Trying to navigate CAA can feel like being lost in the supermarket but instead of towers of canned beans and cereal, you are surrounded by some of the most innovative and most ground breaking academics and artists in the world.

In light of this, it can be intimidating to decide which panels and events to go to.

My name is Julynn, I’m MFA student at Columbia, and I am one of your many indispensible internet guides to the gourmet selection of this conference. In order to get us started, I thought I might introduce some absolutely FREE events going on during CAA this year. When the CAA conference was still just a whisper in my department, my initial reaction was that it sounded really, super-duper expensive. But good news for past-me and anyone else with a thin wallet! Even though there are some great opportunities that you have to pay for, CAA has a lot of free programming that kicks ass.

The Humanities And Technology Camp (THAT Camp) is kicking off the free CAA programming this Monday and Tuesday with a pre-conference forum on digital art history. This unconference is an open discussion for anyone interested in technological or humanistic inquiry into digital art history, but make sure to come early because space is first-come-first-serve!

For the duration of the conference, CAA’s Services to Artist Committee co-ordinates ARTspace which offers a variety of activities and panels catered specifically to practicing artists. This includes Media Lounge, a live stream of videos and workshops featuring Jenny Marketou’s Uncommon/Commons.

Also, don’t miss the Feminist Art Project, whose theme this year is: “The M Word: Motherhood and Representation.” The Feminist Art Project is going to be hosting a day of panels all day Saturday, and features the work of some phenomenal presenters as well as an emphasis on open conversation.

Finally, right at the intersection of my commitment to thrift and love of my educational institution, I’m really stoked about the CAA Evening at Columbia which will feature a number of gallery openings you don’t want to overlook, such as Social Paper, C33 Unmakers, and RISK: Empathy Art and Social Practice.

If you have time, pop over to The Fountains Foundation  for the opening of a mini retrospective of work by Annette Barbier or to the Shop Columbia Open House, which will feature the art and craft of Columbia College students.