Dylan Tucker, Mia Gjerde, Iain Mangum, Nikita Ares | ART WASHI N GTON STAT E F E R R I E S | Elliott Bay
CORNISH COLLEGE DOESN’T JUST
PREPARE YOU AS AN ARTIST. WE GET YOU
READY FOR ANYTHING.
ARE YOU OUR NEXT
ARTIST
CITIZEN
INNOVATOR? For more than a century, Cornish College of the Arts has led the way with our groundbreaking approach to higher education in the arts. We deliver proven, highly personalized instruction in your chosen art form, taught in small studio classes by professors who actively work in their fields. We’re one of the only colleges in the country where you can live, learn, and create within a diverse and inclusive community of both visual and performing artists. We give you a solid foundation in the liberal arts, so you’ll have the transferable skills you need to thrive in whatever career you’re dreaming of.
Cornish College graduates are proven leaders in the 21st century economy. So whether you want to become a thriving professional artist, an innovator at a global tech juggernaut, or even our next superior court judge—all actual alumni careers...
YOUR CREATIVE FUTURE STARTS AT CORNISH.
“ I WAS SO INSPIRED AND EXCITED THE FIRST TIME I VISITED CORNISH,
TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO BE INVOLVED IN SUCH A CREATIVE AND TALENTED ENVIRONMENT.
CORNISH IS SO UNIQUE IN EVERY WAY, WHICH MADE MY DECISION TO APPLY AN OBVIOUS CHOICE.
Mark Bocek
—ALEXA WILLIAMS, DESIGN ’16
SEATTLE
BEAUTIFUL. CREATIVE. DISRUPTIVE. SEATTLE IS THE PERFECT PLACE to pursue your artistic education—and Cornish College of the Arts lives right at the heart of it all.
is a place where “inclusivity” and “eco-friendly” aren’t just buzzwords; they’re the foundation upon which our city and college thrive.
Home to the 5th Avenue Theatre, SIFF, Seattle Art Museum, and more, Seattle is a thriving professional community for practicing artists. You’ll find Cornish alumni, faculty, and students creating bold, innovative work all over town.
With both a red-hot economic base and a truly stunning natural setting, the greater Seattle area is home to tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft, and natural wonders like Mount Rainier and Snoqualmie Falls.
As a cultural crossroads with a progressive personality, Seattle
Cornish couldn’t have happened anywhere but Seattle—and we think you’ll thrive here, too.
WHAT’S A
Starting in the first year, you’ll take a range of courses to deepen your knowledge about the world, while also helping you develop the transferable skills necessary for success in any field. Academically rigorous, seminar-style courses are taught by faculty who are accomplished in their fields of study as researchers, writers, educators, and artists.
BFA
ANYWAY? UNLIKE A BA, WHICH INCLUDES more liberal arts requirements, the accredited Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Bachelor of Music (BM) programs at Cornish will have you spend the majority of your time in the studio, practicing your craft and generating new work. Because our mission is to cultivate Artist-Citizen-Innovators, our students also receive a core education in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences to prepare them to live and work in the multicultural, globally interconnected 21st century economy.
