Committees
STUDENT AND EMERGING PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE
DESCRIPTION
The Student and Emerging Professionals Committee hosted Professional-Development Roundtable Discussions at the 2013 Annual Conference in New York (photograph by Bradley Marks)
Established in February 1998, the Student and Emerging Professionals Committee is comprised of CAA members who are students, recent graduates, and experienced arts professionals with the intention of better representing students and emerging professionals within the larger CAA and academic framework.
CURRENT PROJECTS
The Student and Emerging Professionals Committee presented the CAA Board of Directors with a recommendation on behalf of emerging professionals, requesting a reconsideration of the emerging professionals’ membership dues and registration fees to accommodate their challenging financial situations. Ongoing projects include expanding on and revamping the committee’s website, and establishing a volunteer project that allows students and emerging professionals to be more involved at the CAA Annual Conference.
STRUCTURE
In accordance with the guidelines established for CAA Professional Committees, the Student and Emerging Professionals Committee is made up of a minimum core of eight students or recently graduated CAA members selected by the CAA president and vice president for committees from an open call published in CAA News and on the CAA website. Students in BA, BFA, MA, MFA, and PhD programs and recent graduates in art and art history will be represented. Members serve a three-year term and must be no more than five years beyond graduation from a degree program. A board member will serve a three-year term as advisor in order to provide continuity and guidance for the long-range goals of the committee.
PURPOSE
The Student and Emerging Professionals Committee hosted Professional-Development Roundtable Discussions at the 2013 Annual Conference in New York (photograph by Bradley Marks)
The purpose of the Student and Emerging Professionals Committee is to serve better the varied needs and concerns of student and emerging professional members of CAA, and to encourage students and colleagues to join CAA. The committee will disseminate information and solicit participation from students and recent graduates from universities with BA, BFA, MA, MFA, and PhD programs in art and art history throughout the United States.
As a standing committee, the Student and Emerging Professionals Committee will have the opportunity to propose two sessions for the Annual Conference and hold its annual meeting at the same time. Other activities will include developing material for a page on the CAA website, organizing workshops at the Annual Conference, and addressing issues such as dissertation writing and MFA theses and/or theses exhibitions.
HOW CAA CAN BENEFIT STUDENTS
Often, incoming MFA, MA, and PhD students are only aware of CAA as a career-placement service; however, the numerous other services CAA offers can benefit students before they begin their search for full-time employment. CAA can provide visual artists and art historians access to a whole network of opportunities.
CAA’s Annual Conference is the only national forum for visual arts and art history. Each year in a different location around the country, artists, art historians, curators, educators, and arts administrators convene to present current research, review trends, exchange ideas, and address issues within the profession.
At the Annual Conference, various workshops prepare students to enter the job market. The Artists’ Portfolio Review offers artist members the opportunity to have slides, digital images, DVDs, or VHS videos of their work reviewed by professional curators and critics in private, twenty-minute consultations.
Career Development Mentoring offers a unique opportunity to receive candid advice on how to conduct a thorough job search, present work, prepare for interviews, and write effective CVs and cover letters.
The prestigious Professional Development Fellowship Program bridges the gap between graduate study and professional careers by providing financial assistance and career placement for outstanding students who have been marginalized in their field.
CAA publishes two distinguished quarterly journals, The Art Bulletin and Art Journal, and CAA News, a weekly email newsletter. The CAA website provides detailed information about the organization, including frequent updates on advocacy issues that affect our membership; it also includes a link to caa.reviews, an online publication devoted to the critical reviews of books, exhibitions, and projects in all areas and periods of art history and visual studies.
Members also have the opportunity to join CAA’s diverse and increasingly active Professional Committees. These committees address specific issues relevant to visual arts and art history such as professional practices, women in the arts, international concerns, and cultural diversity. The Student and Emerging Professionals Committee aims to serve better the varied needs of student and emerging-professional members of CAA.
Current Committee Members
Nicole Emser, Co-chair, Temple University (2026)
Ehryn Torrell, Co-chair, Loughborough University (2026)
Susan Altman, Middlesex College (2027)
Rachel Brown, Atlanta University Center (2025)
Epiphany Knedler, Northern State University (2027)
Yizhuo Li, University of Vienna–Universität Wien (2027)
Li Machado, Temple University (2028)
Carolyn Jean Martin, Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, CAA Board Liaison, ex officio
Emma Oslé, Rutgers University (2028)
Noah Randolph, Temple University (2026)
Frederica Simmons, Duke University (2027)
Emma Wingfield, Texas A&M University (2026)