OUR EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
STUDIO
AGENCY
PLACE
COMMUNITY
ETHICS
TEXTILE & FASHION DESIGN
BFA
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS MECA’s immersive, rigorous, interdisciplinary approach to making work is informed by a strong foundation in the liberal arts and a deep commitment to studio practice. We believe in holistic education. We will help you turn your passion into a transformative learning experience.
ANIMATION & GAME ART
LEARNING THROUGH TOTAL IMMERSION FOUNDATION
You might be pretty certain about who you are as an artist. You might even be sure which medium you will be working in for the rest of your career. That’s why at MECA we feel it is our obligation as teachers and fellow artists to shake things up a bit and introduce mediums and ideas you never considered before.
MECA.EDU/FOUNDATION
12 EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
LINKING EDUCATION WITH CREATIVE PRACTICE ACADEMIC STUDIES
At MECA, the Academic Studies curriculum aims to reinforce the fact that we are educating artists. This means that many of our liberal arts courses are specifically designed to link course content with students’ creative practices —combining skills cultivated in the Foundation Program and the lessons gleaned from art history courses.
MECA.EDU/ACADEMIC-STUDIES
EXPLORE & DEVELOP SKILLS IN EMERGING MEDIA ANIMATION & GAME ART
Animation and Game Art majors at MECA develop a robust studio practice through traditional and emerging media. By exploring the language and nuance of animated storytelling, students learn the tools and technologies of contemporary animation and game art production by allowing students to to develop expertise in industry-standard workflows.
MECA.EDU/ANIMATION-GAME-ART
ANIMATION & GAME ART
EXPERIMENT WITH A RANGE OF MATERIALS AND SKILLS CERAMICS
MECA’s Ceramics Program offers a broad curriculum that features introductory classes in throwing and handbuilding, as well as a range of advanced ceramics electives that teach you raku and soda firing, working with porcelain, slip casting, creating tableware, mixed materials, sculptural ceramics, and experimental surfaces.
MECA.EDU/CERAMICS Danielle Frye ‘16
CERAMICS
UNDERSTAND THE NUANCES OF VISUAL LANGUAGE GRAPHIC DESIGN
In the Graphic Design Program, you’ll learn how to give your original ideas a compelling voice, how to analyze and understand your audience, and how to effectively use the visual languages of type and image to enhance meaning.
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GRAPHIC DESIGN
GAIN TECHNICAL ABILITIES ROOTED IN DRAWING SKILLS ILLUSTRATION
In the Illustration Program, you will use skills in observational and imaginative drawing to tell your own stories. Using drawing skills as a base, you will learn how to invent concepts, think critically, and develop a unique and personal style. In addition, you will study illustration history, theory, and professional practices.
MECA.EDU/ILLUSTRATION
ILLUSTRATION
TAKING TRADITION TO A NEW LEVEL METALSMITHING & JEWELRY
Take your technical skills to an entirely new level by grappling with theory and entering the dialogue on craft as both noun and verb. Master the technical skills of forming, raising, finishing, stone setting, and more. At MECA, you’ll receive unparalleled professional training as you translate traditional skills into new materials like wood, marble, plastics, and resin. Continue the tradition of holloware.
MECA.EDU/METAL
METALSMITHING & JEWELRY
EXPRESS YOURSELF WITH PAINT
PAINTING
In the Painting Program, you will discover what inspires you in an environment that supports your creativity and ideas. You will master fundamental and alternative techniques using light, space, and color to translate what you see and understand about your surroundings. The curriculum is designed to strengthen your ability to make, as well as to read, write, think, and speak about your work.
MECA.EDU/PAINTING
PAINTING
LEARN TRADITIONAL AND MODERN TECHNIQUES PHOTOGRAPHY
In the Photography Program, you’ll learn how a body of work or a series engages your audience. You’ll experiment with technical and conceptual elements of traditional and contemporary processes, including 35mm, medium-format, large-format, and digital capture. Before you graduate, you’ll possess the skills to create a professional fine arts portfolio, develop an artist statement and resume, establish your own web presence, and create a final thesis exhibition.
MECA.EDU/PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTOGRAPHY
COMBINE FORMAL TRAINING WITH CULTURAL IDENTITY PRINTMAKING
In the Printmaking Program, you’ll have the opportunity to explore screen printing, relief printing, lithography, photo and digital print processes, and more. Make art that blends cutting-edge technology with centuries-old printmaking techniques. Gain technical skills, develop your formal and material sensibilities, and study the history of print as a fine art form, a vehicle for vernacular culture, social dissent, and cultural identity.
