Student Announcements
See below for important information and announcements for the week.
This information is also sent out in our SMFA Update newsletter, which is sent to undergraduate and graduate students weekly on Mondays during the school year.
What You Need to Know This Week
Become a Student Tour Guide for SMFA Admissions
The SMFA at Tufts Admissions Office is looking for dedicated and enthusiastic BFA or Combined Degree students to become Student Tour Guides. Tour Guides are often the first point of contact for prospective students and their families and can have a major impact on their understanding of our school and our community. Find this position on Handshake or via this form!
Please note that during the Spring 2021 semester all events will be held virtually via Zoom.
If you have any questions about the Tour Guide position, please contact:
emily Lubow Klobucher (she/her), Assistant Director of Admissions at emily.klobucher@tufts.edu
SMFA Café Temporarily Closed
The SMFA Café is temporarily closed until further notice due to limited dining staff. Visit dining.tufts.edu for up-to-date information about our other locations and hours of operation. Questions? Email TuftsDining@tufts.edu.
Submit a Workshop Idea for Health, Safety, and Sustainability Week
To honor artist and former SMFA teacher Julie Graham, who passed away due to lung cancer, the Sustainability Committee is organizing the third Health, Safety and Sustainability Week (HSS) (formerly Day) from Monday March 1st to Saturday March 6h, 2020. The program will be held online due to COVID-19.
Students, alumni, staff, and faculty members are invited to submit proposals for 1-hour workshops or roundtable conversations to be held during SMFA classes (faculty members will volunteer to make their class time slots available).
Workshops can be either offered by individuals or small groups of collaborators. Collaborations between art specialists and science/engineering specialists are welcome. Past examples include creating sculptures out of discarded Fitbits; painting with natural hand-made inks; creating paper puppets out of used materials; sewing reusable utensil pouches; mending, gardening, knitting, and more.
Roundtable conversations can concern a range of topics related to art and ecology. Examples include sharing experience on environmental activism; reporting back from art and environment conferences or events; presenting own work, projects, books. Roundtable conversations should make space for in depth discussion.
Applications are due on February 4. Read the full call details for more information and how to apply.
Deadline Extended to December 15: Health, Safety, and Sustainability Award Call for Proposals
The Health, Safety, and Sustainability (HSS) Awards is a competition for teams to work collaboratively to create low-environmental-impact and non-toxic art supplies/methods/projects.
The deadline for proposals has been extended to December 15. Teams should submit a 500-word description of the project that you would like to develop, highlighting its environmental and social benefits and interdisciplinary nature. You can also include an idea board (up to 5 supporting images, diagrams, and/or visual aids). Include CVs and a contact list of all team members. Upload all materials to a Box folder and share it with Silvia Bottinelli at silvia.bottinelli@tufts.edu.
View the full call for proposals and calendar to learn more.
Call for Work: Students Curate Students Exhibition OFF-GRID
Open to all SMFA students to apply, OFF-GRID is a celebration of work being created autonomously and without reliance on perceived systems of normality, creating new utilities and opportunities to make and participate in art as an ever-changing institution.
This show is open to all themes, media, and disciplines, with some restrictions due to COVID-19. This show will consist of physical works installed in the Weems Atrium or displayed virtually on the SMFA website. Digital submissions must be high quality files. If your work is selected for the virtual component of the show, we will share with you the media file criteria. All selected in-person works will need to be ready to hang and dropped off February 3–5 at 230 Fenway. Applications are due by December 31. If you have any questions, email Jorge.Gomez_Gonzalez@tufts.edu.
Learn more and apply via Slideroom.
My Tufts Story Video Contest
The Office of the Provost is excited to announce the second annual My Tufts Story Video Contest, open to all Tufts undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Tell us your story! Entries will be reviewed by a Tufts panel of faculty and staff, and cash prizes will be awarded to the top videos.
Contest rules and guidelines can be found on our website. Videos can be submitted now until 9 am on Monday, February 22.
