The Rokeby School is an experimental art education project run by Gabriel Garza and Calvin Miceli-Nelson.
Calvin Miceli-Nelson is an artist and educator living and working in Los Angeles. His work has been shown at Freddy, James Fuentes, and Page NYC in New York, As it Stands in Los Angeles, and 4649 in Tokyo. He recieved his BFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2015 and is currently an MFA candidate at USC.
Gabriel Garza is an artist, curator, and educator living in Los Angeles. His work has been shown at / (Slash) in San Francisco, Escolar in Santa Rosa, Personal Space in Vallejo, and As It Stands in Los Angeles. He receieved his BFA from UCLA in 2017 and is currently an MFA candidate at USC.
The Rokeby School is run out of the garden of artist and founder Gabriel Garza’s home. Students meet from 4:30 - 6:30 pm once a week to critique their peers’ work and learn collaboratively.
Each of our classes are made up of 5-10 students and 1-2 instructors. During each meeting the work of 2 students is presented either in person or via images shared by the artist on our projector. Each artist is afforded 40 minutes of group discussion about their work. The last 20-30 minutes of class are dedicated to conversation while instructors share relevant slides and references to further inform the group discussion.
The program is focused on developing techniques of critique in group settings. It is geared towards dedicated high schoolers who are planning to continue education in art practice. Our meetings provide young artists with the opportunity to dialogue with like-minded peers about their concepts for their art, practice techniques of looking and listening, and develop strategies for future artistic engagement. For more details see our FAQ page.