At KCAI we provide a rigorous liberal arts curriculum coupled with a comprehensive studio experience for students who are passionate about the realization of their ideas. Freshman start their experience in Foundation, where they develop their innate talents. They spend the next three years honing their craft in one or more of our 13 majors - Animation, Art History, Ceramics, Creative Writing, Fiber, Filmmaking, Graphic Design, Illustration, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Product Design and Sculpture.
Animation
In KCAI’s animation program, students receive instruction in classical, experimental and computer animation, but one solution is never prioritized over another. The curriculum includes a suite of classes that emphasize different aspects of the creative process: animation principles, concept modeling, production methods, history, theory and technique. Animation students benefit from interaction with visiting artists and industry professionals who present lectures and demonstrations and engage with students in interactive, hands-on critiques and workshops.
Art History
Located between two fantastic cultural institutions, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum for Contemporary Art, KCAI’s art history program is unique – we teach from objects in galleries and bring art history to life. Several art history faculty members are also practicing artists, which infuses the program with a deep understanding of media, technique and the dynamics of art-making within the context of history and theories of art.
Ceramics
Known for its renowned faculty and alumni, KCAI’s ceramics department is among the very best undergraduate programs in the country. Students are encouraged to work with equipment of all kinds, including clay mixers, wheels, 3-D printers and state-of-the-art digital kilns. They work in a newly renovated plaster area for advanced mold-making and an expansive glaze room. Exposure to exhibitions in galleries and museums, plus direct contact with visiting artists, is essential to shaping historical and contemporary perspective. The faculty seeks to create a sense of community and encourages opportunities for learning outside of the formal class structure.
Creative Writing
At KCAI, creative writing students develop technique in their choice of genre: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, the short story, the prose poem, experimental writing and writing for the screen. Students wishing to major in creative writing have two options for study. They can major in creative writing, which requires a minor in studio art, or pursue a double major in creative writing and a studio discipline. Each year, two publications are produced through student collaboration and faculty mentorship. Sprung Formal, the creative writing program’s literary magazine, is an award-winning student publication. Compendium is a compilation of writing and images by graduating seniors in art history and creative writing.
Fiber
Fiber as a medium is inherently multidisciplinary. It takes many forms, from dyeing and pattern design to experimental fashion and costume. The field is ever-expanding due to interest in more sustainable practices and technological advances in craft. Fiber students have opportunities to learn everything from harvesting wool and utilizing traditional weaving and dyeing techniques to programming and creating on a Jacquard digital loom. Advancements in areas such as entrepreneurial, architectural and interactive textiles have reshaped what a career in fiber looks like. Emphasis in this medium is on technical skill development and the generation of ideas through a materials-based process of making.
Filmmaking
Image-making as a contemporary, evocative and evolving process draws students to KCAI’s innovative program. Here, students will develop a personal body of knowledge and advanced skills as a creative, technically sound and culturally aware participant in the emerging fields of contemporary art and professional photographic and filmmaking practice. Faculty and visiting artists offer critical guidance and a broad range of aesthetic perspectives. Students are required to participate in a professional internship, which emphasizes the development of personal vision and challenges students to hone their personal point of view. Recent internships include Hint, Outpost Worldwide, Creature Feature FX, Charlotte Street Foundation, KCAI H&R Block Artspace and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Foundation
The Foundation program is an immersive experience that hones students’ skills and expands their notions of what creativity can be. It is one of the defining characteristics of a KCAI education. Classes are taught by full-time faculty, and the curriculum is designed to help each student determine their passion and path forward when selecting a major. Our 16,000-square-foot studio facility is dedicated solely to freshmen. Within a month of arriving at KCAI, you will be working in large-scale formats, using a range of materials and media, and collaborating with gifted people of diverse backgrounds. Through dedication and discipline, students develop their innate talents and discover the value of rigorous experimentation in pursuit of their artistic goals.