When you take a course in the Humanities & Sciences, you’re not just selecting a topic to study. You’re pursuing a new perspective on the world to explore and enrich your artistic practice. In whatever work you pursue, a BFA or BM from Cornish will provide you with the skills needed to thrive:
PROBLEM-SOLVING
COLLABORATION
CRITICAL THINKING
INTERCULTURAL KNOWLEDGE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY
CORNISH BFA/BM BA
75%
25%
time spent in your major
liberal arts/electives
35-50% discipline-specific courses
50-65% liberal arts courses
A SO L I D F OUN DAT I O N
FIRST YEAR PROGRAMS
Becoming a thriving artist requires more than knowing how to make something or deciding on a particular performance style. That’s why all students at Cornish participate from their first year in a solid base of liberal arts coursework within the context of arts and culture. Visual arts students spend their first year in FOUNDATIONS, a highly collaborative curriculum that encourages students to explore all four disciplines, while challenging you to think deeply and differently about your work, and with ample opportunity to grow your creative thinking, critical writing, curiosity, and adaptability. Performing arts students begin their first year in INTEGRATED STUDIES, a series of courses in which you’ll write for diverse audiences and purposes, read a variety of texts in multiple genres and forms, and develop relationships with faculty and students. Beyond the first year, students select additional coursework from a variety of themes and topics, including six credits of college writing. Previous Liberal Arts Courses at Cornish include
OU R EL ECTIV ES PR OGR A M
CREATIVE CORRIDOR
Creative Corridor, an interdisciplinary arts elective program taught by faculty across disciplines, offers courses designed to ignite radically dynamic collaboration, explore the intentional use of emerging technologies, and produce boundarybreaking creative work that makes an impact in our communities. By enlivening real-world practice and exploring relevant social contexts, students and faculty connect more deeply with their work, their communities, and even with one another. Classes are open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors across all eight majors, and there are no prerequisites—so you can explore the themes, subjects, and artistic intersections most relevant to you. Previous Electives at Cornish include
• ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
• ARTS & CIVIC LEADERSHIP
• PERFORMANCE ART: HISTORY & THEORY • COSMOLOGY
• PODCAST & BROADCAST: BUILDING NARRATIVE VOICE FOR RADIO
• THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IDENTITY
• COUTURE FASHION & TECH
• THINKING WITH DIGITAL GAMES
• VIRTUAL LIFE DRAWING
• LANGUAGE AND GENDER
• ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE/EXPERIMENTAL STORYTELLING • POSTER ART FOR ADVOCACY
Our faculty have exhibited their own work at cultural institutions, like Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, Japan, and innovative festivals, like the International Symposium on Electronic Art.
ART Whatever your creative process, the Cornish BFA Art program will help you cultivate and challenge your ideas forward. It’s the people here, your friends and mentors, who will empower you to develop your talents and transform the world as a creative citizen. Our faculty are wholeheartedly dedicated to their fields and on the leading edge of what’s happening in the global art world today. Through coursework and oneon-one studio visits with faculty, you’ll learn how to think through the content of your work, so the materials and mediums you choose best express your ideas. AREAS OF STUDY: Sculpture/Installation/Performance Painting | Photography | Print Digital Media | Drawing
Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/ART
Mia Gjerde WASH INGTO N STATE FE RRI E S | Elliott Bay
DANCE With more than a century of distinguished history under our feet, the Cornish BFA Dance program is proven to prepare you—body, mind, and soul—for the life of a professional dancer.
When you complete the program, you’ll have a proven, professional dance education and a foundation of skills to benefit you in the 21stcentury economy, wherever your future may find you. AREAS OF STUDY: Choreography | Improvisation Physical Techniques | Repertory Screendance | Wellness Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/DANCE
Dale Chihuly, Glasshouse Sculpture (detail), 2012 and Pacific Sun, 2011, installed 2012. Artwork © Chihuly Studio.
Every dancer takes classes in contemporary techniques, ballet, and choreography, informed by our holistic focus on well-being. Courses in anatomy and kinesiology empower you to work expertly with your own body. Electives develop breadth and versatility in your dancing.
Our faculty have choreographed and performed for iconic and innovative companies like the Singapore Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, Cirque du Soleil, Bill Evans Dance Company, and Jazz Antiqua.
Nahshon Marden C HI HU LY GA R D E N A N D G L ASS | Seattle Center
Our faculty have worked with groundbreaking clients and companies such as Microsoft, HBO, Modern Dog Design, and Hum Creative.
