10 Dec Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts Awards $65,000 Grant to Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI)

Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) recently received a grant for $65,000 from the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts to support KCAI’s ceramics department and annual fund, a general operating fund that addresses the gap between student tuition and the actual costs of educating students. The ceramics program is critical for achieving our mission of preparing gifts students to transform the world creatively through art and design.

Few colleges of the arts today offer a full array of curriculum dedicated to making, but KCAI does. We introduce students to various modes of expression, forms, media, and teach them to become a master of skills and technique.  Since 1921, KCAI’s ceramics program has been providing an in-depth technical, visual, critical and conceptual foundation for the education of ceramic artists. The ceramics curriculum begins with fundamentals and progressively promotes experimentation and risk taking in technique, vision and concept to push the boundaries of what it means to be a ceramic artist.  Support from the Stern Foundation will enable faculty to continue developing relevant curriculum.

Founded in 1885, the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a nationally recognized four-year college of art and design awarding the Bachelor of Fine Art (B.F.A.) degree with majors in animation, art history, ceramics, digital filmmaking, fiber, graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, product design, sculpture, and studio art with an emphasis on creative writing. The college offers a minor in social practice and entrepreneurial studies and a certificate program in Asian studies. KCAI is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. KCAI offers art and design classes for children, youth, and adults through its School of Continuing Education. Additionally, KCAI serves the broader community through public programs that include Current Perspectives, a free artist lecture series, as well as free exhibitions at the H&R Block Artspace and at the KCAI Crossroads Gallery.