University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

University of the Arts

University of the Arts in October 2009
Type	Private art university
Established	1870, 1876, 1985
Endowment	$54.1 million (2020)[1]
President	Kerry Walk
Academic staff	121 full time, 420 part time
Students	1,900
Location	Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States [ ⚑ ] 39°56′46″N 75°09′58″W / 39.946°N 75.166°W / 39.946; -75.166
Campus	Urban
|u}}rs	Red      White
Mascot	Unicorn
Website	www.uarts.edu

University of the Arts (UArts) is a private arts university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia. Dating back to the 1870s, it is one of the oldest schools of art or music in the United States.

The university is composed of two colleges and two Divisions: the College of Art, Media & Design; the College of Performing Arts; the Division of Liberal Arts; and the Division of Continuing Studies. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. In addition, the School of Music is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.^[2]

History

Dorrance Hamilton Hall in 2013

19th century

In 1870, the Philadelphia Musical Academy was created. In 1876, the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art was founded as a museum and art school. In 1877, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music was founded.

20th century

In 1921, after graduating from South Philadelphia High School, contralto Marian Anderson applied to the Philadelphia Musical Academy but was turned away because she was "colored."^[3] Today the University's School of Music has a black dean, Kevin Haden.

In 1938, the museum changed its name to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the school became the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art.^[4] In 1964, the school became independent of the museum and renamed itself the Philadelphia Museum College of Art (PMCA).

In 1944, the Children's Dance Theatre, later known as the Philadelphia Dance Academy, was established by Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck. In 1962, the Conservatory of Music and the Musical Academy merged, then, in 1976, the combined organization acquired the Dance Academy, and renamed itself the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts. After establishing a School of Theater in 1983, the institution became the first performing arts college in Pennsylvania to offer a comprehensive range of majors in music, dance and theater. This institution is now the College of Performing Arts of the University of the Arts.

In 1985, the Philadelphia Museum College of Art and the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts merged to become the Philadelphia Colleges of the Arts, and gained university status as the University of the Arts in 1987.

In 1996, the university added a third academic division, the College of Media and Communication.

21st century

In 2011, the College of Media and Communication merged with the College of Art and Design to become the College of Art, Media & Design.

Academics

The University of the Arts' approximately 1,500 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs in six schools: Art, Design, Film, Dance, Music, and the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts. In addition, the university offers a PhD in Creativity. The Division of Continuing Studies offers courses through its Continuing Education, Pre-College, Summer Music Studies, and Professional Institute for Educators programs.^[5][6]

Facilities and collections

The university's campus, in the Avenue of the Arts cultural district of Center City Philadelphia, includes six academic buildings and four residence halls. There are 10 performance venues and 12 exhibition/gallery spaces on campus.^[7]

The Albert M. Greenfield Library houses 152,067 bound volumes, 6,936 CDs, 14,901 periodicals, 16,820 scores and 1965 videos and DVDs. The Music Library collection holds about 20,000 scores, 15,000 books, 10,000 LP discs, and 8,000 CDs. The Visual Resources Collection includes 175,000 slides. Additional university collections include the University Archives, the Picture File, the Book Arts and Textile Collections, and the Drawing Resource Center.^{[citation needed]}

UArts' 10 galleries include one curated by students. Exhibitions have included the Quay Brothers, Vito Acconci, R. Crumb, Rosalyn Drexler, April Gornik, Alex Grey, James Hyde, Jon Kessler, Donald Lipski, Robert Motherwell, Stuart Netsky, Irving Penn, Jack Pierson, Anne and Patrick Poirier, Yvonne Rainer, Lenore Tawney and Andy Warhol.^{[citation needed]}

The University of the Arts currently has seven theaters. The Levitt Auditorium in Gershman Hall is the largest on campus with a seating capacity of 850. Also in Gershman Hall is a black box theater used for student-run productions. The university's Arts Bank Theater seats 230, and the Laurie Beechman Cabaret Theater is located in the same building. The university also utilizes the adjacent Drake Theater, primarily for dance productions. The Caplan Center for the Performing Arts, located on the 16 & 17th floor of Terra Hall – which opened in 2007, houses two theaters. Its black box theater seats 100 and a recital hall seats 250.^{[citation needed]}

Polyphone Festival

The annual Polyphone Festival of New and Emerging Music, launched in 2016, focuses on the emerging musical. Composers, librettists, directors, choreographers and music directors are invited to the campus to work with students on developing musicals.^[8]

Notable alumni

This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (June 2023)

