From Print Media to Purpose: Aaron Broughton (AAC ’16)

For Aaron Broughton ’16, a life in the arts always felt like a natural direction.

A third-generation artist, Broughton says he “always knew he wanted to go into the arts.” At the Art Academy of Cincinnati, he studied Print Media, developing his practice across a range of mediums and processes while discovering how those skills could translate beyond the studio.

AAC’s location in Over-the-Rhine also put Broughton in close proximity to Cincinnati’s growing community of artists, designers, and independent print shops. During his second year, an interest in apparel and screen printing began to take hold.

“I got into apparel and screen printing my sophomore year,” Broughton says. “I had an internship with DIY Printing.”

The experience connected Broughton with another generation of AAC artists. DIY Printing was founded by Aaron Kent (AAC ’09), giving Broughton the opportunity to gain professional experience alongside a fellow AAC alumnus while still a student.

Finding a Path Through Print

Screen printing quickly became more than another process Broughton learned at AAC. It became a thorough line between his education and the career he would go on to build.

His Print Media studies gave him experience with the technical side of making but also taught him how to adapt those skills across different applications. After earning his BFA, Broughton continued working at the intersection of print, apparel, and design, eventually leading him to his current role as a graphic designer at The Point/Arc.

The Northern Kentucky organization creates opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live, work, and participate more fully in their communities. At The Point/Arc Apparel Shop in Latonia, Kentucky, Broughton brings his background in design and screen printing to the production of shirts, hoodies, backpacks, and other apparel.

It’s work that allows him to continue making while putting the skills he developed as an artist toward a larger purpose.

Connections That Continue

Broughton’s path from Print Media student to professional designer reflects something that began taking shape while he was still at AAC: an education in art can lead somewhere you may not have anticipated when you first entered the studio.

For Broughton, exposure to different mediums gave him room to discover screen printing. AAC’s location connected him to professional experience in Over-the-Rhine. An internship with a fellow alumnus showed him one way those skills could become a career.

The relationships have lasted, too.

More than a decade after his time at AAC, Broughton remains in touch with classmates, continuing relationships first formed while they were students finding their own paths as artists.

Today, the third-generation artist who always knew he wanted to go into the arts has built a career that brings together printmaking, graphic design, and service to others.

What began in the AAC print studio continues to evolve.