Mark Your Calendars for Global Tufts Month, March 1 – 31
The Office of the Provost and the Senior International Officer invite the Tufts community to participate by attending and hosting events with a global or international focus related to this year’s theme: Welcoming All Voices: Global Perspectives on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice. These events will showcase Tufts’ breadth and depth of global engagement and can range from lectures, film showings, cultural events, social programs, and more! Mini-grants of up to $500 are available for event funding. Proposals due Feb. 1. Learn more on the Global Tufts site.
Important Fall 2020 Information
COVID-19 Guidance: For the latest updates and guidance from Tufts University, please visit go.tufts.edu/coronavirus
As was announced in late September, the Thanksgiving Break Travel Policy for AS&E Students (including SMFA) mandates that any student who has been studying in-person and decides to travel (either in-region or out-of-region) during or after the Thanksgiving break may not return to campus and must finish the semester remotely. All students, including those who live off-campus, must complete the Fall 2020 Campus Departure Form in SIS. Access the departure form by clicking the “Housing Portal” under “About Me” in SIS.
Review Board Reminders
If you are review board-eligible (enrolled in 8 SHUs of studio coursework or more), you should document your work and studios through photographs or video before leaving campus to ensure you can share your work and process during your virtual review board.
- Undergraduate students, please check your Tufts email for a message from SMFA Advising with information about review board sign-ups. If you have questions, please write to SMFAStudentAffairs@tufts.edu.
- Graduate Students should contact Lisa.Bynoe@tufts.edu with any questions about review boards.
Individual Studios
If you currently have an assigned private studio and intend to travel for the Thanksgiving break, or at any point during the rest of the Fall semester, you must pack up any supplies and personal belongings you wish to leave in your studio over Winter Break. For that purpose, boxes will be distributed to each studio. Items you may choose to store can include all notebooks, paints, brushes, tools, etc.
Please take home any supplies and materials that you may need during the break. Please note that we will NOT be shipping any items to you should you decide not to return in-person for the Spring term. If you are studying remotely for the Spring semester, you must fully empty your personal studio space.
If you intend to store items in your studio, every object belonging to you must be placed in the provided boxes and there should be nothing remaining on the floor. Garbage should be properly disposed of in the nearest receptacles. Over the break the Facilities crew will be deep cleaning all spaces in which the studios have been constructed and will dispose of any forsaken items on the floor.
Large 2-D or 3-D work should be neatly placed against the perimeter walls of your studio space. You may stack any paintings that are dry, and we suggest that you place work on paper either in a portfolio or flat on your table surface.
Your current studio will remain your studio for the Spring Term. Please contact Caleb Davis and/or Kenson Truong with any questions related to private studios.
Returning Studio Resource Equipment
Students who received equipment in their studio resource kits must return it by December 23. Students who choose to take equipment off campus for the rest of the semester must be prepared to ship equipment back to the school by December 23, as originally agreed. Refer to the inventory that you received with your kit to identify what items you should return. Please contact smfastudioteam@tufts.edu with any questions.
The university has released detailed information about routine testing and shared the comprehensive plan on a dedicated website. We encourage you to review this important information.
Routine testing will take place at SMFA’s 230 Fenway building on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and on the Medford/Somerville campus daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. You will receive an email inviting you to download the Campus Key app that will allow you to schedule your routine tests.
All SMFA buildings (including 230 Fenway and 160 St. Alphonsus on the Boston SMFA Campus, and Barnum and Lane Halls on the Medford/Somerville Campus) will be open daily from 8 am to 10 pm All students, faculty, and staff will be required to show their Daily Health Screening clearance at the 230 Fenway and Mission Hill security desks. Overnights and after-hours access will not be permitted in our buildings this semester. Visitors and the members of the public will not be permitted to access our buildings.
Informational signage has been posted throughout campus to remind all of us to maintain a safe social distance. Students, faculty, and staff will be required to wear masks at all times while in SMFA spaces, except while seated in the designated dining area in Anderson Auditorium. We ask that everyone follows these protocols to protect the health and safety of our community.
Students wishing to access specialized studios over the fall semester should contact smfastudioteam@tufts.edu to request an appointment at least 24 hours in advance. Information about studio policies and access protocols can be found here.
