Any opinions on the following visual arts programs offerings?
Milton (very impressed with video)
Loomis
Mercersburg
Kent
Suffield
Stevenson
Emma Willard
Miss Porters
Northfield Mount Herman
DD created instagram profile to showcase her work and we plan to email the heads of the departments before we visit. Any other tips? Which schools have great programs and facilities and which do not? Is this sought after skill if we are looking for FA?
Thanks!
My D27 attends Emma Willard. From our experience, I think Emma’s arts program really is one of the most competitive in all of the prep schools.
Emma offers 40+ academic courses in the arts department for all levels, beginner to advanced. Mediums include drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, graphic design, and film. As for facilities, we have an Arts wing with plenty of studio spaces, a ceramics studio, photography darkrooms, and an art gallery for student exhibitions and visiting artists’ masterclasses. The facilities are new and definitely high-quality.
One signature program that my daughter is in this year is called Emma Artist. This course gathers serious arts students and is taught like a seminar. Students frequently share their works, participate in peer and faculty critiques, and have lots of opportunities to do exhibitions. D27 told me that a lot of the graduates of this program went to attend top college art programs or Ivy schools.
The Arts department chair here, from D27’s experiences of scheduling courses with her, is very warm and accommodating. However, she is a performing arts teacher. If your DD would like to submit her portfolio, I highly suggest she send it directly to the visual arts instructor. I think visual arts is definitely a more unique skillset among Emma’s applicants; there is a large and very competitive applicant pool of dancers and musicians (since we have a $30 million performing arts center opening this year), but for visual arts, it’s definitely less competitive and your DD will likely stand out!
About FA, though, it depends on whether you are domestic or international. Just like many other prep schools, it is very challenging for international students here to get FA, and I think as for the school’s strategic goals, performing arts is more prioritized than visual ones. If your DD is a domestic student, though, there’s probably no need to worry, because Emma has a generous budget for that.
If you have more questions or would like the contact information of Emma’s visual arts instructors, feel free to DM me! I wish you guys best of luck in the applications process :))
We were very impressed with Pomfret’s visual arts program. Our son wasn’t interested but worth a look for anyone whose child is inclined!
George School has pretty amazing visual arts (including film) and generally has a few kids headingoff to collegeto pursue that. It looks like you are more New English focused, but based on inclusion of Mercersberg, open to Mid-Atlantic.
It can also be a challenge to miss a few days under this more ibtensibe approach because more material is covered each day. All things to consider!
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