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The Art Institutes offers real-world education programs in design, the culinary arts, media arts, and fashion. Here you'll get the competitive edge to succeed as a creative professional - in your field of interest! Online programs also satisfy a need for budding creative professionals.
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Earn your Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication degree with a concentration in
WEB DESIGN!
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For almost 70 years, Harrington has focused on preparing leaders in today's interior design industry. You can be one of those people. Click here to learn how!
Explore your artistic creativity with all that technology has to offer. Click here to learn more.
NYFA offers workshops in Filmmaking, Digital Filmmaking, Acting, Producing, Editing, Music Video, Screenwriting, 3D Animation, and Movie Camps as well as Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking. Click here to find a location near you!
by C.J. Gustafson
ArtSchools.com Contributing Writer
Native Americans occupied the area for 15,000 years before Spanish explorers discovered the bay entrance in 1769. They were soon followed by colonists, who founded the Presidio of San Francisco in 1776. The fourth largest city in California, its 776,773 residents occupy a space of only 46.7 sq. miles. San Francisco is a tourist mecca and a "must-see" for such famous features as the Alcatraz prison in the Bay, Chinatown (the largest "Chinatown" in America), the Golden Gate Bridge, and the city's signature cable cars. Venues for the arts are plentiful. For example, at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), you can browse their permanent collections or catch time-limited exhibitions such as "The Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya."
The FAMSF provides an example of a successful public/private art partnership. Comprising the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, the museum is a designated city department, but most of its operational funding and all funding for art acquisitions and exhibitions are raised privately.
Other notable art museums include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco Museum of Craft & Design, African American Art & Culture Complex, and the Museum of Craft & Folk Art.
San Francisco is one of those cities where the full array of its cultural and tourist attractions cannot be covered in a limited space. A brief list of other popular sites and activities in the area include Fisherman's Wharf, Angel Island Tram, San Francisco Zoo, and the Metreon entertainment center.
Arts Appeal
While all cities have their unique aspects, San Francisco seems to speak to artists. Prior to becoming a web developer, David Marsden worked in marketing and managed a lot of advertising agency relationships in San Francisco. His insight into the city helps explain why it is one of the most popular places for artists to live and study. "There is an air of magic surrounding the city of San Francisco. The sounds, sights, smells, and even the weather combine to form a sort of 'soup for the soul' that awakens and energizes the creative processes like few places in the world."
The city is also an architectural hot spot. Five of California's top architectural firms have headquarters or offices in San Francisco, including HOK, Anshen & Allen, and Gensler. Filled with many different styles and endless new projects of all sizes, the area offers many creative employment opportunities for those pursuing architecture careers.
Film, design, and studio art also are some of the viable options found in San Francisco. There are many groups and organizations that offer opportunities and support to those interested in visual arts. The Cartoon Art Museum offers classes in addition to exhibits and events. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a contemporary arts center offering visual arts, performing arts, film and media exhibitions, and workshops.
Art Schools and Programs
Those who want to pursue visual arts educations and careers in San Francisco have many options. In addition to the art centers listed above, several other community organizations and galleries offer workshops and classes. Some of these groups include the Center For Creative Exploration, Apparel Arts, Art M OPTI Village Institute, the Bay Area Video Coalition, Clay Studio, Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center, the Day Studio Workshop, Inc., Public Glass, and Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts.
Area schools and colleges focused on the visual arts include San Francisco Institute of Architecture, the San Francisco Art Institute, The Art Institute of California - San Francisco, California College of the Arts, and the Miami Ad School, which has a campus in San Francisco.
The University of San Francisco Fine and Performing Arts Department, City College of San Francisco Architecture Department, and Golden Gate University Department of Humanities and Social Sciences also offer visual arts degrees. Options at San Francisco State University include the Cinema Department, Department of Art, and a Fine and Performing Arts Department.
Students in these schools and programs can earn a wide range of art degrees
including Advertising degrees, Architecture degrees, Interior Design degrees
and Graphic Design degrees. They can work with computer animation, sculpting,
painting, textiles, and a variety of other mediums. They can receive training
for architectural careers, photography careers, fashion careers and a number
of other careers in the visual arts. If there's an art skill you're interested
in, chances are you can learn it in San Francisco.
There are few cities in the world that offer San Francisco's stimulating blend of climate, history, culture, and opportunity. The expansive educational options, along with a thriving arts community, a wealth of employment opportunities, and an overall atmosphere that inspires creativity and self-expression, draws thousands of artists and art students to the area each year.
Brooks Institute is a world leader in Photographic and Motion Picture/Video education and offers degree programs in Website Design, Illustration, and Graphic Design. Learn more today!
Established in 1929, Academy of Art University is the largest private art and design school in the nation.
Westwood College offers a variety of academic programs that prepare students for high-demand careers.
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