Maine College of Art

Maine College of Art
Established	1882
Type	Private Art School
President	Don Tuski[1][2]
Undergraduates	300
Postgraduates	45
Location	Portland, ME, USA
Website	www.meca.edu

The historic Porteous Building, a 1904 beaux arts style building, houses Maine College of Art's classrooms, libraries and galleries.

The Maine College of Art (MECA) is a fully accredited, degree-granting art college in the city of Portland, Maine. It should not be confused with the Art Institute of Portland which is located in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1882, the Maine College of Art is the oldest arts educational institution in Maine. In addition to offering Bachelor, Post-Baccalaureate in Art Education and Master of Fine Arts degrees, the school has a continuing studies program for adults and high school students. MECA 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. MECA is located in the heart of Portland and educates artists at all stages of their creative careers.

Impact on Portland

Maine College of Art's renovation of the landmark Porteous Building at the center of Portland's Arts District has been a major catalyst for downtown revitalization and has received national attention as a model of urban renewal. New classrooms and studios feature panoramic views of Casco Bay. With four academic programs (undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate and continuing studies) the college has become the largest employer of visual artists in the state. The College recently completed the vision to consolidate all academic and studio functions to a single location within the Porteous building. With 125,000 square feet (11,600 m²) of space, this former department store is now a five-floor vertical campus.^[2]

Mission and values

Maine College of Art educates artists and designers to think critically and to create. It is a small, student-oriented community led by artist educators. The baccalaureate and graduate degree curricula, together with a continuing studies program are conceived for students of all ages and stages of creative development.
In an ever-changing world which is transformed by technologies, communities and cultures, the Maine College of Art believes that the best education is found where students can do the following:

• shape their own educational experiences;
• live and learn in a nurturing and diverse environment;
• learn the fundamentals of art, design and critical thinking across multiple disciplines and emerging art forms;
• excel when challenged by working artists, designers and scholars who teach at all levels of the curriculum;
• explore individual visions and define their own creative voices;
• experience classroom teaching integrated with experiential learning;
• connect to communities, professions and issues of the times.

Timeline

The former home of the Maine College of Art, the Charles Q. Clapp House, located at 97 Spring Street in Portland, Maine.

• 1882 Founded as part of the Portland Society of Art
• 1911 First organized curriculum
• 1920s First diplomas awarded by School of Fine & Applied Arts
• 1972 Name changed to Portland School of Art
• 1973 NASAD and NEASC accreditation received
• 1975 First BFA degrees awarded
• 1982 School separated from Portland Society of Art
• 1983 School acquired Baxter Building
• 1992 Name changed to Maine College of Art
• 1993 Porteous Mitchell & Braun department store building purchased
• 1996 4th and 5th floors of Porteous Building completed
• 1997 Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA opened in Porteous Building
• 1998 MFA in Studio Arts program launched
• 2001 Joanne Waxman Library opened on 2nd floor of Porteous Building/Media Department created
• 2002 New Mission & Values Statement adopted/Strategic Plan Framework adopted
• 2004 Program approval for new majors in Illustration and Woodworking & Furniture Design as well as Post-Bacc in Arts Education
• 2005 Secured new residence hall on Oak Street
• 2006 Secured Shepley Apartments residence on Shepley Street
• 2009 Construction of Osher Hall
• 2010 Consolidation of all academic and studio departments within Porteous

Academic programs

Community members of the Maine College of Art engage in a rigorous creative learning process grounded in multidisciplinary educational philosophy.

Undergraduate Program
Maine College of Art is noted for its strong foundation program which precedes study in the major. During the first year, students acquire a broad grounding which is beneficial in their chosen field, enabling diversification and interdisciplinary exploration. Formal critiques at the end of each semester provide valuable feedback, helping students understand and evaluate their strengths and areas for growth.
The four year professional Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in awarded in ten studio disciplines.^[2] Majors are offered in Ceramics, Graphic Design, Illustration, Metalsmithing & Jewelry, New Media, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture and Woodworking & Furniture Design. Minors are possible in Art History and Drawing.
Students have 24/7 access to professional quality studio spaces, individual studio spaces as majors (juniors and seniors), and a 10:1 student ratio. Each student is given a key to the building.

