Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a publiccollege of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation's oldest art schools, the only publicly funded independent art school in the United States. It was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree.
In the 1860s, civic and business leaders whose families had made fortunes in the China Trade, textile manufacture, railroads, and retailing, sought to influence the long-term development of Massachusetts. To stimulate learning in technology and fine art, they persuaded the state legislature to charter several institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1860) and the Museum of Fine Arts (1868). The third of these, founded in 1873, was the Massachusetts Normal Art School, intended to support the Massachusetts Drawing Act of 1870 by providing drawing teachers for the public schools as well as training professional artists, designers, and architects.[3]
During the school's first decade, the state rented space for it in several locations, including Boston's Pemberton Square, School Street, and the Deacon House mansion on Washington Street. In 1886, the state built the school's first building at the corner of Exeter and Newbury streets.
In 1929 the school was moved to its second built campus at Longwood and Brookline avenues. In 1983, MassArt was relocated to the former campus of Boston State College at the corner of Longwood and Huntington avenues, after the latter school's merger with the University of Massachusetts Boston.
1975: Master of Fine Arts degree is awarded in two- and three-dimensional fine arts
1981: Master of Fine Arts degree is awarded in design
1983: School begins to occupy and renovate the eight-building campus at the corner of Huntington and Longwood Avenues
1989: MassArt opens its first dormitory, christened Walter Smith Hall after school's founding principal
1992: MassArt completes a $14.7 million project refurbishing the Huntington Avenue campus
1993: "Longwood Campus" building on the corner of Brookline and Longwood Avenues, which had served as the College's main campus since 1930, is acquired by neighboring Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which integrates the building into their facilities (retaining the exterior facade, but gutting and rebuilding the interior).
1997: Dr. Katherine H. Sloan, the first woman and tenth president of MassArt, is inaugurated
2000: Dynamic Media Institute is founded, a Master of Fine Arts program focused on new uses of media in communication design
2002: Artists' Residence opens, guaranteeing housing for all first-year students
2003: Legislature approves the New Partnership with the Commonwealth, which is a new model for its state funding
2007: Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approves the college's proposal to offer a Master of Architecture
2007: Governor Deval Patrick signs legislation changing the college's official name to Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2012: Dawn Barrett, the eleventh president of MassArt, is inaugurated.
2014: Kurt T. Steinberg named Acting President.[5]
2016: The Design and Media Center, designed by Ennead Architects, a three-story glass facade at 621 Huntington Avenue, prominently positioned on Boston's Avenue of the Arts contains 40,000 square feet (3,700m2) of new space for the College.
2017: David P. Nelson, the twelfth president of MassArt, is inaugurated.
2020: Nelson steps down as president[6] and Kymberly Pinder becomes acting president.[7]
2021: Mary K. Grant was named thirteenth president of MassArt.[8]
Academics
The Massachusetts College of Art of Design is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.[9] MassArt offers a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, a Master of Teaching in Art Education, a Master of Fine Arts, a Master of Architecture (Track I & Track II - Pre-Professional-Professional), and a Master of Design Innovation, and is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). MassArt also offers a number of pre-college (both credit and non-credit) programs for high school students, and continuing education and certificate programs for professional and non-professional artists.[10] In addition, MassArt still fulfills its original mission, with ongoing programs for primary and secondary school teachers of art.
MassArt's undergraduate curriculum includes a Foundation Program for the first year, which provides compulsory exposure to the basics of 2D and 3D art and design. Graduation requirements include an elective studio and multiple Critical Studies courses.
Approximately 30% of MassArt's student body is Asian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, or multiracial.[citation needed]
Traditions and celebrations
The "MassArt Iron Corps" hosts an "Iron Pour" event at MassArt approximately four times a year. The event is centered around a pouring of white-hot molten iron into molds for sculpture. In the past, this was celebrated by accompanying music, dance, and other performances. However, around 2010, the Boston Fire Department insisted on greatly reducing the number of people present, because of safety concerns. The pours are still claimed to consume around 10,000 pounds (4,500kg) of iron per year.[11]
The 2D Fine Arts department hosts an annual Master Print Series, where MassArt invites a visiting artist to work collaboratively with the students and faculty of the printmaking department to produce professional-level editions for the artist.[12]
The MassArt Auction, a ticketed event hosted by Institutional Advancement, is held in April, and features major artworks that are sold to directly benefit student scholarships.[13]
MassArt Art Museum
The MassArt Art Museum (MAAM)[14] is a free contemporary art museum which opened in February 2020 on MassArt's campus. Previously known as the Bakalar and Paine Galleries, the space reopened after extensive renovations, with a new name, branding, and an expanded mission. The renovation was supported by MassArt's "Unbound" capital campaign, which raised $12.5 million to fund the project.[15][16]
The entrance to MAAM is in a building to the immediate left of the new public entrance to MassArt buildings, which is located in the Design and Media Center building.
