Art Academy of Cincinnati

We may be small, but our commitment is big. It’s the same commitment our students make to themselves: to make the best art they can. The Art Academy of Cincinnati has kept that commitment since 1869, building a rich tradition of innovation and excellence in the visual arts.

The Art Academy is one of the smallest four-year art colleges in the country, and that’s one of our greatest strengths: It means our students really get to be themselves. They receive individualized attention from faculty, the freedom to develop their personal vision, and a unique opportunity to carve out their identity.

You won’t just get an education at AAC; you’ll begin to discover who you are, personally and artistically. At the end of your four years here, you won’t be the same person you were at the beginning.

Our mission is to create and sustain radical, forward-thinking, contemporary visual artists and designers whose creative contributions make a substantial difference in all the lives they touch.

Our vision is to be the most celebrated, relentless, rebellious, cutting-edge and radiant community of artists and designers anywhere, at any time-the seers, the radicals, the innovators, and creative professionals who establish the rules that the future will follow.

Student activities at the AAC are student-driven. Rather than planning events from the top down, we look to students to tell us what kind of activities would be beneficial and interesting. The Student Activities Committee is made up of two students from each class level and meets twice per month to plan and coordinate events in consultation with the Director of Student Services.

OStudent Services forms groups of AAC students to participate as a team in any number of local sports clubs, including softball, soccer, dodgeball, and more. The Stinks are AAC's athletic mascot - ask anyone who has been at the AAC for a few years about the history behind the name!

The AAC galleries are part of the monthly Final Friday Art Walk in Over-the-Rhine. Galleries throughout the neighborhood stay open until 10 p.m. on the last Friday of each month. Final Friday receptions in the AAC galleries are open to the public and hosted by faculty and students.

Approximately twice per semester, the AAC hosts prominent poets for open readings of their work. After the readings, AAC students have the opportunity to show off their own musical, lyrical, and poetic talents at Open Mic Night. Hosted in The Commons, the Open Mic Night offers the perfect venue for self-expression.

Every year, AAC students and faculty members take a trip to New York city to explore the city's museums and urban culture, and to take a closer look at contemporary art. Approximately 40 students participate in the NY Trip every year, which is usually held in March.

AAC students have the option of completing a for-credit internship experience, which allows them to explore various creative pursuits and professional development under the guidance of professionals in their field. From museums, galleries, studios, local businesses, design and branding firms, art supply stores, newspapers, non-profits, and more, students have many opportunities for internships in the Cincinnati area.Each internship experience provides students with 3 credit hours, and can repeated up to two times. Students can choose to be self-directed in finding their internship or can ask for assistance from their advisor and/or Mack Maynard, Director of Student Services.

The Art Academy of Cincinnati's roots are in the McMicken School of Drawing and Design, founded in 1869 for the "promotion of taste and design in the industrial arts." The McMicken School became one of the first established departments of the University of Cincinnati. In 1884, Joseph Longworth, a Cincinnati philanthropist, was instrumental in the founding of the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Art Academy of Cincinnati. The McMicken School separated from the University of Cincinnati and became part of the Cincinnati Museum Association. The change of association culminated in an official name change to the Art Academy of Cincinnati and a move to a new facility built adjacent to the Cincinnati Art Museum in Eden Park in November of 1887.

Between 1884 and 1998, the Art Academy of Cincinnati operated as a museum school providing quality education to students.The Art Academy of Cincinnati became a charter member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) in 1948. In 1950, a four-year curriculum was introduced, and students earned Certificates. In 1979, the Art Academy of Cincinnati established a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program approved by the Ohio Board of Regents and NASAD. In 1998, the Art Academy of Cincinnati separated from the Cincinnati Museum Association and became a fully independent college of art and design.

In 2005 the Art Academy of Cincinnati moved from its Eden Park and Mount Adams locations to its current campus in historic Over-the-Rhine, a move that enabled the college to provide 24-hour access to over 100 student studio spaces, improved instructional studios, and other updated campus facilities. The Art Academy of Cincinnati was awarded numerous awards for the development, design and construction of the new facility and achieved LEED Certification by the US Green Building Council in 2008.

The Art Academy of Cincinnati has a rich heritage of 145 years of great art and great art instruction and educated many accomplished artists and designers. Art Academy of Cincinnati continues to provide personalized attention to students and to touch Cincinnatians' lives through community education programming. This private not-for-profit institution of higher education is an anchor for the creative artistic community in a vibrant and growing arts district.