Should people go to art school — is it worth it? Well, it was life-changing for me. And I’ve never been able to leave New York since I got here. It’s the only place you can go, I feel, where you can turn a corner and change your life.
-Artist, Marilyn Minter
Choosing to attend an art program in New York City can, indeed, be life-changing. At the heart of New York’s art world you’ll find a thriving gallery scene that fuels the international art market as well as a robust network of museums from landmarks, like The Guggenheim or The MET, to foundational cultural gems, such as The Jewish Museum, The Museum of Chinese in America, or The American Folk Art Museum to name only a few. You’ll also cross paths with the great artists of our time – at exhibition openings, through interactions with faculty members in your program, or even in extracurricular lectures or workshops you might sign up for outside of school.
In this post, we’ll consider the pros and cons of attending an art program in NYC and whether or not it’s right for you. We’ll also highlight the School of Visual Arts BFA program, giving you an insider peek into SVA graduate PhenomenaLewis’s life as a working artist. PhenomenaLewis graduated with her BFA in 2019. Her work is featured in Best of Photo Vogue, the 5th Chelsea International Photography Competition, and elsewhere. She is Haitian-born and known outside of her art as Lewis Dérogène.
Program Spotlight: The School of Visual Arts
Nestled in the heart of Chelsea – New York City’s renowned arts neighborhood filled with galleries and the legacies of world-famous artists – the School of Visual Arts undergraduate Fine Arts department is a bustling hub of creative and academic life. Founded in 1947 as a school for cartoonists and illustrators, SVA has grown into one of the top art universities in the country. In New York City, it stands out as an art school dedicated to teaching its students how to live as working artists.
Not only does SVA provide students with a rigorous technical education, it connects them to the art scene on the ground in NYC, and has produced some of the most renowned artists in the country – such as KAWS, David LaChapelle, and Keith Haring to name a few. Like most art programs, it will help you hone your artistic practice and develop a solid theoretical foundation for your work. But unlike programs that focus mainly on theory, SVA is especially concerned with the mastery of what it takes to maintain an artistic practice, something many artists find difficult once they leave the sheltered campus environment. PhenomenaLewis shares that “being a BFA student at SVA taught me to observe the development of my art practice and to analyze it, which is very important as a professional artist. It creates a narrative behind your practice and gives you better clarity on what you wish to accomplish next.”
As most artists will tell you, great art is rarely made in a vacuum. Experimentation with other genres and exposure to a variety of inputs are often necessary to make thought-provoking and complex art. While at SVA, students will choose one out of eleven disciplines to focus on during their time in the program (an array of options much broader than other programs). They are encouraged to branch outside of their chosen discipline and even have the opportunity for cross-disciplinary study with the theory and criticism-focused Visual and Critical Studies program. PhenomenaLewis lists this as an important part of her time there: “As a fine arts student, you can take a film course, or as a photography student, you can take an animation course. That’s a useful developmental skill for young artists.” In this way, she was able to develop her voice and her own singular process and practice, which is hybrid and spans many mediums, including painting, photography and sculpture. Exploration is encouraged at SVA.
PhenomenaLewis goes on to note that her favorite part of the program was the facilities. “I can’t think of anywhere else where you can take advantage of all the resources at once from their printing studios, photo studios, equipment libraries, the library, 3D printing software and printers, ceramic labs, even the bio lab in the Fine Arts building.” Because of its eleven different disciplines – from more classical training in visual arts to 3D animation and visual effects, film, photography, or comics – SVA offers an extensive web of learning opportunities for students across genres.
SVA also has three of its own gallery spaces in NYC which rotate student and faculty shows year-round. Its faculty is comprised of professional artists who are connected in the NYC art world and help their students establish themselves as working artists, something that will serve them far past their time in the program. The faculty becomes a network which students can continue to rely on whether they choose to stay in NYC or not.
Overall, SVA is a longstanding, trusted art school with a wide array of facilities, close proximity and access to New York’s most artistic neighborhood, as well as a faculty that’s integrated into the contemporary art scene of the moment. As a student you will learn how to understand yourself as an artist and how to situate your work within the heart of the contemporary art world.
Ultimately, attending an art program in New York City – America’s epicenter of arts and culture – means being surrounded by the inner workings of the art market and having the latest exhibitions, films, and plays at your fingertips. This kind of artistic input can be central in shaping your own narrative of artmaking, but it can also be overwhelming for some – drowning out their own unique creative voice. New York’s art scene is a competitive and ambitious atmosphere for artmaking, which is why it might suffocate some even as others thrive. New York-based art students develop a mature and knowledgeable sense of their own work in conversation with the larger art world, driven by the work of their peers.