DESIGN In the Cornish BFA Design program, you’ll be mentored by faculty from firms that have changed the industry. Innovate inside an immersive studio environment made for collaboration, and learn from specialists tapped for particular skills, like experimental typography or product packaging. Create right next to students working across diverse design mediums, which helps push your own work forward. From hands-on projects to internships, you’ll graduate with the holistic skillset 21st-century companies are looking for, and bring to your work the creative grit and sense of personal agency that’s at the heart of every successful designer. AREAS OF STUDY: Graphic Design | UX & VR Design Illustration | Typography Packaging Design | 2D & 3D Animation Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/DESIGN
Brianna Fawcett, Kevin Bui F REMONT BR IDGE | Fremont
FILM The Cornish BFA Film program will give you the skills, portfolio, and connections you need to thrive as a visionary filmmaker. You’ll pursue all aspects of filmmaking across a wide variety of platforms, from innovative fiction to compelling documentary to bold experimental work. You’ll gain handson experience with the cutting-edge technology of cinema—cameras, lights, sound—and learn how to write screenplays, make storyboards, direct, edit, create soundtracks, and more for your own films. And through it all, we’ll teach you both the art and the business of filmmaking, so that you’ll be ready for wherever your creative vision takes you. AREAS OF STUDY: Narrative Documentary Experimental Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/FILM
Our faculty have screened their own films at Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and more.
Nicholas Martin, Violetta Rulova, Jonathan Peel GASWOR K S PA R K | North Lake Union
© Mark Bocek
CORNISH ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS
KATE HARMER ‘05 Founder and creative director of Hum Creative, a Seattle design studio working with clients like KEXP, Theo Chocolate, and REI.
Nate Watters
ALEAH CHAPIN ‘09 Frank, feminist painter who was the first American to win the prestigious BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London (2012)
AMY O’NEAL ‘99 Award-winning choreographer/teacher who pursues the intersection of street and club dance culture with contemporary dance and performance.
CANH NGUYEN ‘12 ADAM M C COLLOM ’96 CARLOS ESPARZA ’07 Received an “Audience Choice” Award at Seattle International Film Festival for Even the Walls, their short documentary on a Seattle public housing project.
DON DARRYL RIVERA ‘06 Performed on Broadway as Iago in Disney’s ALADDIN; has appeared on numerous local and national stages such as 5th Avenue Theatre and The Shakespeare Theater Company.
Kelly O
SHELBY CHOO ‘16 Selected to participate in the 2016 United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Gateway Program, currently freelancing at several regional venues like ACT Theatre.
GABRIEL DWISATRIA ‘17
BETH FLEENOR ‘04
Awarded a Angelo Donghia Foundation Scholarship (2016) for his culturally sensitive and ethical design for a women’s healthcare facility in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Voted Seattle Weekly’s Best Classical Musician of 2017, performs with her genre-defying ensemble Crystal Beth & the Boom Boom Band
Our faculty have worked for a diverse range of clients, including Amazon, West Elm, Expedia, CB2, T-Mobile, Washington Convention Center, McCormick Place Chicago, and Madame Tussauds Hollywood.
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE Interior Architecture is a universe bounded by walls—which is to say, its domain is anything in a room. The Cornish BFA Interior Architecture program is a growing cohort of peers, faculty, and specialists eager to explore that universe with you. Though Interior Design dates back to the 1950s at Cornish, Interior Architecture is a newly independent department. Our instructors are leaders in the field and in the community; and our graduates are poised to enter a range of professions, from interior design/ architecture to museum/exhibition design, retail/hospitality to strategic urban planning, and more. Join us at Cornish, and discover a universe of possibilities. AREAS OF STUDY: Environments | Lighting | Materials & Fabrication | Innovation & Construction Bio-technology | Object Design Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/INTERIOR_ARCHITECTURE
Valerie Ross, Abraar Mohamad, Zoie Rosolek, Lani Noya MUSEUM OF HISTORY & INDUSTRY | South Lake Union
MUSIC Students in the Cornish Bachelor of Music program are mentored by professors who are working musicians, ready to share their experience and resources with you. Whatever path you choose— Instrumental, Vocal, Composition— you’ll tap in right away to the intensive, performance-oriented energy here, and feel like you’re part of more than a class—you’re part of a community. Immerse yourself in the legendary Seattle music scene while you’re here, or play your own gigs at local music venues where Cornish students regularly perform. Experience the highly personalized training Cornish is known for, become part of our vibrant community of like-minded artists, and start creating tomorrow’s music today. AREAS OF STUDY: Vocal Instrumental Composition Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/MUSIC
Our faculty have performed with renowned artists like Chet Baker, Christian Wolf, Flora Purim, Nels Cline, John Zorn, Pauline Oliveros, and Beyoncé.
