The Art Institute of Boston
Encyclopedia
The Art Institute of Boston (AIB) is a private, not-for-profit art school in Boston, Massachusetts, and a part of Lesley University
. Undergraduate degree programs include animation, design, fine arts, illustration, and photography. Graduate degree programs focus on fine arts and photography, with an art history component. The school reports a faculty–student ratio of 1:10.
words that it is "in art that the heart, the head, and the hand of a man come together" and Davidson's own belief that "beauty comes from the use."
Through the mid-twentieth century the school increasingly embraced the fine arts and developed a growing liberal arts curriculum. In 1967 the school was renamed The Art Institute of Boston to acknowledge its increased focus upon fine art as well as design, illustration, and photography. In 1999 an animation program was begun within the Department of Illustration. AIB is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design
(AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States.
, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, and founded in 1909. The addition of AIB's baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate degrees qualified Lesley as a university. In 2001 the two colleges emerged as Lesley University
. Today AIB is one of four colleges within the university. The Art Institute of Boston is governed by the Lesley University Board of Trustees, and the larger university administration. The school and university are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design
and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
.
neighborhood, within downtown Boston. Most AIB facilities are located in two five-story early twentieth century buildings located within two urban blocks of each other. Buildings are located at 700 Beacon Street and 601 Newbury Street. Both buildings include computer labs, studio spaces, instructional rooms and faculty offices. The AIB Library, Office of the Dean, Office of Admissions, the Department of Photography, animation studios, and café are located at 700 Beacon Street. Individual studio spaces for baccalaureate Fine Arts students are located at 601 Newbury Street. Dormitories are located at the Lesley University campus in Cambridge.
in Ireland for a single semester, or full year. Students in AIB's department of Design and Department of Illustration can attend the Willem de Kooning Academy
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands for their junior or senior years.
Lesley University
Lesley University is a private, coeducational university in Boston, Massachusetts and Cambridge, Massachusetts.The university is a member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and New England Collegiate Conference.-History:The...
. Undergraduate degree programs include animation, design, fine arts, illustration, and photography. Graduate degree programs focus on fine arts and photography, with an art history component. The school reports a faculty–student ratio of 1:10.
Founding and evolution
Founded by Roy Davidson in 1912 as the School of Practical Art, AIB's early philosophy was based upon John Ruskin'sJohn Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
words that it is "in art that the heart, the head, and the hand of a man come together" and Davidson's own belief that "beauty comes from the use."
Through the mid-twentieth century the school increasingly embraced the fine arts and developed a growing liberal arts curriculum. In 1967 the school was renamed The Art Institute of Boston to acknowledge its increased focus upon fine art as well as design, illustration, and photography. In 1999 an animation program was begun within the Department of Illustration. AIB is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design
Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design
The Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design is a non-profit consortium of 41 leading art and design colleges in the United States and Canada. All AICAD member institutions have a curriculum with full liberal arts and sciences requirements complementing studio work, and all are...
(AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States.
Merger, and the emergence of a university
In 1998, the Art Institute of Boston merged with then Lesley CollegeLesley College
Lesley College is the undergraduate section, and founding institution of, Lesley University.The college was founded in 1909 by Edith Lesley as The Lesley School, a women's college which focused on early childhood education as a part of the international kindergarten movement established by...
, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, and founded in 1909. The addition of AIB's baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate degrees qualified Lesley as a university. In 2001 the two colleges emerged as Lesley University
Lesley University
Lesley University is a private, coeducational university in Boston, Massachusetts and Cambridge, Massachusetts.The university is a member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and New England Collegiate Conference.-History:The...
. Today AIB is one of four colleges within the university. The Art Institute of Boston is governed by the Lesley University Board of Trustees, and the larger university administration. The school and university are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
The National Association of Schools of Art and Design , founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees. Member institutions complete periodic peer review...
and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
.
Facilities
AIB is located in the Kenmore SquareKenmore Square
Kenmore Square is a square in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, consisting of the intersection of several main avenues as well as several other cross streets, and Kenmore Station, an MBTA subway stop. Kenmore Square is close to or abuts Boston University, Fenway Park, and Lansdowne Street, a...
neighborhood, within downtown Boston. Most AIB facilities are located in two five-story early twentieth century buildings located within two urban blocks of each other. Buildings are located at 700 Beacon Street and 601 Newbury Street. Both buildings include computer labs, studio spaces, instructional rooms and faculty offices. The AIB Library, Office of the Dean, Office of Admissions, the Department of Photography, animation studios, and café are located at 700 Beacon Street. Individual studio spaces for baccalaureate Fine Arts students are located at 601 Newbury Street. Dormitories are located at the Lesley University campus in Cambridge.
Galleries
AIB has galleries at three locations. The main gallery is at 700 Beacon Street. This gallery is used for traveling exhibitions, B.F.A. and M.F.A. graduate exhibitions, and the Faculty Biennial Exhibition. Additional exhibition space is located on two floors of the 601 Newbury Street building. The Newbury Street gallery is used for student exhibitions, particularly in the department of Fine Arts. A third gallery, located in the Porter Exchange building in Cambridge at AIB's parent institution Lesley University, hosts a variety of faculty, student and visiting exhibitions. Admission to all galleries is free and open to the public.Curriculum and degree programs
As of fall semester 2006 there are approximately 650 undergraduate and 150 graduate students pursuing degrees at The Art Institute of Boston. The Art Institute of Boston B.F.A. baccalaureate degrees are four-year programs in Animation, Art History and Critical Studies, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Photography. Five-year dual baccalaureate degrees in design and illustration, and illustration and art history are also offered. A two-year design certificate degree is offered for students having already earned either a B.A. or B.S. degree. AIB offers a two-year post-baccalaureate Master of Fine Arts degree in visual arts. The M.F.A. degree is low residency with 5 ten-day residencies over a two year program.International study at AIB
International study in all degree programs is encouraged, and AIB has study programs with colleges in Ireland, Italy, France, and the Netherlands. Students can study studio art, humanities, and Italian language and culture at the Italian Language and Art Institute in Florence. Fine arts and French language and culture courses are available at the Pont-Aven School of Art, France. Students with a Fine Arts major, or Fine Art/Illustration major can study at the Burren College of ArtBurren College of Art
Burren College of Art is an internationally recognized Irish non-profit independent art college specialising in undergraduate and graduate Fine Art education, located in Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland. The Master of Fine Art programme is accredited by the National University of Ireland, Galway...
in Ireland for a single semester, or full year. Students in AIB's department of Design and Department of Illustration can attend the Willem de Kooning Academy
Willem de Kooning Academy
The Willem de Kooning Academy is a Dutch Academy of art and design based in Rotterdam and named in memory of the famous Dutch artist Willem de Kooning.- Overview :...
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands for their junior or senior years.
External links
- The Art Institute of Boston web site
- Lesley University web site
- AIB's Design and Illustration coöperative exchange with the Willem de Kooning Academie
- AIB's Fine Arts and Illustration coöperative exchange with Burren College of Art
- USNews ranking, go to "T" for The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University