San Francisco Art Institute

The San Francisco Art Institute provides its students with a rigorous education in the fine arts and preparation for a life in the arts through an innovative, intensive studio environment, a vital liberal arts experience, and engagement with the world at large. The Art Institute also strives to be a leader in promoting awareness of the relevance of the arts in contemporary culture. To fulfill this mission, the San Francisco Art Institute: encourages art-making which reflects a broad spectrum of forms and philosophical and aesthetic approaches; fosters critical thinking and creative development through ongoing, intensive critiques; promotes artistic and intellectual freedom, imagination, creativity, experimentation, and risk-taking in a diverse and heterogeneous environment; engages a broad cross-section of local, national and international artists, scholars and communities in mutual exploration of art, and the roles, responsibilities and integrity of art and the artist in society; emphasizes a combination of creative individual expression and technical skills in its academic programs: the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, the Master of Fine Arts degree, certificate and non-degree programs; encourages public understanding of an involvement in the practices and issues of contemporary art, and generates public dialogue concerning these topics.