The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is the only school in the nation that offers a Studio Arts degree within a diverse Native American learning community. Designed for students interested in pursuing a professional career in the field of fine arts, the Studio Arts program offers an exciting, flexible, comprehensive course of study through exploration of multiple forms of art and contemporary practices. Students develop technical and conceptual skills essential for success as professional artists, or for continuation of study in an MFA program. Not only do students hone artistic skills, but they also gain an awareness of concepts, history, and cultural sensitivities intrinsic to the professional artist.

Our program offers painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, ceramics, jewelry/metals, and digital art. Studio production, critical thinking, and hands-on instruction by dedicated faculty are combined to foster academic development and artistic direction. The Studio Arts faculty works one-on-one with students, sharing knowledge and challenging them to do their best work.

Though there are two-year degree options, Studio Arts is designed as a four-year program, which begins with the fundamentals of visual arts and exploration of multiple art forms, then advances to intermediate studio practice with one or two chosen areas of emphasis. Students are encouraged to develop a broad understanding of the underlying concepts and ideas behind art making as a basis for their individual focus.

Students in the BFA in Studio Arts program spend their senior year creating a coherent body of personal work. Students are challenged to excel through weekly faculty reviews and critiques with guest artists and the arts faculty. Toward the end of the final semester, students celebrate their accomplishments by showing their best work in the BFA exhibition at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and in the campus Balzer Contemporary Edge Gallery.

Our small class sizes, accomplished faculty—over half of whom are Native artists from the US and Canada—exceptional facilities, and top-notch equipment provide an ideal creative learning environment for a future in the visual arts.

Student Artwork

Guiding Statement

The Studio Arts Department is guided by the principle that cultural, historical, conceptual, and critical awareness are fundamental in the lives of professional artists. We instill this knowledge in our students while also providing them with the ideal situation for finding their individual artistic direction and developing skills and techniques. This inclusive approach empowers students to create unique art that not only has sophisticated aesthetics, but the capacity to impact society.

Philosophy

We recognize that each student brings unique energy, experience, vision, dedication, and creative expression to the Studio Arts program. The focus of our program is to help each student develop their own expressive abilities through creative inquiry and professionalism. Our approach is to provide a curriculum that challenges students to develop their own creative solutions.

Goals

• To prepare students to think critically, forming the foundation of a creative practice
• To expose students to fundamental concepts through diverse art forms in order to gain knowledge and experience in their pursuit of success
• To develop students’ abilities in visual problem solving, translating verbal concepts into visual art for communicating personal artistic expression
• To enable students to perform at a high level of technical proficiency in their chosen medium
• To create pathways for graduates as innovators and leaders in the art world

Learning Outcomes

Students in Studio Arts will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental concepts of art and design
• Analyze works of art within a historical, contemporary, and cultural context
• Develop works that demonstrate personal expression
• Demonstrate competencies in a chosen medium
• Develop professional practices towards a studio arts career

Careers and Educational Pathways

Our program is dedicated to educating exceptional students who will continue IAIA’s 60-year legacy of influencing the Native art world. We prepare individuals to become self-employed studio artists, arts educators, and creative leaders in the arts. Many of our Studio Arts graduates earn MFA degrees from prestigious graduate programs and exhibit their award-winning work nationally and internationally.

Facility

The Academic Building has several studios including jewelry, digital fabrication laboratory, ceramics, printmaking, photography, painting, and drawing, plus the Balzer Contemporary Edge Gallery. The Houser Haouzous Sculpture and Foundry Building has 18,000 square feet of studio space, including a wood shop, a stone shop, a metal shop for welding and blacksmithing, a slurry room, a glass studio, and an outdoor foundry and courtyard work area.