They make a way. - Maryland Institute College of Art

Value Added
This is a time when the world needs vision. The confluence
of technology and globalism means that more people have
greater access to information and resources than ever before.
People are inundated by countless messages every day, looking
for someone to help them make sense of it all. The world needs
a cadre of leaders to help them navigate the revolutionary
transformation that now occurs every day all over the world.
MICA graduates are those leaders.
I am extremely proud that MICA is a place
where the words transformation and leadership
have become synonymous with everything we
do—and that has made us an international
trailblazer in both artmaking and thought.
We begin with a uniquely gifted pool of freshmen
noted both for their creative talent and their
intellectual capacity. They undertake a Foundation
learning regimen that transforms them from high
school students into more mature adults capable
of undergoing the rigors our demanding faculty
construct to turn their raw talent and passion
into powerful, refined skills that can move people
to think and act. Our faculty further work with
the Meyerhoff Center for Career Development
to move students into the professional realm.
Finally, they undergo a culminating period of
self-discovery and mastery as they design senior
thesis projects that mark their transformation
into prepared, purposeful artists and designers
poised to impact every segment of society in
powerful ways. Most importantly, these students
learn that they must constantly reinvent their
artmaking vision, their skill set, and the way in
which they engage society.
That same regenerative process has led the
faculty to create several graduate programs
unique in the world, and already phenomenally
accomplished students are flocking to them.
MICA is transforming how the world approaches
graduate art education, steering the development
of instruction that addresses emerging issues in
art and design in a way that no other institution
has both the positioning and capacity to match.
A LETTER FROM THE
PRESIDENT
For proof, you have to look no further than the
accomplishments of our students, alumni, and
faculty over the past year. For example, Mount
Royal School of Art Graduate Director Frances
Barth was elected to join the National Academy,
an extremely high honor that places her amongst
the most significant American artists and architects
of the past 200 years. Prestigious fellowships
were awarded to MICA faculty and alumni,
including grants from the Smithsonian and the
Guggenheim Foundation. And members of the
MICA family garnered renown through recognition
in numerous areas of creative excellence—
from Fulbright and Baker awards to inclusion
among the Sondheim prize finalists. »
MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART 2012 ANNUAL REPORT
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