Building Global Community: The Alternative Art School

by Colette Copeland January 15, 2025

I first learned about The Alternative Art School (TAAS) during the pandemic. One of my favorite artists, Janine Antoni, posted about teaching there. In 2022, I signed up for my first online course with Amber Imrie on Artists and Social Media. Over the next two years, I took seven courses in a variety of topics including gender/performance, embodying the artist’s process, art, and social engagement, art and magic, and most recently an overview of digital art including AI and NFTs.

Founder Nato Thompson’s vision was to create an online space for a global community of artists to come together. As a former curator at Mass MOCA and Creative Time, and as a current director for art fairs, Thompson has cultivated relationships with many artists from around the world. He told me in an interview that he believes in the “catalytic power of artists sharing ideas and experiences.” Program Director Amber Imrie shared that TAAS “creates an environment that fosters mutual learning vs mere ‘networking’.” 

In my classes, I have met artists from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, India, Iran, Turkey, China, Italy, Brazil, France, and across the U.S. including Texas. In addition to recounting my experiences at TAAS and how they transformed my artistic practice, I decided to query some of my Texas friends who I’ve met through the TAAS community. 

A darkened room with a video projecting atop a stack of wooden bee hives.

Lisa B. Woods, “Interstate 80,” 2023, Langstroth bee boxes, ratchet straps, tarp, wood palette, video projection, audio component, amplifier, and speakers
The work is a multi-sensory experience highlighting the important role that bees play in the agricultural system and the greater challenges created by monoculture. Interstate 80 is part of Woods’ “Uncanny Interventions” series exploring artificial pollination.

The first question I asked was which aspect of TAAS the Texas artists found most beneficial. Most said that the global community was an asset. Often Texas artists struggle with the regionalist mentality of many curators outside of the state. Austin artist Lisa B. Woods responded, “Meeting artists from all over the world has been amazing. I used to feel so far from the NYC-centered art scene, but TAAS has shown me there are vibrant, diverse art communities globally. With TAAS, I’ve started seeing different ‘art worlds’ and how I might create a place for myself within them.”

A path in the woods with a human hand on it.

Alyssa Taylor Wendt, untitled, 2024
Still from a stop-action motion animation made for Aaron Gach’s course. The assignment was a 30-second video about nature. ‘As someone recovering from late stage advanced Lyme Disease, my relationship with nature remains complicated. Making this video helped me to confront and illustrate that trepidation, using creepy objects from my museum collection to cross my path using stop motion animation. The dark level of meaningful absurdity is a ubiquitous element in much of my work.”

Austin artist Alyssa Taylor Wendt concurred that the supportive community is a “refreshing chance to work with different artists globally whose curiosity, dedication, insight, wisdom, and personal journeys were a constant inspiration. There is an enticing level of open acceptance that stems from working with a new group of people who were all looking to expand their own horizons.”  

A digital work of art depciting five small figures on stairwells in an orange building.

Stephen Paré, “Remnants of a Forgotten Myth,” 2024. Paré used various AI applications to create a digital work inspired by the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.

In addition to the global community, artists have the opportunity to take classes with renowned artists in their field like Mark Dion, Janine Antoni, Raqs Media Collective, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Alicia Framis, Aaron Gach, Sasha Stiles, Erlin Geffrard, Amy Franceschini, and others. As a TAAS member, artists participate in open share sessions of their work, attend bi-monthly artist and curator lectures, and participate in professional development workshops. Most recently TAAS hosted Shirin Neshat, Mark Dion, Vashi DuBois, Founder of the Colored Girls Museum, and Miguel López, co-curator of the Toronto Biennial. Houston artist Stephen Paré took Sasha Stiles’ recent digital class and told me that he is now using new tools in his practice. “My technique has expanded and my work is more aligned with current developments in the digital field. I’ve also discovered new communities that are relevant to my work, connecting with them on social media.

A watercolor of a red poppy on a blue background.

Kerry Hugins, untitled, watercolor, 2024, created in Erlin Geffrard’s Meaningful Marks course

I asked the other artists to share how TAAS has affected their creative practices. Austin artist Kerry Hugins told me that the feedback from artist instructors and her TAAS peers has been most advantageous in her work. She shared that the Professional Practices course with Lexa Walsh and the Making a Life as an Artist class with Nato Thompson gave her the courage to apply for artist residencies. With feedback from her instructors and peers, she applied to a residency in Mexico City and was accepted into their program. 

A mind map made of white text on a black background.

Alyssa Taylor Wendt, 2024, Mind map made for Mark Dion’s course

Taylor Wendt spoke about the mind mapping exercise she learned in Mark Dion’s class. “I have to admit, at first I was a little resistant to an exercise that reminded me of corporate workshops. In the end, I feel like I learned how my work functions in my mental world and solidified why I make work to begin with.” I also practiced mind mapping in multiple classes and find it immensely helpful when starting a new project, organizing an artist talk, or writing an art proposal. 

Inspired by Amy Franceschini’s approach of inviting like-minded artists into her studio, Woods (with Nato Thompson’s support) is launching an international tech art residency at And&And starting in 2025. She will invite four artists each year to collaborate and create in conjunction with Austin’s UNESCO Cities of Media Arts program.

I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with Delhi artist Pooja Bahri and in conjunction with my Fulbright in India, I’ve written about her work and Greater Noida artist Aditi Aggarwal. I included them both in Traversing Boundaries: 12 Contemporary Female Artists of India, an exhibition opening at the University of Texas at Dallas, in January 2025. I met Aggarwal and curator/writer Pia Singh in the RAQS Media Collective course. Singh wrote an insightful essay for the forthcoming exhibition. Like many artists, I often feel limited by my geography. The weekly TAAS Zoom sessions inspire me and keep me creatively motivated and accountable for making work outside of my longer-term projects and exhibition deadlines. 

Woods sums up many artists’ feelings about TAAS. “Being part of TAAS has shown me there are many, many ways to be an artist today and to define success on my own terms. For me, it’s about finding that balance: financial stability, creative freedom, and lifestyle design. It’s been a great experience, and I’m excited about the future it’s helped me create!” 

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2 comments

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2 comments

kerry January 16, 2025 - 17:03

thanks Colette! I was happy to speak about my experience with TAAS! I hope to meet some more Texas artists on TAAS in 2025 🙂

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Lisa B Woods January 16, 2025 - 20:47

Thanks, Colette, for highlighting what an incredible global community TAAS is. Nato Thompson and Amber Imrie are building something truly unique in the art world. If you’re a conceptual artist looking for community, global connections, and amazing classes with world-class artists, definitely check out TAAS!

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