Prospective and current art student weigh the benefits of art school
By Sofia Imitola, ’21
“Smush,” a portfolio piece drawn by senior Leela Waters in Honors Drawing. Visit her Instagram @LeelaWaters. Photo courtesy Leela Waters.
As UAHS senior Leela Waters went back and forth on whether she wanted to apply to art school, her mother supported her, giving her this piece of advice: “I wasn’t brave enough to pursue art and I want you to be.” Even as more and more students consider taking nontraditional college routes like going to a professional school, community school or art school, stigma surrounding them still persists. UA alum Caroline Chidester, who is now a sophomore at the School of Art Institute of Chicago, still faces questions about the validity of her chosen academic pathway.
“There are still a lot of people who are like ‘Are you sure you want to go to art school? How are you going to make money? What are you actually going to do?’” Chidester said.
For Waters, choosing an art school over pursuing an art major at a traditional college wasn’t easy. It was only at the beginning of her senior year that she finally decided she would apply exclusively to art schools. Waters said she chose art school for the community.
“At CCAD, I would be with 700 other creative people who are going to go all over the world and do cool things,” she said.
Both Waters and Chidester said the prospects of networking played a big role in their decision for where to apply to college.
“I had already met a lot of Columbus artists and I think a lot of art school is about branching outside of people you know,” Chidester said. “[It’s about] branching outside of people you know and making new, important, long-lasting art contacts in the art community.”
A photo by UA alum Caroline Chidester in Logan Square, Chicago for her Color Concepts class at SAIC. Visit her Instagram @CarolineChid. Photo courtesy Caroline Chidester.
“I had already met a lot of Columbus artists and I think a lot of art school is about branching outside of people you know,” Chidester said. “[It’s about] branching outside of people you know and making new, important, long-lasting art contacts in the art community.”
Chidester also said one of the benefits of going to an art school is that students there don’t need to take math or science classes unless they are relevant to their major.
Both Chidester and Waters said students should only apply to art school if they have a strong passion for art, keeping in mind that it’s an investment.
“If you’re still on the fence about pursuing art, don’t jump into art school,” Waters said.
Otherwise, she suggests pursuing an art major at a more traditional university. Chidester, on the other hand, said it’s good for students to challenge themselves.
“Be willing to be humbled and admit that other artists at the school are definitely going to be better than you,” Chidester said.
When Waters was first considering applying for art school, her worries almost got the best of her.
CCAD is the closest art college to UAHS, located in downtown Columbus. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
“I become really, really invested in something really, really fast and then I don’t care about it in a couple of weeks,” Waters said. “I was afraid that picking a career path would be like that.”
After months of reflecting, she said she wanted her passion for art to overweigh any other pressures to conform to more traditional college pathways. “I’ve loved art since I was five and I’m still kicking with it,” Waters said.