Ruby Dunphy CA F E R AC E R | University District
Our faculty have designed and developed projects at renowned theaters here in Seattle, like Seattle Repertory Theatre and Seattle Opera, and across the nation, like the Guthrie Theater and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
PERFORMANCE PRODUCTION When you enter the Cornish BFA Performance Production program, you join an independent program, not an offshoot of another department. We tailor your training to your goals and immerse you in all tools of the stage trade, traditional to technical. You’ll have one-on-one experiences with faculty who are working artists in Seattle’s theater community. And you’ll immediately begin building/ staffing mainstage productions co-produced with our Theater and Dance departments each year. This is hands-on production. It’s where you create worlds and manipulate stage magic. In Performance Production, you make the drama real. AREAS OF STUDY: Lighting Design | Scenic Design Costume Design | Sound Design Stage Management | Technical Direction Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/PERFORMANCE_PRODUCTION
Nina Bice, Rhys Strohmayer, Savannah Brittian S PACE N EED LE | Seattle Center
Our faculty have performed and directed at iconic national theaters, like the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Yale Repertory Theatre, and beloved Seattle venues, like 5th Avenue Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre.
THEATER The Cornish BFA Theater program provides a home for ambitious artists who want to extend the boundaries of storytelling, bringing the work of great playwrights—and also your own—to vibrant life. Interdisciplinary work and collaboration are at the heart of our program. Whatever your passion, our faculty of working theater artists will help you develop your unique, creative voice within a healthy, sustainable practice. And when you graduate, you’ll join an alumni community that is leading shows in Seattle theaters, starring on Broadway, writing Netflix series, and taking their storytelling skills into executive jobs at Google and Apple. Are you our next storyteller? AREAS OF STUDY: Acting Original Works Musical Theater Learn more at CORNISH.EDU/THEATER
Jacoba Wentross, Riley Larimer, Mykail Gholston, Sofia Sanchez VOLU N T E E R PA R K | Capitol Hill
ON OUR THRIVING URBAN CAMPUS At the heart of our vibrant South Lake Union campus, you’ll find CORNISH COMMONS, our state-of-the-art residence hall within walking distance of downtown Seattle and with easyto-access public transit. Designed for artists like you, Cornish Commons features plenty of space and everyday amenities. All dorm rooms come with full bathroom, some have an optional kitchenette—and our laundry machines will even text you when your wash is done. The 20th floor boasts spectacular views of Seattle, Puget Sound, and the Olympic Mountains. All residents enjoy our shared full kitchen, game room with fireplace, TV lounge, fitness room, and outside patio. Numerous artistic spaces like practice rooms, dance/rehearsal studio, and
art studios allow you to create and perform right where you live. Commuter students also enjoy Cornish Commons’ first floor amenities like our commuter kitchen, relaxation lounge, study space, and practice rooms/studios. Right across the street, you’ll find NELLIE’S CAFÉ, our full-service cafeteria with its own espresso bar. We’re focused on a sustainable future for food service, which means flavorful food that’s healthy and economically viable for all, produced through practices that respect farmers, workers, and animals; nourish the community; and replenish our shared natural resources for future generations.
©Ankrom Moisan Architects/Casey Braunger
LIVE, STUDY, CREATE, AND PLAY
MAKER
PERFORMANCE
From individual and shared studios to materials labs, our visual artists have an array of spaces to explore your craft, including our:
From black box studio to historic concert hall to iconic Seattle playhouse, performing at Cornish means performing in the heart of our city.
SPACES
3D FABRICATION LAB Build your skills in woodworking, metal welding and fabrication, mold-making for cold casting, and ceramics. Whether you need handheld carving tools or a 3D printer, you’ll find it here. PRINT ART LAB Comprised of several spaces, this lab is prepared for both traditional and contemporary practices – including a darkroom, silkscreen facilities, lithography press, and even a Sukifuni, the traditional Japanese papermaking vat for creating delicate handmade paper. BOOK ARTS LAB Hand set type, prepare bindings with multiple signatures, and create professional quality handmade books using our five working antique letterpresses with a large catalog of both wood and lead type. DIGITAL & ANALOG EQUIPMENT LIBRARY Students can sign out an array of cameras, tripods, microphones, lights, projectors, and digital displays for their photography and filmmaking needs.