Campus
One of MassArt's primary spaces is the Tower Building. The red brick building at the lower left has since been transformed into the new Design and Media Center, which is the public entrance to the main campus complex.
MassArt is headquartered at 621 Huntington Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, and occupies a trapezoidal block of old and new buildings it has acquired over the last two decades. Most of its academic buildings were the former campus of Boston State College, acquired after BSC was merged with the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Previously, MassArt had occupied a number of buildings scattered throughout Boston's Fenway-Kenmore and Longwood neighborhoods, with its main campus located on the corner of Brookline and Longwood avenues. In the mid-1990s, that building was acquired by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which gutted and rebuilt the building's interior, but kept the distinctive facade intact.
In 2009, the Campus Center (located in the Kennedy building, at the corner of Huntington and Longwood avenues) was renovated, with additions of a new, two-story glass facade on Longwood Avenue, food services, and the college bookstore. The lower level includes ReStore, a student-run freecycling space to accept and redistribute surplus art supplies, materials, tools, equipment, and publications free of charge.
In 2016, the building formerly housing a gymnasium was completely gutted and renovated as a new Design and Media Center, including facilities for the Studio for Interrelated Media program. In addition, the new building provides a spacious formal entrance into the academic campus, and new gallery space. This major project was described on the MassArt website, and included a live construction webcam feed.[17]
Transportation
The MassArt campus is served by the MBTALongwood Medical Area stop on the Green Line E branch, at the corner of Huntington and Longwood Avenues (next to the Campus Center). This location is also a stop on the MBTA #39 and CT2 bus routes. Other nearby public transit options are described online.[18]
Parking spaces are extremely scarce near the MassArt campus, especially during the day. A limited number of paid spaces for students and staff are allocated by a formal application process. Visitors may use metered and commercial parking in the area.[19]
Maps
The MassArt academic campus is compact, consisting of a number of interconnected buildings constructed and renovated over a span of several decades. Different floor heights in adjacent buildings are accommodated by a mix of stairs, ramps, and elevators, resulting in a complex internal layout that can disorient visitors. An official map is available on campus and online, showing most points of interest, including seven art gallery spaces open to the public. The map also shows elevators, wheelchair lifts, and accessible routes through and interconnecting the various buildings.[20]
Academic buildings
The MassArt academic campus is composed of six interconnected buildings: Kennedy, South, Collins, North, East, and Tower. There is also an enclosed courtyard located in the center of the quadrangle formed by South, Collins, North, and East. The academic campus flagship is the 13-story Tower Building, wrapped in a dark glass facade, with prominent entry/lobby spaces along Huntington Ave. The Morton R. Godine Library occupies the top two floors of the Tower Building, and the President's Office is on the 11th floor. There is an auditorium in the low-rise section of the Tower Building.
The new Design and Media Center building serves as the formal main portal into the academic campus, featuring a large, spacious entry lobby that can accommodate very large temporary art installations and exhibits. Contemporary media laboratories, classrooms, meeting spaces, project and installation spaces, and galleries are also located here. There is a permanent graphic timeline history of MassArt and its predecessor schools alongside a long ramp at the side of the entry lobby, highlighting and illustrating the accomplishments of faculty, staff, and students over the years.
Art galleries
There are at least seven galleries on campus available for student shows and exhibitions. These include the Arnheim, Brant, Doran, Godine Family, Frances Euphemia Thompson, and Student Life galleries. The Pozen Center, an area built specifically to house larger scale events and performances, is located on the ground floor of the North Building. The Design and Media Center features a spacious entry lobby space used for large temporary installations, as well as additional smaller gallery spaces.[21]
In addition, artworks in all media are informally displayed throughout the campus, in hallways, stairwells, ramps, outdoor spaces, and classrooms. Students can (and do) install artwork almost anywhere, subject to a safety review.
Residence halls
The campus includes three student residence halls, all located directly across "The Avenue of the Arts" from the MassArt academic campus: "Treehouse" (578 Huntington Ave.), Smith Hall (640 Huntington Ave.), and "The Artists' Residence" (600R Huntington Ave.). All residences feature 24/7 professional security, telephone/cable/data connectivity, and partial or full Meal Plans. Each residence hall has its own live-in Residence Hall Director and trained student Resident Assistants.
