Atelier Florence Academy of Art

The Florence Academy of Art has locations in Florence, Italy,  Mölndal, Sweden and Jersey City, NJ (Graduate Program).

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The FAA Experience

Students who apply to The Florence Academy of Art seek the language of Rembrandt, Velasquez, Titian, and Sargent, and the tools to convey their ideas with confidence through the oil or clay mediums. A common visual aesthetic draws them to the classical world (and its renaissance in Florence) to build an artistic vocabulary where beauty and humanity are intrinsic to art. To accomplish this, our methodology combines intense observation with advanced craft skills. Our curriculum comes mostly from the 19th century French academies and the teachings of master painters like Gèrôme, Bonnat and Carlos Duran. It centers on drawing (particularly drawing from the human figure), as a means to gaining skill in painting or sculpture.

When you walk in the door of the Florence Academy, you are assigned a north light studio space and settle into a rhythm of working that will remain constant throughout your three years of study. You spend half the day working from the figure, and half of the day in your studio, on specific exercises. As each requisite skill is acquired, a new more difficult task is assigned. By working only from life you learn to view the subject before you with accuracy, to understand the complexities of each anatomical detail, in order to draw, paint or sculpt it convincingly.

Eventually, you will explore gesture, psychology, and composition, while strengthening your individual voice. You will begin to ask the questions you will face as an emerging artist: what do I want to paint? Why? What emotion do I want to convey and how? What areas of technical competence must I strengthen so as to not be held back in the articulation of my vision? Answers often come from the Uffizi, the Met, or other great museums. By exposing you to the masterpieces of humanist culture, we intend to help you develop more than technique, but the skill to transpose what is meaningful to you into your art.

The Florence Academy of Art is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) as an undergraduate Certificate program and a Master of Arts in Studio Art. For details: Drawing & Painting and Sculpture Certificate and Master of Arts in Studio Art

Master of Arts in Studio Art

The Florence Academy’s Master of Arts in Studio Art, with its focus on classical methods, is designed with art teachers in mind to provide them the training, knowledge and experience to introduce skill-based techniques to their classrooms. Select exercises are culled directly from the Florence Academy’s accredited curriculum for Drawing and Painting, and provide the basis for constructing a thorough foundation in the FAA method. The MA in Studio Art not only will enrich the K-12 student's art experience, but supports the MA candidate's personal creative development.

The MA program is a reduced-residency MA accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), and consists of 30 credits of full-time study, entirely studio-based and completed over 3 summer sessions. Each summer session is 6 weeks in duration. MA candidates may choose to attend all three sessions in person – two summers at the FAA's host campus, St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ, just outside of NYC, and one summer in Florence, Italy, at The Florence Academy of Art home campus. Students may also opt to attend one or two sessions remotely (at least one session must be in person at the location of choice). For details: Master of Arts in Studio Art

Faculty

Student and graduate artwork is directly affected by the intellectual environment and community fostered by a school's faculty. Instructors at the FAA are all trained in the philosophy, methodology and language of instruction of The Florence Academy of Art. Full-time students receive 36 hours per week of instruction, receiving one critique in the morning and one critique in the afternoon from principal faculty and assistant instructors, a number of whom have private studios on campus.

For more about Founder and Director, Daniel Graves, and FAA Faculty, click here.

Student & Alumni Galleries

Students who are considering several ateliers for study, should look carefully at the student and graduate artwork coming out of each school, as it should represent a direction for your own work. To view hundreds of images of artwork by FAA students and graduates, please visit the Student Gallery and Alumni Gallery on our website, or FAA on Instagram, @florenceacademyofart. The images displayed on these pages are from students and graduates of The Florence Academy of Art. A number of these artists are now permanent faculty. 

Workshops

The Florence Academy of Art offers workshops throughout the academic year, including a "Six-Week Intensive Course in Drawing, Painting and Art History". Taught by our regular faculty, the workshops allow students to experience parts of our full time painting and sculpture curricula; practice traditional media, like charcoal, pencil, sanguine, silverpoint, oil and clay; and acquire substantial knowledge and practical information to take back to their home studios. Subjects include: Figure Drawing, Figure Painting, Portraiture, Still Life, Landscape, Figurative Sculpture and Ecorché Sculpture. Guided art history tours accompany most workshops. For details: Workshops

Alumni Association

The Florence Academy of Art understands the challenges to work professionally as painters or sculptors in the figurative tradition, and places great importance on introducing the work of its graduates to patrons and dealers from around the world. We do this principally through the website (each graduate has a page in the Alumni Gallery dedicated to their work, with personal contact information.) We update the website annually, and feature our graduates throughout the year on social media. FAA also organizes in person and online exhibitions several times annually, and collaborates in group shows featuring FAA alumni with commercial galleries. We are proud of our talented alumni, and committed to bringing their work to the public.

78% of FAA alumni are working artists, that means there is proof during last year of their artwork in solo exhibitions or group shows in galleries, cultural associations and art fairs; of their participation and placement in art competitions and salons; articles about them or their work in print and online publications; formal gallery representation or self promotion on Instagram.

Financial Aid and Scholarship Opportunities

The Florence Academy of Art is committed to helping talented students in financial need. Scholarship funding and work-study opportunities are available to second and third year students in order to help them complete the full three-year program. 

The Florence Academy of Art in Sweden is approved for Student Loans and Grants. Swedish students may receive study assistance from the Swedish state through CSN B1 to fund their studies at the FAA in Sweden. Students from Norway, Denmark and Finland may use this recognition to apply for funding from their respective countries. For details, www.florenceacademyofart.se.

Admissions and Application Form

For details on Admissions and to download the online application form for full time study, click here.

The Florence Academy of Art is a registered 501(c) 3 U.S. nonprofit educational entity. To support our educational programming, make a donation here, or contact us at info@florenceacademyofart.edu

The images are property of The Florence Academy of Art. All rights reserved.