SPACES
CORNISH PLAYHOUSE, SEATTLE CENTER Our premier performance space, originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair and former home of two Tony Award®-winning regional theater companies; also includes the Marleen and Kenny Alhadeff Studio Theater, our black box studio used for smaller productions, repertory festivals, and original works. PONCHO CONCERT HALL, CAPITOL HILL Music and Dance students rehearse, refine, experiment, and perform in our historic concert hall located off a tree-shaded courtyard on the east side of Kerry Hall, the original Cornish School building built by Nellie Cornish in 1921. RAISBECK PERFORMANCE HALL, SOUTH LAKE UNION Built more than 100 years ago as a Sons and Daughters of Norway lodge, Raisbeck features the Ned & Kayla Skinner Theater, our easily configurable black box space used for dramas, comedies, musicals, and an annual cabaret show.
MISSION THE MISSION OF CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS IS TO provide students aspiring to become practicing artists with an educational program of the highest possible quality, in an environment that nurtures creativity and intellectual curiosity, while preparing them to contribute to society as artists, citizens, and innovators. Cornish realizes this mission by offering baccalaureate studies in the performing and visual arts and by serving as a focal point in the community for public presentation, artistic criticism, participation and discussion of the arts.
CORE VALUES WE ARE COMMITTED TO... Providing an educational environment that offers personalized attention and acknowledges the whole person, cultivating artistic potential and individual voice. Supplying a rigorous and balanced arts education that encourages experimentation and innovation while providing a solid grounding in technique and craft. Providing a fine arts education that develops imaginative and critical thinking capacities grounded in knowledge, producing not just trained, but educated artists.
Creating a college environment that demonstrates respect for equal opportunity for all persons and the inclusion of diversity in the curriculum and in the ranks of the student body, faculty, staff and Board of Trustees. Offering a faculty of practicing artists whose accomplishments serve to inspire and inform students seeking a professional career in the arts. Contributing meaningfully to the cultural vitality of the community.
“
CORNISH MAKES FEARLESS, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS. I DIDN’T COME OUT OF THERE FEELING LIKE I FIT INTO SOME KIND OF MOLD. I CAME OUT
FEELING LIKE I KNEW MYSELF, AND WHAT I WAS MEANT TO BECOME... READY TO TAKE ON THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD. AND I DID.” —RAMIZ MONSEF, THEATER ‘02
TEAR OUT & KEEP
APPLICATION DEADLINES
SCHOLARSHIPS
DECEMBER 1
Cornish offers merit scholarships based upon the strength of your application and audition/portfolio.
EARLY ACTION DEADLINE
FEBRUARY 15
Photography by Danielle Barnum unless noted. Design by Shannon Loys.
PRIORITY APPLICATION / SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE
Those applying for scholarship consideration should apply by
After February 15, applications are accepted on a rolling basis if space is available.
FEBRUARY 15.
CORNISH FAST FACTS ESTABLISHED
CAMPUS
1914
3 locations in downtown Seattle: South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, Seattle Center
MAJORS
Art, Dance, Design, Film, Interior Architecture, Music, Performance Production, Theater
EXTENSION PROGRAMS
Summer at Cornish Preparatory Dance
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE
COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS
13
Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) Mobility Program Kadenze Pilchuck Glass School Vermont College of Fine Arts
FACULTY:STUDENT RATIO
1:7 STUDENT ORIGINS
Colleges and Universities, National Association of Schools of Art and Design THE MISSION OF CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS
is to provide students aspiring to become practicing artists with an educational program of the highest possible quality, in an environment that nurtures creativity and intellectual curiosity, while preparing them to contribute to society as artists, citizens, and innovators.
35 states 18 countries ACCREDITATION
Northwest Commission on
CORNISH.EDU
ADMISSION@CORNISH.EDU
800.726.ARTS
CORNISH.EDU
FIN D OU T AT
CARRY YOU?
WHERE WILL CORNISH COLLEGE
Cornish College of the Arts 1000 Lenora Street Seattle, WA 98121
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