Students taking SMFA studio courses received equipment, supplies, and software based on the requirements of each course via mail or no-contact pickup. Packages for remote students were shipped to their addresses. Students who received equipment in their studio resource kits must return it by December 23. Please contact smfastudioteam@tufts.edu with any questions regarding resource kits.
The SMFA Library will be providing contactless pick up of materials and virtual research consultations during the beginning of the semester. In an abundance of caution, we are not immediately reopening the library. We want to keep everyone safe and will work with you individually to meet your needs. We will share further details about access when we have a better idea of what the demand will be at 230 Fenway.
Once it is proven safe to do so, we will begin scheduling individual library appointments for you to browse the stacks. If you are interested in scheduling such an appointment, email Darin Murphy with a subject of "Scheduling an appointment at the SMFA Library." We cannot guarantee we will be able to honor everyone's requests but will do our best to accommodate you and to create alternative solutions where necessary.
In the meantime, continue to use Jumbo Search to access library materials and to schedule contactless pickup at the SMFA Library or Tisch Library.
Library resources quick links for all students:
Tisch Library Website
SMFA Library Services for Fall 2020
Students in SMFA studio courses are being provided with licenses for Adobe Creative Cloud.
To claim your license, follow these steps:
- Go to https://tufts.onthehub.com/.
- Log in with your Tufts username and password.
- Click on the "Student" tab, then "Adobe".
- Select the four-month option with a free price.
- Follow the instructions to download and install the software. Please note, Mac users should be running MacOS X 10.13 or later.
- If you have trouble, please contact it@tufts.edu. Be sure to let them know you’re an SMFA student.
This semester the galleries in the Aidekman Arts Center on the Medford/Somerville campus are open for in-person visits by appointment for Tufts students, faculty, and staff only. New hours are Monday to Friday, 10 am to 5 pm; groups and classes should schedule their visits with Liz Canter at elizabeth.canter@tufts.edu.
All public programs will be available online. Visit our site for our full schedule of panels, artist talks, screenings and more and for a full listing of our in-person and online exhibitions.
SMFA Shuttle Service is running. There will be two shuttles departing Aidekman Arts Center and two shuttles departing 230 Fenway on the hour. Masks are required on the shuttle and shuttles will run at 50% capacity to accommodate physical distancing. Please visit the SMFA shuttle website for exact times. Contact transportation@tufts.edu with any questions.
Shuttle Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8 am to 10 pm
Saturday & Sunday: 11 pm to 7 pm
The SMFA Café will open for the semester on Monday, September 21. SMFA Café will have limited counter service, but we highly suggest ordering ahead on the mobile app. Anderson Auditorium will be furnished to offer socially-distant dining space. The Café accepts meal swipes, RhinoBucks, JumboCash, and credit cards.
SMFA Café hours of operation:
Monday to Thursday: 8 am to 4 pm.
Friday: 8 am to 2 pm
Closed weekends and holidays
Visit the Dining webpage for Medford/Somerville campus dining locations and hours.
This semester, the SMFA Art Store will allow in-person shopping by appointment only. Make an appointment here to shop in-person or by phone. An online shopping experience is on its way. Questions? Contact us 617-627-0049 or via email at artstore@tufts.edu.
Art Store Hours
Monday – Thursday: 10 am-5 pm EST
Friday: 10 am-4 pm EST
SMFA Student Affairs offices are open 9 am to 5 pm EST, Monday through Friday, but please do not come by in person. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SMFA Student Affairs will be conducting meetings and drop-in assistance to students virtually rather than in our office in 2020-21.
Make an appointment by contacting us via phone, or drop into our virtual office hours: 10 am to 4 pm EST, Monday through Friday.
All letters and packages for SMFA students will be received and distributed from Mail Services on the Medford/Somerville campus. Students living off-campus are encouraged to ship and mail items to their off-campus address
Students that already had a locker at 230 Fenway will continue to use that locker for the 2020 - 2021 academic year. If you do not have a locker and would like to reserve one, you may request a locker. After you have reserved a locker, email SMFAStudentAffairs@tufts.edu with your locker number and location to receive the combination. Contact SMFAStudentAffairs@tufts.edu with any questions.
Due to the situation with COVID-19, the Wave Farm Radio Station is currently offline.