He/Him http://basicfoodgroup.org rsferra@mcad.edu Photography In-person, Online, Hybrid mentor BIO Rik Sferra's photography and video work has been exhibited at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Soap Factory, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the School of Visual Arts, New York. He has received grants and fellowships from the McKnightFoundation, Film in the Cities, theMinnesota State Arts Board, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Sferra's freelance photography clients have included Rolling Stone, theAtlanta Committee for the OlympicGames, Design Quarterly, Aveda Corporation, AGA Medical,Catholic Charities, and 3M.In addition to his teaching career and artistic endeavors, he plays drums and percussion for jazz/rock band the Basic Food Group. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & MENTORSHIP I work as an educator, artist, commercial photographer and musician. I teach in an educational environment that emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the use of media in our culture. With the addition of computer and video generated imagery to the prevalence of media images in everyday life, and our increasing visual literacy, it is a necessity for educational institutions to foster an atmosphere and curriculum of interdisciplinary studies in order for students to survive in today’s society. It is also imperative for educators to provide as much context and perspective to their course information as possible so that students understand when, where and how to apply the material that they are learning. For this reason, I feel it is essential that college faculty be as active as possible in the disciplines they are teaching, both as theoreticians and as practicing artists, in order to be current with new issues and techniques. In addition, while I feel that one should not hand-hold their students through school, I do feel that an instructor is responsible for presenting as much information as possible to students so that they can approach their work with “all the tools”.