Graphic Design
Possibilities for visual communication are wide-ranging and ripe with creative problem-solving opportunities. Students are introduced to principles of information, advocacy, education and persuasion through print, interaction, motion, environment and experience. The department offers a rigorous idea-focused process of research, thinking and form-making that culminates in a self-directed degree project. Students will learn professional practices required to build careers and serve as thought leaders in their field. Many gain real-world experience through internships across the U.S. or at one of Kansas City’s top-tier agencies. Community connections are important – from visiting designers and guest critics to our long-standing annual projects with the Nelson-Atkins “Big Picnic” children’s experience and the Folly Theater jazz series posters.
Illustration
Illustration at KCAI is big – as in big program, big opportunities and big commitment tothe discipline. Graduates from KCAI’s illustration program are entering an evolving field with multiple paths forward. Illustrators work digitally, traditionally or a combination of both, and our students have a comprehensive foundation. The three-credit professional practice seminar introduces students to established illustrators, augmenting their studio and liberal arts studies. These experts offer lectures and demonstrations and interact with students during critiques and workshops. Real-world experience is essential, and illustration majors are required to work alongside professional illustrators via a creative internship or mentorship. Students may also participate in the MICRO Agency illustration elective, a sponsored studio partnership that gives students the opportunity to work on projects with area businesses and organizations. These partners include Hallmark Cards, Kansas City Royals, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Lead Bank, Kansas City Zoo and the Coterie Theatre.
Painting
We work to develop artists whose bold ideas dictate their materials. Painting majors are not defined by one chosen medium, and student work is diverse. Experimentation is encouraged, and students are pushed to take risks in their work and are asked to participate in a high level of critical discourse. KCAI provides individual studio spaces so that students can begin building their studio practice. Group critiques and discussions with visiting artists foster a dialogue about contemporary art and culture, helping students to understand painting as an expanded field in which materials and methods are not constrained by traditional boundaries.
Photography
Now is an exciting time to be an artist working with all aspects of photographic media. The accessibility of a camera on every phone, combined with the rise of social platforms, has exponentially increased the demand for visual storytelling. During the past century, photography, cinema and video have become major influences in contemporary art and are recognized by many as “the arts of our times.” KCAI’s photography program balances a technical foundation in traditional darkroom photography with digital production and emerging technology. Students will gain a strong understanding of professional camera controls and lighting while working to develop digital workflow and fine printing skills. Photo electives allow students to cultivate their personal aesthetic and to expand their skill sets.
Printmaking
A studio rich in equipment and technology, KCAI’s printmaking program provides students with a range of traditional and contemporary skills and practices. Methods like etching, silkscreen, letterpress and lithography are taught alongside post-modern concepts like print distribution and digital processes. Every spring, printmaking students, along with special guest artists and faculty, set up shop in front of Lead Bank in the Crossroads Arts District to create giant prints with the help of a road roller. The process requires hands-on work inking the plates, setting up the prints and working with the road roller to press the monumental prints.
Product Design
Available to students entering their sophomore year in fall 2020, KCAI is offering a new kind of product design program for the 21st century – informed by industry, appealing to students and relevant for today’s design-conscious world. Product design students will imagine, invent and make objects that creatively respond to global challenges and solve contemporary design problems. The program will prepare future designers to be agents of change through the objects, systems and businesses they create. At the core of this program is the KCAI Product Design Incubator Hub – a product designer’s launch pad and collaboration space. The Incubator Hub provides designers with resources to transform ideas into successful products and businesses. Product-design students will also gain entrepreneurial skills and business acumen to inform their product ventures. They will have access to courses in entrepreneurship taught by faculty from the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Sculpture
The Sculpture program embraces the expansive nature of the field of sculpture by involving students in the physicality of making and presenting three-dimensional work that has been conceptualized with intellectual rigor. Students become makers who function as social change agents and work to expand the materials and vocabulary of contemporary sculptural practice. Students learn how to transfer difficult and abstract ideas into the physical world. Specifically, students will pursue object-making, installations, kinetics, performance, multimedia, sound, video, digital pieces, community art projects and collaborative ventures.
