MFA candidates from the Visual Arts Division of Columbia University's School of the Arts will open their studios to the public for the first time on March 8th. All three of Columbia' s studio buildings will welcome visitors between the hours of 4:30 and 8:30 P.M. Each artist will be present to discuss his or her work in an informal setting geared to provide the kind of contact and exchange rarely found in an exhibition space. Twenty-nine MFA and two BFA candidates, with concentrations ranging from digital media to new genres, photography, painting, sculpture and printmaking, will participate.

The Visual Arts Division of Columbia University's School of Arts has trained some of today's most intriguing young contemporary artists, including Barnaby Furnas, Banks Violette and Tim Gardner. Under newly appointed Chair Jon Kessler, the faculty, including Lisa Yuskavage, Archie Rand, Gregory Amenoff and Matt Mullican, encourages experimentation and fosters the individual growth of its students.

This event provides an opportunity for the artistic and academic communities to preview work by promising New York artists at an early stage of their careers.

The locations of the studio buildings are as follows:

• Watson Hall, at 612 West 115th Street (between Broadway and Riverside Drive)
• Prentis Hall, at 632 West 125th Street (between Broadway and Riverside Drive)
• Lion's Court, 2960 Broadway (at 116th St., located to the immediate east of Butler Library)

Directions:

• 1/9 train to 116th St. (Watson Hall and Lions' Court)
• 1/9 train to 125th St. (Prentis Hall)

Maps of Columbia's campus and of the individual studio buildings will be available in the lobbies of Watson Hall, Prentis Hall and Lion's Court, as well as at the reception desk of the Visual Arts Division, 310 Dodge Hall, at Broadway and 116th Street.

Specific inquiries about the Open Studios event should be directed to Alexander Lee by calling (212) 529-8422, e-mailing awl31@columbia.edu, or by going to the following URL: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/arts/events/visual_arts/index.html