The University of the Arts (UArts) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

art university An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-seco ...

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 The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

. In addition, the School of Music is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.

History

University of the Arts Dorrance Hamilton Hall

The university was created in 1985 by a merger between the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and the Philadelphia College of Art, two schools that trace their origins to the 1870s. In 1870, the Philadelphia Musical Academy was created. In 1877, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music was founded. After graduating from South Philadelphia High School in 1921, Black contralto Marian Anderson applied to the Philadelphia Musical Academy but was turned away because she was "colored." Today, however, the University's School of Music has a black dean, Kevin Haden. In 1944, the Children's Dance Theatre, later known as the Philadelphia Dance Academy, was established by

Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck (born January 8, 1908, Kiev, Russian Empire – died April 23, 2006, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania) was a pioneer in modern dance, dance pedagogy and Labanotation. History She began her dance studies in Philadelphia in 1924 at ...

. 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 1876, the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art was founded as a museum and art school. In 1938, the museum changed its name to the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

and the school became the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. In 1964, the school became independent of the museum and renamed itself the Philadelphia College of Art. In 1985, the Philadelphia 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, which merged with the College of Art and Design in 2011 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.

Facilities and collections

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

Albert M. Greenfield Albert Monroe Greenfield (August 4, 1887 – January 5, 1967) was a real estate broker and developer who built his company into a vast East Coast network of department stores, banks, finance companies, hotels, newspapers, transportation companies ...

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. 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. 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.

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.

Notable alumni

* Julian Abele, architect * Richard Amsel, illustrator, recipient of 2009 UArts "Silver Star Alumni Award" * Maxwell Atoms, animator, '' The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' *

Katie Baldwin Katie Baldwin is an American printmaker and book artist living in Huntsville, Alabama. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Evergreen State College in Olympi ...

, artist * Robert Barber, member of musical group High Places *

Bo Bartlett Bo Bartlett (born December 29, 1955) is an American Realist painter working in Columbus, Georgia and Wheaton Island, Maine. Early life Bo Bartlett was born James William Bartlett III on December 29, 1955, in Columbus, Georgia. Bartlett’s parent ...

, 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 Melanie Bilenker (born 1978) is an American craft artist from New York City who lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her work is primarily in contemporary hair jewelry. In 2010 she received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. Bilenker uses her ...

, craft artist * Adam Blackstone, bassist, music director '' Grammy Award'' winner *

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Wo ...

, composer * Aliki Brandenberg, author and illustrator *

Bryan Brinkman Bryan Brinkman is a cartoon animator and Crypto_art creator from the United States of America. Biography Brinkman grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, before studying animation at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Currently Brinkman works in Ne ...

, cartoon animator *

Samuel Joseph Brown Jr. Samuel Joseph Brown Jr. (1907–1994) was a watercolorist, printmaker, and educator. He was the first African American artist hired to produce work for the Public Works of Art Project, a precursor to the Work Progress Administration's Federal A ...

, artist, educator *

Du Chisiza Dunduzu Chisiza Junior (26 March 1963 – 24 February 1999) was a Malawian playwright, director and actor and founder of the first professional theatre company in Malawi, the Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre. He wrote more than 20 plays and was invol ...

, Malawian author, playwright, producer, and Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture * Claude Clark, artist, art educator * Stanley Clarke, jazz bassist,

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and Grammy Award winner * Emory Cohen, actor, '' Brooklyn'' * Gil Cohen, aviation artist * Cecelia Condit, video artist *

Rachel Constantine Rachel Constantine (born 1973) is a Philadelphia-based realist / impressionist painter."Philly Artists Who Will Make You Rich," (2009, November). Philadelphia Magazine, p. 36. Her work has been exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the ...

, painter * Christine Coppa, writer *

Stephen Costello Stephen John Costello (born September 29, 1981 in Philadelphia) is an American operatic tenor and a recipient of the 2009 Richard Tucker Award.''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (April 17, 2009) Costello has performed in noted opera houses around the worl ...