MECA.EDU/PRINTMAKING
PRINTMAKING
Work by: Ian Colwell ’20
EXAMINE MATERIALS, PROCESSES, AND CONCEPTS SCULPTURE
In the Sculpture Program, you’ll learn how to articulate your work both visually and audibly. You will learn new ways of expressing yourself —technically, creatively, and conceptually. Our diverse and experienced faculty of practicing and exhibiting artists will help guide you along as you explore the relationships between scale, material, technique, space, process, and context.
MECA.EDU/SCULPTURE
METALSMITHING & JEWELRY
MASTER MATERIAL, PATTERN, AND TECHNIQUE TEXTILE & FASHION DESIGN
In the Textile & Fashion Design Program students develop a deep understanding of design and fabrication of textiles, as well as extensive study of the field of apparel. Receive specialized instruction from some of Maine’s top industry professionals, contemporary designers, and textile artists while becoming familiar with the vocabulary of technique, color, material, pattern, texture, form, and silhouette.
MECA.EDU/TEXTILE
TEXTILE & FASHION DESIGN
INVESTIGATE FORM AND FUNCTION WOODWORKING & FURNITURE DESIGN
In the Woodworking & Furniture Design Program, you’ll learn all about the expressive nature of three-dimensional form and how to take an idea full circle from conception to completion. At MECA, we encourage you to explore a wide range of materials and processes, including wood in all forms and species. You will also learn to use various fibers, fabricate, weld, and cast in bronze, plastics, aluminum, and steel.
MECA.EDU/WOODWORKING
WOODWORKING & FURNITURE DESIGN
MAKE ART, MAKE A LIVING ARTISTS AT WORK
Artists at Work connects students and alumni with opportunities and experiences to help them become creative professionals for life. An arts education teaches skills such as risktaking, critical thinking, creative problem solving, collaboration, and innovation for a new entrepreneurial economy. Whether you want to be a commercial designer, studio artist, educator, or arts administrator, you’ll take away skills that translate into a variety of career choices. Artists at Work provides students and alumni with connections to internships, community partners, commissions, opportunities, grants, and professional development residencies.
WHAT OUR ALUMNI DO WITH ART DEGREES Walt Disney Effects Animator Museum of Modern Art Registrar and Cataloger adidas Design & Innovation Recruiter L.L. Bean Designer The VIA Agency Art Director Portland Museum of Art Exhibitions Assistant MYFAWNWY Independent Fashion Designer Designtex Print Technician Ann Hamilton Studio Artist Assistant TedXDirigo Co-Founder JP Morgan Chase User Experience Design Lead PACE Gallery Preparator Second Story Interactive Studios Lead Producer
MECA.EDU/ARTISTSATWORK
INTERNSHIP SITES + American Natural History Museum + Brooklyn Metalworks + Chickadee Games + Hasbro, Inc + L.L. Bean
+ MassMoCA + Portland Ballet + Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium + Sotheby’s + SPACE Gallery
91%
OF STUDENTS/ALUMNI MAKE ART IN THEIR PERSONAL TIME (80% NATIONAL AVERAGE)
TURN ART INTO A CAREER ALUMNI
VIVIAN BEER ’00 Vivian was the winner of HGTV’s Ellen’s Design Challenge Season 2, in which the finalists were assigned to design furniture for green rooms at The Ellen Degeneres Show. She was awarded a $100,000 cash prize and her work was featured in HGTV Magazine. She earned her MFA from Cranbrook Academy and has received a research fellowship from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Her work is included in collections nationwide.
DAVID HUTCHINS ’87 David is an Effects Animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios who has worked on many major films. He was an Effects Supervisor on Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, an animated feature nominated for an Oscar in 2013. He was also part of the team who worked on Frozen, which received a 2014 Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Most recently he has worked on Big Hero 6, Frozen Fever, and Moana.
63% WORK AS PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS
16% founded a business
23%
work as art teachers
49% are selfemployed
38%
work as fine artists
23% work as craft artists
23% are designers or illustrators
AHMED ALSOUDANI ’05 Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Ahmed arrived in Portland in 2001 with minimal training in art and has now become internationally renowned for his tumultuous and innovative paintings. He was one of six selected artists included in the Iraq Pavilion of the 54th Venice Biennale and has been profiled in the New York Times and Art in America. In 2013, the Portland Museum of Art hosted a solo exhibit of his work.
