Precollege Programs: Visual Arts Institute

For more than 30 years, the Visual Arts Institute has provided art-making experiences in techniques and materials in a variety of disciplines to help students develop their portfolios!

Grades 10–12

This four-week precollege program offers a unique opportunity for students who have completed their freshman year of high school to work with practicing artists in a variety of media at Purchase College.

Led by a team of accomplished instructors, the Visual Arts Institute consists of focused workshops designed to provide experience in techniques and materials in the major disciplines.

Both new and returning students are welcome. The Institute culminates with an exhibition of student work for family members and invited guests.

Each day, students attend master workshops and electives:

Master Workshops

Observational Drawing and Painting

Become familiar with the materials, techniques and methods of drawing and painting. Sharpen perceptual skills and critical judgment while building towards a portfolio of work that reflects your personal voice.

Sculpture

Explore the process of creating art in three dimensions using various materials. Sculpture will introduce students to working and thinking dimensionally and exploring pure form, structure, armature, and scale.

2024 Electives

(2025 coming soon)

Figure Drawing

Use a variety of art materials, techniques, and artistic approaches to obtain the basic skill of drawing the human form and to gain experience drawing from live nude models. Lessons will include fundamental exercises in gestures, proportion, anatomy, portraiture, long poses, and more.

Sculpture

Learn the technical competency needed to create two and three-dimensional art. Study a variety of methods and techniques will be explored, as well as skill building exercises

Miniatures: Learn the technical skills used to create molds for casting in multiple. A variety of mold-making materials will be explored and utilized to create sculptures in a range of mediums.
Mold Making: Learn the technical skills used to create molds for casting in multiple. A variety of mold-making materials will be explored and utilized to create sculptures in a range of mediums.

Black & White Photography

Explore the basic techniques and concepts of analog black-and-white photography including the mechanics of light, film development, and silver printing.

Typical Day

9:30am – 12:00pm

Master Workshops

Students are divided into groups that rotate to the two Master Workshops. Each session begins with warm up exercises and demos.

Studio Work Session will follow – each day will build upon the previous day’s materials and techniques to gradually explore a variety of artistic media.

12:00 – 1:00pm

Lunch

1:00 – 3:30pm

Electives

Students are divided into groups that rotate to each elective. Each session begins with warm up exercises and demos.

Studio Work Session will follow – each day will build upon the previous day’s materials and techniques to explore each discipline.

Friday mornings are devoted to joint activities such as trips to the Neuberger Museum of Art, portfolio reviews, guest artists*, and in the afternoon, free studio time to focus on special interests or complete projects for the final exhibition.

*if available

Program Details

YTH 9000 / Visual Arts Institute
Four weeks, Sessions I and II: June 30 - July 25, 2025 no class on Friday, July 4, 2025 Monday – Friday, 9:30am – 3:30 pm (19 sessions)

Institute Certificate

Students enrolled in the Visual Arts Institute who have attended at least 80% of the classes, are eligible for a certificate of completion which acknowledges the successful completion of 60 hours of prescribed coursework.