• Julian Abele, architect
• César Abreu, Puerto Rican actor, dancer and singer, former member of "Menudo"
• Phoebe Adams (BFA 1976), painter and sculptor^[9][10]
• Richard Amsel, illustrator, recipient of 2009 UArts "Silver Star Alumni Award"
• Maxwell Atoms, animator, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
• Katie Baldwin, artist
• Bo Bartlett, contemporary realist painter
• Bascove, painter and illustrator
• Irene Bedard, actress, voice of Pocahontas
• Howard Benson, rock music producer, Grammy Award winner
• Stan and Jan Berenstain, authors and illustrators, The Berenstain Bears
• Melanie Bilenker, craft artist
• Adam Blackstone, bassist, music director Grammy Award winner ^[11]
• Marc Blitzstein, composer
• Helen Borten, author-illustrator and broadcast journalist ^[12]
• Aliki Brandenberg, author and illustrator
• Bryan Brinkman, cartoon animator
• Samuel Joseph Brown Jr., artist, educator
• Victoria Burge, printmaker, draftsperson
• Du Chisiza, Malawian author, playwright, producer, and Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture
• Claude Clark, artist, art educator
• Stanley Clarke, jazz bassist, Emmy Award and Grammy Award winner
• Emory Cohen, actor, Brooklyn
• Gil Cohen, aviation artist
• Cecelia Condit, video artist
• Rachel Constantine, painter
• Christine Coppa, writer
• Stephen Costello, tenor, Metropolitan Opera
• Alex da Corte, artist
• Joe Dante, film director, Gremlins, The 'Burbs
• Linh Dinh, poet
• Irv Docktor, artist and illustrator
• Heather Donahue, actress, The Blair Witch Project
• James Doolin, saturated photo realist painter
• George Meade Easby, great-grandson of George Meade and a noted art and antique collector
• Wendy Edwards, painter
• Heather Mae Erickson, artist
• Wharton Esherick, craftsman, printmaker
• Robin Eubanks, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger, Grammy Award winner
• Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, artist
• Paul Felder, acting (2008), professional MMA fighter with the UFC^[13]
• Kate Flannery, actress, The Office
• Charles Fracé, wildlife painter
• Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, sculptor
• Cheryl Goldsleger, contemporary painter
• Sidney Goodman, painter^[14]
• David Graham, noted photographer of the American landscape
• Justin Guarini, Runner-up on the first season of American Idol
• Roger Hane, book illustrator
• Marshall Harris, photorealist, sculptor and retired professional football player
• Natalie Hinderas, professor, pianist and composer
• Frances Tipton Hunter, artist and illustrator
• Judith Jamison, dancer and choreographer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre
• Carlton Jones Lake, conductor and choirmaster
• Ryan Kattner (aka Honus Honus), musician and songwriter Man Man and Mister Heavenly, actor, screenwriter
• Mohammed Kazem, conceptual artist
• Elle King, singer and songwriter, author of Ex's & Oh's
• Harold Knerr, cartoonist and illustrator for The Katzenjammer Kids
• LaChanze, Broadway actress, Tony Award winner, (The Color Purple)
• Jacob Landau, painter, printmaker, illustrator
• Courtney Lapresi, dancer, MasterChef (season 5) contestant & winner.
• Jared Leto, Actor (transferred)^[15]
• Amy Mathews, Australian actress on soap opera, Home and Away
• Matt McAndrew, singer and musician, The Voice (U.S. season 7) contestant
• John Mecray, American realism painter
• Joseph Menna, sculptor and engraver
• Katherine Milhous, artist/illustrator, Caldecott Medal winner
• Frank Modell (1917–2016), cartoonist^[16]
• Ana Ortiz, actress, Ugly Betty & Devious Maids
• Emi Ozawa, artist
• Leslie Parrish, actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer
• Irving Penn, celebrity portraitist and fashion photographer
• Flo Perkins, glass artist
• Vincent Persichetti, composer, Juilliard professor
• Steve Powers, graffiti artist. Known as ESPO. Painted "Love letter for you" murals in Philadelphia
• Brothers Quay, Timothy and Steven, stop-motion illustrators and filmmakers
• Florence Quivar, mezzo-soprano opera singer, Metropolitan Opera
• Ron Richardson, singer, Tony Award winner—Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Big River).
• James Rolfe, creator, The Angry Video Game Nerd
• Arlen Roth, Guitarist, performer, author, teacher.
• Arnold Roth, cartoonist
• Charles Santore, illustrator
• Cal Schenkel, illustrator and graphic designer, Frank Zappa collaborator
• Richard Schultz, furniture designer
• Lucas Steele, Broadway performer famously known for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
• Serpentwithfeet, singer
• Miriam Tindall Smith, painter, muralist, theatrical designer
• KaDee Strickland, actress, The Grudge. 2006 UArts’ "Silver Star Alumni Award"
• Nicole Tranquillo, vocalist, American Idol (season 6) contestant
• Constance Walton, composer
• Helen L. Weiss, composer
• Samuel Yellin, blacksmith, sculptor and teacher

Notable faculty

• Edna Andrade (1917–2008), American geometric abstract painter and early Op Artist, 1996 recipient of the College Art Association Distinguished Teaching of Art Award for her three decades of teaching at Philadelphia College of Art ^[17]
• Alexey Brodovitch (1930–1940), photographer, designer, art director
• Gil Cohen, aviation artist
• William Daley (born 1925), American ceramist, professor from 1957 until 1990.^[18]
• Aaron Levinson, Grammy Award-winning producer and musician
• Camille Paglia (born 1947), author and feminist social critic
• Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987), composer
• Ralph Peterson (1962-2021), jazz drummer
• LaVaughn Robinson (1927–2008), professor from 1980 to 2008, American tap dancer, recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as a "Living National Treasure"
• Lizbeth Stewart (1948–2013), American ceramist
• Samuel Yellin (1884-1940), master blacksmith

See also

• Arts education

References

External links

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