Smith Hall houses only first-year students admitted to the Foundation Program at MassArt, in suite-style living spaces of 3 to 5 students. It is a renovated 5-story apartment building located immediately across the street from MassArt's Kennedy building. In addition to student rooms, there are studio workrooms and quiet rooms on each floor.[22]
The Artists' Residence ("The Rez") houses freshmen, upperclassmen, and graduate student artists. It is a 9-story structure located across the street from the MassArt Tower Building. The Artists' Residence is the first publicly funded residence hall in the United States designed specifically to house art students, and it includes studio spaces and a spray room on the top floor.[citation needed]
Treehouse is a colorful 21-story dormitory tower located next to The Artists' Residence. It is a new structure designed by the firm ADD Inc. (Boston) with extensive collaboration from MassArt students, plus two other member colleges of the Colleges of the Fenway consortium. The external appearance of the building was inspired by Gustav Klimt's painting, The Tree of Life.[23][24]
The Treehouse accommodates mostly first-year and sophomore students in suite-style layouts in single, double, and triple bedrooms, with suite-shared bathrooms. The second floor is a Student Health Center, shared by students of MassArt, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and MCPHS University. The third floor is called the "Pajama Floor", and includes a game room / TV Lounge, group study room, laundry room, fitness room, vending area, and a community kitchen.[24][25]
Other facilities
MassArt students have access to common facilities typically found at many colleges, including a full-scale cafeteria, small café, school store, freecycling store, library, student center, health center, counseling center, auditorium, computer labs, and fitness center. Additional not-so-usual facilities include a working letterpress lab with an archival collection of over 500 wood and metal type fonts, 10 art galleries, studio spaces, spray booth, woodworking shop, digital maker's studio, sound studio, glass studio and performance spaces.[26][27]
Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also administers Hunter College High School and Hunter College Elementary School.
University of the Arts (UArts) was a private arts university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus made up part of the Avenue of the Arts cultural district in Center City, Philadelphia. On May 31, 2024, university administrators suddenly announced that the university would close on June 7, 2024, although its precarious financial situation had been known for some time. It was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University is the art school of Tufts University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees dedicated to the visual arts.
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 with programs primarily in engineering, architecture, and fine arts. Comprising six schools, the institute is primarily known for its programs in architecture, graphic design, interior design, and industrial design.
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) is a private college specializing in the visual arts and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MCAD currently enrolls approximately 800 students. MCAD is one of just a few major art schools to offer a major in comic art.
The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. The institute has approximately 75 faculty members and 700 students, and offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Fenway–Kenmore is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is considered one neighborhood for administrative purposes, but it is composed of numerous distinct sections that are almost always referred to as "Fenway", "the Fenway", "Kenmore Square", or "Kenmore". Furthermore, the Fenway neighborhood is divided into two sub-neighborhoods commonly referred to as East Fenway/Symphony and West Fenway.
The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, it is regarded as one of the oldest art colleges in the United States.
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The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Montserrat College of Art is a private art school in Beverly, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1878, the school is housed in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the oldest private cultural institution in Washington, located on The Ellipse, facing the White House. The Corcoran School is part of GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and was formerly an independent college, until 2014.
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Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCAD's campus consists of 11 buildings on 9 acres (36,000 m2) and is adjacent to the Columbus Museum of Art. Approximately 900 full-time students are enrolled.
Mission Hill is a 3⁄4 square mile, primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, bordered by Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Fenway-Kenmore and the town of Brookline. The neighborhood has two main streets, namely Tremont Street and Huntington Avenue. It is served by several stations on the MBTA's Green Line E branch, as well as Roxbury Crossing station on the Orange Line.
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) is a private university focused on health- and life-sciences education, with campuses in Boston, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachusetts, and Manchester, New Hampshire, as well as online programs. The university provides traditional and accelerated programs of study focused on professional education in pharmacy and the health sciences.
Huntington Avenue is a thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, beginning at Copley Square and continuing west through the Back Bay, Fenway, Longwood, and Mission Hill neighborhoods. It is signed as Massachusetts Route 9. A section of Huntington Avenue has been officially designated the Avenue of the Arts by the city of Boston.
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University is a public art university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university's campus is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu.
Harris Barron (1926-2017) was an artist, educator, writer, pilot, and adventurer who founded both the ZONE visual theatre group and the Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 1970.
↑ "Bachelor of Fine Arts". MassArt. Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
↑ "MassArt Auction". MassArt. Massachusetts College of Art and Design. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
↑ "[Homepage]". MassArt Art Museum. Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
↑ "Universal Tools". MassArt. Massachusetts College of Art and Design. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
↑ "Glass BFA". MassArt. 2016-10-14. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
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