“The Art Academy’s mission is to prepare young artists and designers for their professional
careers,” AAC President John M Sullivan said. “With their well-tuned ability to think critically, they will quickly become the problem solvers in a wide range of creative enterprises. We know that we are preparing these young artists and designers for jobs that haven’t even been imagined yet, and we are confident that they will bring the needed skills and abilities when called upon.”
The Art Academy of Cincinnati continues to evolve its curriculum as the students steer the school where they want it to go. Creative writing has been added as a major in the BFA program to help students to “rewrite the script of their lives in their own image.” Film, video, and audio are now offered as a minor. Student interest across disciplines may lead to less rigid major delineations. Now more than ever, the Academy is immersed in its community, acting as a good neighbor in Over-the-Rhine and around the world. Community Education programs reach thousands of people outside the Academy walls. Art activism projects promote awareness of social issues. Students step up to be a voice, through art and through actions, by marching in the Cincinnati Pride Parade, erecting beautiful public art, engaging in the community conversation, and challenging the status quo. In 150 years, the Art Academy has endured ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs; it’s been re-imagined, re-formed, molded, and forged. It is bold and rebellious—and has been. As the Art Academy looks toward the future, there is no way to predict what the artists of tomorrow will bring. The one thing we do know: it will break the mold.
