 to 70 years old. Most participants have received a BFA or MFA prior to attending a course. Self-taught artists are welcomed.

For critique based courses, we recommend that all artists have a body of work that exemplifies their dedication to their artistic practice. All participants must be open to the critique process, as that is the foundation of the process.

If you are a curator, writer, and/or gallerist, you are welcome to enroll in an Art History + Writing Seminar course.

A BFA or MFA degree are not required to enroll or apply. We value experience in the world outside the art academy and understand not everyone might have gotten the chance to study art but can bring unique knowledge in other fields. This is one of the strengths of NYC Crit Club, highlighting diversity in knowledge, experience, age and research.

For those in need of payment assistance, we offer Financial Aid & Payment Plans.

In addition, we offer BIPOC Scholarships reserved for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color artists, to receive a discount of 25-50% off the course cost.

The Artist Lecture Series Club - Membership

The NYC Crit Club online membership program, the Artist Lecture Series Club, was created to help further members’ art practice and career goals through artist lectures and career resources.

This year long membership provides artists, who might not be able to take a course, access to a series of Zoom artist lectures + Q&A with internationally acclaimed artists, NYC Crit Club discounts and resources.

Artist Lecture Series Club Membership benefits include:

• Exclusive access to Artist Lectures via Zoom

• 5% discount code for any course

• $10 off code for Plum Lime Residency application

• Access to Members Resource area

  • recommendations for open call opportunities

  • virtual library

  • lecture archive

Independent Study Program

The Independent Study Program (ISP) provides artists with a Zoom studio visit with NYC Crit Club Faculty.

The one-on-one virtual visit will include a consultation about your current artistic goals and aspirations, such as improving and developing your work, professional practices, and life plan as an artist.

Each ISP meeting is 1 hr. for $200.

Yes, you are welcome to book one session at a time, or multiple sessions.

If you are booking your first ISP session, we recommend booking one meeting to start before committing to other sessions.

Payment is required when booking your ISP appointment.

Please email Amanda if you have any questions at amanda.critclub@gmail.com.

Misc. Inquiries

Send an image + info via Direct Message on Instagram to @nyccritclubopenings! Artist, Ray Hwang, manages this page and will promote your exhibition or open call opportunity via @nyccritclubopenings!

If you are interested in joining us as a Critic or Guest Speaker, please complete the Work With Us intake form and we will reach out to you for more information.