Alfred University sculpture students participating in UAP summer Art Makers Apprentice Program
During the summer of 2024, Alfred University students Joseph Langford and Alyssa Nicholson will serve as student apprentices for Urban Art Projects (UAP) in the Hudson River Valley.
Langford and Nicholson, both juniors in the School of Art and Design’s Sculpture Dimensional Studies program, will participate in the Art Makers Apprentice Program during UAP’s summer workshop. The program aims to teach a hands-on approach to the making of art and working in a foundry.
Now in its second year, The Art Makers Apprentice Program is a unique collaboration to empower, inspire and celebrate the next generation of art makers between UAP’s One Earth Initiative and Alfred University’s National Casting Center Foundry, School of Art and Design, New York State College of Ceramics.
During the apprenticeship students will gain hands-on experience of working on a variety of public art projects and foundry practices at UAP’s extraordinary art making facility located in New York’s Hudson River Valley. Langford and Nicholson will experience and be a part of real-world interactions between artists, designers, and makers related to the large-scale production of art and metal casting.
“The Art Makers Apprentice Program between Alfred’s National Casting Center Foundry and Urban Art Projects has granted me a space to live and work in that exceeds my expectations,” Nicholson commented. “The entire process flows incredibly well with the space. With an atmosphere that’s intensely creative and forward-driven. You can feel that everyone involved has fallen in love with the work and has fun doing it. I can’t wait to join the crew.”
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to learn from such a well-regarded and skilled team,” added Langford. “The opportunity to learn foundry and finishing techniques from such experts is a blessing and never to be missed.”
ABOUT URBAN ART PROJECTS (ONE EARTH INITIATIVE)
Urban Art Projects is one of the biggest art foundries given its global network and reach. This means UAP’s activities and processes have played a major role in the damage caused to the environment, natural resources and ecosystem compared to other foundries. Project One Earth is UAP’s commitment to sustainability, systems thinking, and eco-efficiency. The implementation of critical activities informed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is considered as UAP's next innovation and transformation story that will positively impact its stakeholders, clients, partners, employees, and most importantly, future generations.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL CASTING CENTER
As part of the Sculpture Dimensional Studies Program, the National Casting Center is a melting pot of experimental activity. The NCC is set within the School of Art and Design, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and comprises of two comprehensive state-of-the-art facilities: one specializing in Metal Casting and the other in Glass Casting. Courses are taught extensively in both areas from sophomore through the graduate level. The Foundry is directed by Sculptor Coral Lambert, a recipient of the ISC Outstanding Educator award.