In contrast, universities in smaller cities are often a good choice for those whose creative process is fostered by a sense of quietude and an absence of competition. Faculty members at these smaller, non-NYC universities often have more time to spend one-on-one with students, because they lack the demands that are present in the fast-paced climate of New York City’s art world. As you make your decision, consider those particular factors you need most in order to pursue your art as authentically as possible.
Whether you’re already set on attending an art program in New York City or simply exploring your options, we recommend you get acquainted with the strengths of each program, which we’ve noted in our chart below.
| Name | SVA (School of Visual Arts) | Pratt Institute | Parsons | Cooper Union | NYU-Steinhardt |
| Location | New York, NY | Brooklyn, NY | New York, NY | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Number of Students | 3,255 | 3,814 | 6,907 | 842 | 29,401 total
2,538 Steinhardt |
| Arts Majors | 11 Majors | 13 Majors | 11 Majors | Integrated curriculum in drawing, audiovisual, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. | BFA in Studio Art (Link)
Interdisciplinary program with access to the resources of NYU (Link) |
| Arts Minors | 2 Minors | 2 Minors | 5 Minors | 5 Minors | |
| Known For | Its renowned cartoon & illustration program and its industry-insider atmosphere. In addition to technique and theory, SVA helps artists learn the business of being an artist. | Its idyllic campus dating back to 1887 and its quaint collegiate atmosphere in the largest city in America. | Its Fashion Design BFA and Fashion Studies MA. (Fun fact: The first fourteen seasons of Project Runway were filmed at Parsons!) | Its half-tuition scholarship for all students and its prestigious history as one of the oldest private universities in NYC. | Its performance art and film programs. In the heart of Lower Manhattan, NYU is integrated into the city itself (its dorms and classes are spread out in different buildings across Lower Manhattan). |
| Factors to Consider | SVA is industry-focused, meaning they will train you to be a professional artist participating in the market; SVA is located in Manhattan, so you will be close to the artistic happenings in NYC. | Pratt is located in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn on a beautiful, spacious and verdant campus away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan; as a result, the campus feels more collegiate and tranquil. | Do you want to go to school within walking distance of the heart of NYC’s art scene? Parsons’ campus is located just blocks from Chelsea and Greenwich Village; Parsons is also a part of The New School, so you have access to broader university resources, including a wide array of non-art related courses. | Cooper Union’s BFA program is rooted in art history, theory, and criticism. The first year Foundation Program is dedicated to exploring different artistic mediums before settling on one concentration. Cooper Union has a prestigious roster of contemporary arts faculty. | NYU focuses on the technical aspects of your chosen artistic medium/major, and they will also help you apply it to the real world. They are known for connecting their students to professional opportunities and preparing them for life as a working artist post-graduation. |
| Faculty of note | Tobi Kahn; Angel Abreu; Amy Taubin | Carlos Motta; Kelly Driscoll; Laurel Sparks | Anthony Aziz; Gyun Hur; Selena Kimball | Jennifer Packer; Lucy Raven; William Villalongo | Lyle Ashton Harris; Sue de Beer; Linda Sormin |
| Alumni of note | KAWS; Sol LeWitt; Sarah Sze; Michael Giacchino | Betsey Johnson; Mickalene Thomas; Jacob Lawrence; Max Weber | Edward Hopper; Ai Weiwei; Donna Karan; Narciso Rodriguez; Joel Schumacher | Patty Jenkins; Max Fleischer; Alex Katz; Milton Glaser; Ann Agee | |
| Atmosphere of program | Competitive; strong international community; industry savvy | Welcoming; strong sense of community on campus; collegiate | Challenging; constructive; connected to the design industry | Elite; competitive; caring faculty; challenging curriculum | Supportive; flexible; well-connected |
PhilomenaLewis leaves one bit of advice for prospective students attending an art program in NYC:
“Take risks so you don’t end up having regrets. Something I wish I had done more was interact with galleries and other art institutions while in school, so go ahead and do that. Start networking, don’t be afraid to ask questions, introduce yourself to others and definitely keep people’s contacts and make them remember you.”
Stay tuned for our next post: a deep dive into the country’s top art schools outside of NYC.
The college admissions process can be overwhelming, and it may feel difficult to know where to start. At Collegiate Gateway, we are eager to share our expertise and guide you on your admissions strategy and the path to your “best fit” college. Please feel free to contact us! As always, we’re happy to help!
