The FORM Academy at UCLA in the School of the Arts and Architecture is the first FREE summer interdisciplinary arts studio program for inner city high school students interested in expanding their understanding of the world of art and in experiencing university life – with the goals being to broaden understanding of the practice of contemporary art, emphasizing its relevance and connection to othe
r disciplines and contemporary life, and to encourage participants to feel comfortable in a university setting and to seek higher education, be it in the arts or otherwise. FORM is the first collaboration between five tenured professors representing all departments within our school including Co-Directors Barbara Drucker, Art; Ben Refuerzo, Architecture and Urban Design; and Advising Faculty: Hirsch Perlman, Art; Casey Reas, Design Media Arts; and Aparna Sharma, World Arts and Culture/Dance. Five recent graduate students from UCLA have been chosen as mentors to our FORM students, and participate in studio intensives throughout the two week-long program, as well as explore the rest of campus through tours. Looking and Seeing is the conceptual theme weaving together all studio sessions, with each emphasizing a specific theme and activity defined by the mentor.
