Academics

The art and design program is designed to provide students with a stimulating and supportive context within which they will be challenged to expand their thinking as artists and designers. The strong emphasis on the relationship between creative practice, contemporary discourses, and historical context creates a platform through which students will engage with broader cultural, political, social, material, and aesthetic issues in contemporary art and design. They join the lineage of artists and designers who, for centuries, have come to Florence, to learn from those who have come before them, drawing from the past, recording the present and imagining the future.

History of Design and Italian language courses help ground students in an informed exploration of both historical and contemporary  design. They are encouraged to embrace the city as a classroom, with studio and academic work extending beyond the walls of the study centers into the city’s streets and squares, museums, galleries and art community.

Faculty are active practitioners in their own fields of art and design and strive to create an interdisciplinary dialogue with courses in continuous evolution to create a vibrant learning environment and interpersonal understanding.