MECA MFA Graduate Program
The Master of Fine Art in Studio Arts at MECA has 30 students^[2] supports artists and independent curators who are engaged in transdisciplinary research and studio experimentation at a mature level. MECA's graduate program provides multiple options to individuals in various phases of their career. Built around two intensive summer semesters in Maine attended by all students, the full-time program allows MFAs to complete the other four semesters of coursework and studio requirements either on or off campus. The graduate curriculum is taught by a responsive, cross-disciplinary combination of core, visiting, and advisory faculty who work closely with students wherever they live. MECA's students enjoy an extraordinarily high faculty to student ratio and are given generous studio, exhibition, and production space during their summer residencies at the College. A dynamic, purpose-built teaching website is used to deliver courses all year round, anywhere in the world. During the winter and spring semesters, each full-time student is assigned an individual advisor who provides consistent, long-term, in-studio support as students expand and deepen their independent practices. Graduating students present a 7,500 word thesis and install a significant work in the galleries of the ICA or within the Px exhibition program at the College. The MFA at MECA nurtures the development of more rigorous and refined relationships between three key aspects of creative production: stimulus, practice, and analysis are seen as mutually interdependent forces that continually shape artistic experimentation and response.

Art Education K-12 Certification
The Post Baccalaureate Art Education Program has 15 students ^[2] is an accredited, full time, 10-month residency, which blends the worlds of artist and educator. Students will gain an in-depth, comprehensive understanding of how skills intersect through exploration of artistic development and educational practices. Students who have obtained a BFA or BA degree, including 30 studio art credits and 12 art history credits from an accredited institution, may apply. Upon completion the program and passing the Praxis exams, students are eligible to be certified art educators in Maine and forty other states.

Continuing Studies Program
The Continuing Studies Department of the Maine College of Art offers open-enrollment courses for adults, youth and children. Adult Continuing Studies courses and classes for young artists are offered in fall, winter/spring and summer semesters. The summer Pre-College intensive provides high school students an opportunity to explore pursuing a degree in art and design. Approximately 2000 students participate in this program.^[2]

Facts about Maine College of Art

• Roughly 40% of MECA students come from Maine and 80% are from New England.
• The studio building, located downtown in the heart of the arts district, is open 24/7
• 500 teenagers and children participate in the Saturday School and summer classes for grades 4–12.
• The ICA at MECA offers several programs to deliver contemporary art education to grades K-12.
• The Summer Lecture Series, sponsored by the MFA program, offers free lectures from features leading artists, designers, authors, curators and scholars in contemporary art from around the country.
• The Joanne Waxman Library is dedicated to the professional study of studio art and design. The Library is open to the public and is utilized by museum and gallery professionals, scholars, historic preservationists, K-12 art teachers, and area artists.
• Housing is provided for 140 students.

The Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art

The ICA at MECA serves a critical regional role in its commitment to presenting contemporary, provocative work by living artists from Maine and around the globe. Public programs enhance the ICA's exhibition schedule, including talks by artists and critics, forums on current issues in art and design, and interactive workshops for young people.

Recent exhibits include:

2009 Twilight Jim Campbell, Megan Greene, Kim Keever, Bennett Morris

2008
Mark Klett, Arthur Ganson and Lisa Young [1]

2006
Robert Indiana and MECA Prints From Baja to Bar Harbor: Transnational Contemporary Art
The Body Eclectic: Selections from the RBC Dain Rauscher Collection

2005
Michael Queenland: Photographs, Sculptures and Shaker Classics
Back From Nature: The Sportsman Redux

2004
Living Green: Examining Sustainability
Wenda Gu: Middle Kingdom to Biological Millennium Curators' Intuition

Visiting artists

Each year MECA brings a diverse assortment of visiting artists from a variety of disciplines. In past years visiting artists have included: Elliot Earls, J. Morgan Puett, Mark Dion, Harrell Fletcher, Stefan Sagmeister, Tim Rollins, Alexis Rockman, Alison Knowles, Nina KatchadourianAndrea Fraser, Rick Lowe, Laylah Ali and Amy Franceschini.

Related links

• MECA Online Photo Galleries
• BFA Thesis Exhibitions.

External links

• Maine College of Art website
• US News Maine College of Art Profile - Maine College of Art at glance

References

1. ^ Don Tuski, President of Olivet College will assume this position July 1, 2010 "Olivet College President to resign", Lansing State Journal (March 23, 2010)
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Keyes, Bob, "New MECA president sees creativity market growth", Portland Press Herald (March 18, 2010)

Coordinates: 43°39′21.05″N 70°15′39.88″W / 43.6558472°N 70.2610778°W / 43.6558472; -70.2610778