Maine College of Art & Design

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Maine College of Art & Design
MECA 25 FirstFriday-13.jpg
The Porteous Building, a 1904 beaux arts style building.
Former name
  • Maine College of Art
  • Portland School of Art
Type Private art school
Established1882;143 years ago (1882)
Accreditation NECHE
Academic affiliation
AICAD
Endowment $15.4 million (2021) [1]
President Laura Freid [2]
Academic staff
26 Full-time
65 Part-time [3]
Administrative staff
84
Students511 [4]
Undergraduates 458
Postgraduates 53
Address, , ,
United States

43°39′20″N70°15′39″W / 43.655670°N 70.260730°W / 43.655670; -70.260730
CampusUrban
Website meca.edu
Maine College of Art & Design

Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) is a private art school in Portland, Maine. Founded in 1882, Maine College of Art & Design is the oldest arts educational institution in Maine. Roughly 32% of MECA&D students are from Maine. [4] The College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. [5] In August 2021, the institution formerly named Maine College of Art changed its name to Maine College of Art & Design to reflect the school's emphasis on design. [6]

Contents

Campus

Maine College of Art & Design's central academic building resides on Congress Street. This historic building, the Porteous, Mitchell and Braun Company Building, was renovated in the late 1990s to suit the school's needs. [7] With 125,000 square feet (11,600 m2) of space, this former department store is now a six-floor vertical campus. The school also has space in 380 Cumberland on Cumberland Avenue, including drawing studios, academic classrooms, and MFA studios.

Maine College of Art & Design is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), [3] a consortium of thirty-six art schools in the United States.

Academics

Maine College of Art & Design offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art (MFA), a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), an Online Master of Arts in Education, an Online Graduate Certificate in Arts Leadership and Administration, an Online Graduate Certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy, a Salt Graduate Certificate in Documentary Studies, as well as Continuing Studies for adults and youths, including a Pre-College intensive for high school students. The BFA program offers eight majors including Animation & Game Art, Ceramics, Graphic Design, Illustration, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, and Textile & Fashion Design. The BFA program also offers seven minors including Art & Entrepreneurship, Art History, Drawing, Music, Public Engagement, Sustainable Ecosystems: Art & Design, and Writing. The Bob Crewe Program in Art and Music enables students to explore the deep relationship between art and music and was made possible by a $3 million bequest from the Bob Crewe Foundation [8] , allowing the College build a music production studio featuring an Avid S6 Mixing Console, [9] music practice rooms and a gallery.

Maine College of College of Art & Design was named to Animation Career Review's list of Top 25 Game Design Bachelor's of Fine Arts (BFA) Degree Programs [10] , Top 25 Game Design Schools and Colleges on the East Coast [11] , Top 25 Graphic Design Schools and Colleges on the East Coast [12] , Top 20 Illustration Schools and Colleges on the East Coast [13] , and Top 25 Animation Schools and Colleges on the East Coast [14] .

The MFA program at Maine College of Art & Design was included in Hyperallergic's list of MFA, MA, and PhD Programs to Apply for by Early 2026 [15] .

The College launched online learning in 2025 [16] and in its first cohort, exceeded enrollment projections by over 50% [17] . MECA&D acquired the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2016. [18]

Notable Alumni, Faculty, and Visiting Artists

Annual Events

Maine College of Art & Design hosts the Collect Art Sale [19] , an annual fundraiser supporting participating artists and the College's Student Scholarship Fund that has raised over $1 million to date. The sale presents an opportunity for emerging artists to exhibit work alongside established artists. For students who participate, this is often their first chance to show work in a professional setting. Notable past participating artists include Reggie Burrows Hodges, Kathy Bradford, Daniel Minter, Hon. DFA ’19, William Wegman, Linden Frederick, and Jocelyn Lee.

The annual Fashion Show exhibits student work created for the body while raising funds for student scholarships. Students in the Textile & Fashion Design major study fashion design alongside areas of textile expertise, including weaving, knitting, textile printing, and dyeing. All work in the Fashion Show is original student work, designed and crafted by MECA&D students.

MECA&D's annual Holiday Sale provides an opportunity to support the College's community of artists by purchasing handmade arts, crafts, and gifts for the holiday season.

Once a year, the historic Porteous Building becomes a bustling marketplace where you can shop for one-of-a-kind goods from Maine College of Art & Design faculty, staff, alumni, and students. Proceeds from the sale go to support both the participating artists and MECA&D students.

References

  1. "Maine College of Art". IPEDS Data Center. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  2. "Office of the President". Maine College of Art. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Mane College of Art". AICAD. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  4. 1 2 "By the #'s". Maine College of Art. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  5. "Maine College of Art". NECHE. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. Bousquet, Carol (24 August 2021). "Maine College Of Art Announces Name Change And Planned Expansion". Maine Public.
  7. "Porteous Building". Greater Portland Landmarks. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  8. "Maine college using record gift of $3 million to teach art and music synchronicity". The Portland Press Herald. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  9. "Maine College of Art & Design partners with Falmouth recording studio". Mainebiz. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  10. "Top 25 Game Design Bachelor's of Fine Arts (BFA) Degree Programs – 2025 College Rankings". Animation Career Review. 2025-05-02. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  11. "Top 25 Game Design Schools and Colleges on the East Coast – 2025 College Rankings". Animation Career Review. 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  12. "Top 25 Graphic Design Schools and Colleges on the East Coast - 2024 Rankings". Animation Career Review. 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  13. "Top 20 Illustration Schools and Colleges on the East Coast - 2025 College Rankings". Animation Career Review. 2025-08-18. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  14. "Top 25 Animation Schools and Colleges on the East Coast – 2025 College Rankings". Animation Career Review. 2025-03-04. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  15. Hyperallergic (2025-11-21). "MFA, MA, and PhD Programs to Apply for by Early 2026". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  16. "Maine colleges are meeting students where they are: Online". The Portland Press Herald. 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  17. "Maine College of Art & Design Exceeds Enrollment Goals for First Online Learning Cohort | Maine College of Art & Design". meca.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  18. "Maine College of Art Announces Acquisition of Salt Institute of Documentary Studies". Maine College of Art. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  19. "Collect Summer Art Sale | Maine College of Art & Design". meca.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-26.

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