, tenor, Metropolitan Opera *

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

, 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 Heather Mae Erickson (born February 22, 1977) is an artist, a craftsperson, and a designer. Erickson earned her BFA at The University of the Arts, majoring in crafts specializing in ceramics with a concentration in art education. Continuing ...

, artist * Wharton Esherick, craftsman, printmaker *

Robin Eubanks Robin Eubanks (born October 25, 1955) is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. His uncles are jazz pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant. His mother, Vera Eub ...

, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger, Grammy Award winner * Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, artist *

Paul Felder Paul Felder (born April 25, 1984) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and color commentator for UFC. He competed in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, Felder also ...

, acting (2008), professional MMA fighter with the UFC * Kate Flannery, actress, '' The Office'' * Charles Fracé, wildlife painter * Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, sculptor * Cheryl Goldsleger, contemporary painter *

Sidney Goodman Sidney Goodman (January 19, 1936 – April 11, 2013) was an American figurative painter and draftsman from Philadelphia, PA who explored the human form. Goodman received public notice in the early 1960s for his oil paintings, leading to his incl ...

, painter * 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 Marshall K. Harris is an artist and former professional American football player. Early life and education Harris grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated from Southwest High School in 1974. After earning all-district honors as a football p ...

, photorealist, sculptor and retired professional football player *

Natalie Hinderas Natalie Leota Henderson Hinderas (June 15, 1927 – July 22, 1987) was an American pianist, composer and professor at Pennsylvania's Temple University. Hinderas was born in Oberlin, Ohio to a musical family. Her father (Abram) was a jazz piani ...

, professor, pianist and composer *

Frances Tipton Hunter Frances Tipton Hunter (September 1, 1896 – March 3, 1957) was an illustrator who created covers for ''The Saturday Evening Post'' and many other magazines between the 1920s and 1950s. Her work is very similar in style to that of Norman Rockwel ...

, artist and illustrator * Judith Jamison, dancer and choreographer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

* Carlton Jones Lake, conductor and choirmaster *

Ryan Kattner Man Man is an American experimental rock band from Philadelphia currently based in Los Angeles. Their multi-instrumental style is centered on the piano playing of lead singer, songwriter, and lyricist Honus (Ryan Kattner). Honus is accompanied ...

(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 "Ex's & Oh's" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Elle King for her debut studio album, ''Love Stuff'' (2015). It was released on September 23, 2014, as King's debut solo single and the album's lead single via RCA Records. The ...

* 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 Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golde ...

, Actor (transferred) *

Amy Mathews Amy Mathews (born 29 March 1979) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She is best known for her role as Rachel Armstrong in Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''. Early life Mathews was born in Melbourne, Victoria, but ha ...

, Australian actress on soap opera, ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'' *

Matt McAndrew Matthew Brendan McAndrew (born September 6, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his appearance in Season 7 of NBC's reality TV singing competition ''The Voice'', where he finished as the runner-up as part of team Adam. In Janu ...

, singer and musician, '' The Voice (U.S. season 7)'' contestant *

John Mecray John Marcy Mecray (February 13, 1937 – November 1, 2017) was an American Realism (arts), realist painter best known for his marine art. Formative Years He was raised in Cape May, New Jersey where family roots pre-date the 19th century. John's ...

, American realism painter * Joseph Menna, sculptor and engraver *

Katherine Milhous Katherine Milhous (1894–1977) was an American artist, illustrator, and writer. She is known best as the author and illustrator of '' The Egg Tree'', which won the 1951 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration. Born into a Quaker fa ...

, artist/illustrator, Caldecott Medal winner * Frank Modell (1917–2016), cartoonist *

Ana Ortiz Ana Ortiz (born January 25, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Having pursued a career in ballet and singing from a young age, she eventually attended University of the Arts. Ortiz began her acting career in theatre, in early 2000s starred ...

, actress, '' Ugly Betty'' & '' Devious Maids'' * Susan Ottaviano, musician, lead singer ' Book of Love (band)" *

Emi Ozawa Emi Ozawa (born 1962) is a Japanese-born American visual artist, sculptor, and furniture designer. She is known for her woodworking that is also interactive sculpture, which she started creating in the early 1980s. Originally from Tokyo, Ozawa liv ...

