Who we are.
What we do.

Undergraduate Program

7 Majors + 8 Minors*

BFA Majors:Creative Writing, Design, Illustration, Painting and Drawing, Photography, Print Media, Sculpture

*Minors: Art History, Film/Video/Audio + all majors can be taken as minors.

BFA Majors & Minors

BFA Majors & Minors

Creative Writing

Explore and exploit the possibilities inherent in the collision of language and visual expression. Come face to face with the strange power of words to literally and literally re-make the world, as we know it.

Design

An integrated education, Design is a fusion of fine art studio practices and liberal arts experiences all viewed through a contemporary design lens.

Painting
& Drawing

Immerse yourself in an environment that encourages an innovative definition of Painting and Drawing. Explore this dynamic, eclectic practice through realistic, abstract and/or non-objective subject matter.

Illustration

Illustrators are excited by the surprising unpredictability of contemporary imagery in our media-driven world. Learn the language of visual communication while engaging in relentless experimentation.

Print Media

Print Media invigorates traditional approaches with new technologies. Free from the confines of gallery walls, our students formulate their own language and declare the world as their canvas.

Photography

Study a unique breadth of traditional and cutting-edge photographic processes while diving into a blend of theoretical and real-world instruction.

Sculpture

Sculpture is a sensory experience. It can be touched, heard, smelled, tasted and even seen. Learn extraordinary processes that range from traditional casting, carving, and construction to the most radical contemporary spatial practices and interventionist strategies.

Film Video &
Audio Minor

Learn essential technical and creative aspects of video production, all while immersed in the stunning backdrop of one of the Midwest's most beautiful downtown historic districts.

Art History Minor

Art History isn't the study of something long gone and finished, it's the study of the ways that the art of the past ripples through the present to the next big thing.

Studio Arts

The Art Academy of Cincinnati grants a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree upon satisfactory completion of all studio and liberal arts requirements. All first-year BFA students begin with two semesters of studio arts courses. The intensive nature of these courses prepare the student to move into a studio area of special interest unique to their specific discipline regardless of major. The Studio Arts program provides sufficient breadth to allow the student the opportunity to investigate various media and personal expression while providing depth in preparation for their chosen major specialization beginning in the sophomore year.

Liberal Arts

In addition to their studio work, students at the AAC take a variety of required and elective liberal arts courses. From the natural and social sciences to art history and the humanities, these courses not only support, but help drive a student's artistic practice by emphasizing critical thinking, creative writing, and historical research, while instilling a curiosity about the diverse cultures and values that shape the contemporary world in which we live.

The Art History minor offers students who want to study the broader historical implications and significance of art an opportunity to draw on the past as a way to connect it to the present and the future.

The Film/Video/Audio minor encourages students to explore many of the most essential technical and creative aspects of video production, all while immersed in the stunning backdrop of one of the Midwest's most beautiful downtown historic districts, a location increasingly sought after by major motion pictures and high-end production studios.

Our alumni speak for themselves.

We have been around since 1869 ; )

Here are some recent news stories from four of our many satisfied alumni.

Alex Van Etten - BFA, Design, 2014



"I remember crying my eyes out when I didn't get a job offer after I graduated with my associates degree. I was super discouraged and it was a serious blow to my confidence in my design abilities.

Then I came to AAC, worked my butt off, interned until I legitimately couldn't intern anymore and got hired at one of the best companies in the world. On top of that, I've had to pass on three other offers, which is both humbling and awkward.

Moral of the story, if it doesn't happen, make it happen. Work your butt off and opportunities will come from that. If it doesn't happen immediately, keep trying, it'll happen eventually."

- Upon graduation, Alex is will be working for Proctor & Gamble as a Brand Identity Design Manager in Fem Care.





Zach Stubenvoll - BFA, Design, 2011



Zach worked for the 2012 Obama re-election campaign as a designer, and recently took a position working for Facebook.

- See Zach's Alumni Feature here: 02 Zach Stubenvoll





Mitchell Sipus - BFA, Drawing, 2004



Mitchell graduated in 2004 with an emphasis in drawing. Since his departure, he has gone on to drastically impact people's lives across the world. Focusing on a variety of creative strategies and problem solving, Mitchell has created databases of urban grafiti to predict conflict in Kabul, empowered refugee youth of Cairo with producing rap videos to curb gang violence, and worked with civil engineers in DaDaab, Kenya to re-think refugee camp design. His work has been written about in Wired magazine: "Life After Warfare: How a Digital Map Could Help Revive Mogadishu"

- Mitchell also received a Fulbright Fellowship in 2008, and will be undertaking his PHD in Transition Design at Carnegie Melon this year.

- "Everyday I rebuild war torn cities. Art education gave me the ability to rapidly make non-linear connections between abstract ideas and transform those connections into physical realities. Art taught me to have vision. Whereas most people can only see tragic loss and destruction, I see landscapes of opportunity. Where many of my industry peers impose a solution and fail with frustration, I utilize an iterative approach to create successful - though often unpredictable - outcomes. I might not make paintings or exhibit in galleries, but my art objectively changes the worlds most difficult places."

- See Mitchell's work at: www.mitchellsipus.com





Tony Tasset - BFA, Painting, 1983



Tony Tasset graduated from the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1983, and received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1985. He is best know for his public sculptures, and was included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial in New York. His contribution was a monolithic public sculpture that had 392,485 artists names etched into vibrant acrylic panels (a handful of Art Academy Faculty made the list). Tony is also currently in a group exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.

- Tony Tasset is a long time professor at UIC