Visual Fine Arts

The Visual Arts curriculum at The Out-of-Door Academy has been designed to provide students opportunities to master a wide variety of approaches to personal expression through the use of artistic media. Our curriculum encourages independent personal artistic exploration and exposes students to significant artistic works from a wide variety of global cultures. The mission of the Visual Arts program is to provide equal opportunities for all students to discover the enriching power, the intellectual excitement and the joy of competence in the arts. These artistic skills and knowledge will be unlocked through a developmentally-based program of instruction. Students have direct, participatory experiences with all art forms in order to develop artistic literacy and skills, understand how artists make aesthetic choices, and interpret, create and express. Active engagement in the arts (music, theatre, and visual arts) and in an arts-infused interdisciplinary curriculum contributes to the development of holistically-educated students who are better able to solve problems, use their imaginations, develop critical-thinking skills, and enjoy life. These experiences also provide students with the cognitive and affective skills with which to explore and understand more about themselves and the world. Artistic individual growth and development are encouraged through the study of drawing, painting, photography, computer graphics, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed-media techniques. Additionally, the study of art appreciation provide an understanding of the contributions of the artist to the development of world culture and the role of the professional artist in contemporary life.