MECA.EDU/ALUMNI
DISCOVER YOUR FUTURE PRE-COLLEGE AT MECA
MECA.EDU/PRE-COLLEGE
Discover your future as an artist or entrepreneur. A three-week immersion experience, Pre-College is the first step to finding creative freedom while living like a college student. The residential Pre-College Program provides high school students with the skills to embark on a rigorous study of the arts. This program is open to students who have completed their sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school. Customize your own individual Pre-College Program by choosing two majors from Animation, Ceramics, Illustration: Comics + Graphic Novels, Fashion + Textile Design, Metalsmithing + Jewelry Design, Painting, Photography: Black + White Dark Room, and Printmaking. All students participate in a study of Life Drawing over the three-week period. We offer a merit scholarship of $1,500 to all PreCollege participants who are accepted into MECA’s BFA program. All Pre-College students are invited to participate in the Pre-College Portfolio Day, which is held during the last week of the program. Recent high school or personal work may be included. In addition, all participants will receive an application fee waiver to MECA’s BFA Program.
EXPLORE PORTLAND
SENSE OF PLACE
PEAKS ISLAND
CONGRESS STREET
THE OLD PORT
MAINE STATE PIER
Gregory Rec, Portland Press Herald
FORT ALLEN PARK
PORTLAND HARBOR
STUDENT LIFE
COMMUNITY ON CAMPUS
This is home. It’s where you will find a sense of camaraderie, mindfulness, and mutual respect. It’s where you will build friendships that last a lifetime. You have chosen a way of life. Whether you want to be an artist, entrepreneur, designer, or craftsperson, a graphic designer, costume designer, multimedia artist, or furniture maker, we understand this is personal. Just as there’s no one quite like you, there’s no place quite like MECA, either. MECA helps you live, breathe, and dream the things that mean the most to you.
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FINANCIAL AID
ATTENDING MECA
Maine College of Art is committed to making our exceptional educational experience affordable. Welcoming students of all income levels is at the heart of who we are. When financial aid is factored in, many students are surprised to find that the cost of attending MECA is comparable to or less than that of a state school.
MECA.EDU/FINANCIALAID
100% OF OUR BFA STUDENTS RECEIVE SOME TYPE OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
$6 MILLION IN THE FORM OF SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANTS, LOANS, AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES
SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES: + + + + + + + +
MECA Merit Scholarships MECA Grants Federal Pell Grants Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants National Scholastic Art Award Scholarships BFA/Merit Show Awards MECA Endowed/ Restricted Scholarships State Grants
TO APPLY FOR AID, INCLUDING LOANS: Free Application for Federal Student Aid Site at fafsa.ed.gov (MECA’s FAFSA code is 011673) For detailed info on how to finance your MECA education, visit meca.edu/finaid.
Financial aid programs and services assist students and families with paying for college. At Maine College of Art, 100% of our BFA degree students receive some type of financial assistance. Students at MECA receive more than $6 million annually in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and job opportunities, including the Federal Work Study Program. Consistent with our Artists at Work Program, MECA provides a variety of on-campus job opportunities as well as support to find off-campus employment.
Community at MECA is as diverse and unique as each individual artist within it. Each new student adds to the vibrancy of our community. All applications are evaluated individually, with consideration given to the strength of the portfolio and academic achievement.
JUMPSTART YOUR CAREER
Any student graduating from high school or with the equivalency (GED or HiSET) may apply for admission to our Bachelor of Fine Arts Program. We invite applications from all types of students including traditional high school applicants, transfers, non-traditional and international students, and veterans. Applicants not seeking a BFA degree may apply for non-degree student status.
APPLY TO MECA
MECA AT A GLANCE
24/7
500+ STUDENTS 11 MAJORS 7 MINORS
STUDIO ACCESS
10:1
2
STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO
YEARS INDIVIDUAL STUDENT SPACE
16
68% OUT OF STATE 32% IN STATE
STUDENTS: AVERAGE CLASS SIZE
97%
OF STUDENTS RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID
PRIMARY PHOTOGRAPHY: KYLE DUBAY, ERIN LITTLE, GRETA RYBUS, SÉAN ALONZO HARRIS CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY: AARON FLACKE, GREGORY REC, ELLEN MARIE SHERWOOD DESIGN: BRITTANY MARTIN