, artist * Leslie Parrish, actress, activist, environmentalist, writer, and producer *

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Is ...

, celebrity portraitist and fashion photographer * Flo Perkins, glass artist * Vincent Persichetti, composer, Juilliard professor *

Steve Powers Steve Powers (born February 25, 1934 in New York City) is a musician, journalist and teacher who has had a 45-year career in New York City radio and television,Hinckley, David"From JFK to 'QXR: Powers Signs Off"''The Daily News''. June 13, 2007. as ...

, 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 * James Rolfe, creator, ''

The Angry Video Game Nerd ''The Angry Video Game Nerd'' (abbreviated as ''AVGN'') is an American retrogaming review comedy web series created by and starring James Rolfe. The series centers on Rolfe's titular skit character, often simply shortened to "the Nerd" (sometime ...

'' * Arlen Roth, Guitarist, performer, author, teacher. * Arnold Roth, cartoonist *

Charles Santore Charles Joseph Santore (March 16, 1935 – August 11, 2019) was an American illustrator best known for his children's books. His work is on display permanently at the Brandywine River Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. He won the Hamilto ...

, illustrator * Cal Schenkel, illustrator and graphic designer,

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

collaborator *

Richard Schultz Moses Richard Schultz (September 22, 1926September 28, 2021) was an American furniture designer. He was responsible for several iconic and notable creations in the 1950s–1990s through his firm Richard Schultz Design, Inc.. Biography Moses R ...

, furniture designer *

Lucas Steele Lucas Steele is an American stage actor best known for his role as Anatole in ''Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.'' Early life Steele was raised in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. He began learning piano by ear at age 3, and violin at age ...

, Broadway performer famously known for '' Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' * Serpentwithfeet, singer * 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 Helen L. Weiss (January 29, 1920 - February 20, 1948) was an American composer, pianist and choir director. Biography Helen Weiss was born in Brooklyn, New York to Samuel and Sadie (Friedman) Weiss. She had two brothers, Bernard and Frank. The fa ...

, composer *

Samuel Yellin Samuel Yellin (1884–1940), was an American master blacksmith, and metal designer. Career Samuel Yellin was born to a Jewish family in Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Ukraine in the Russian Empire in 1884. At the age of eleven, he was apprenticed to a ...

, blacksmith, sculptor and teacher

Notable faculty

Edna Andrade Edna Andrade (January 25, 1917 Portsmouth, Virginia - April 17, 2008 Philadelphia) was an American abstract artist. She was an early Op Artist. Op Art The Op Art movement refers to paintings and sculptures that use illusions or optical effects. ...

(1917–2008), American geometric abstract painter and early

Op Art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images ...

ist, 1996 recipient of the College Art Association Distinguished Teaching of Art Award for her three decades of teaching at Philadelphia College of Art * Alexey Brodovitch (1930–1940), photographer, designer, art director * Gil Cohen, aviation artist * William Daley (born 1925), American ceramist, professor from 1957 until 1990. *

Aaron Levinson Aaron Levinson (born July 2, 1963) is a Grammy award-winning producer, musician, composer and record label owner He has produced and released dozens of albums since starting his career with Inner City Records in 1981Range Recording Studios, Staf ...

, Grammy Award-winning producer and musician * Camille Paglia (born 1947), author and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

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 Lizbeth Stewart (December 22, 1948 – June 24, 2013), who is also known as Lizbeth McNett Stewart, was an American ceramist who was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Southampton, Pennsylvania. She was awarded a bachelor's degree in fine a ...

(1948–2013), American ceramist *

(1884-1940), master blacksmith

References

External links

* {{authority control Art schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1870 Educational institutions established in 1876 Educational institutions established in 1985 Performing arts education in the United States Universities and colleges in Philadelphia Market East, Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia Dance schools in the United States Performing arts in Pennsylvania 1870 establishments in Pennsylvania 1876 establishments in Pennsylvania 1985 establishments in Pennsylvania John Haviland buildings University of the Arts Glassmaking schools