Gage Academy of Art Programs
As the largest traditional art school in the Northwest, Gage enrolls more than 3,000 multi-generational students (age 6 to 93) each year in a diverse array of studio art classes, workshops and lectures. With a special focus on the engagement and artistic development of teens, Gage provides an outstanding portfolio-building resource for 13-18 year olds with after-school programs at Ingraham High School, free weekly studio classes on Capitol Hill and in Rainier Valley (with annual attendance of 1,288 teens), and intensive summer pre-college workshops.
As a catalyst for broadening community participation in the visual arts, Gage presents an extensive public calendar of free artist lectures and exhibitions annually, and two lively Gage art events: the “Drawing Jam," a 12-hour, all-ages, participatory art-making festival, and the “Best of Gage," a celebration of Gage artists, from beginners to advanced. Collectively, these public offerings foster participation in the visual arts for another 3,000 children, teens, families and adults each year.
As a champion for our local artist community, Gage hosts numerous free professional development lectures and seminars annually, which are attended by up to 100 students and working artists each session, to network and learn from arts professionals working in the Seattle gallery and museum scene. To give emerging artists professional exposure, many are invited to participate in the annual cycle of on-site and public exhibitions.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
A Community Celebration of Art!
Each December Gage hosts the “Drawing Jam," a 12-hour festival of art-making that welcomes more than 1,400 children, teens and adults to make art in a community setting. The Drawing Jam features free art supplies, numerous studios featuring different activities, and live local music throughout the day.
A wide variety of drawing materials is provided at no cost, and each studio will be filled with easels waiting for artists. Drawing Jam 2012 featured a cast of over 50 models throughout the building – including dancers, musicians and costumed performers serving as gesture models, and nude figure models available for traditional sessions. Costumed models include the “Stars of Seattle” - a group of local celebrities, which in the past has featured Nancy Guppy from ArtZone, the "Seattle Sketcher" Gabriel Campanario, performers from Teatro ZinZanni, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the SeaFair Pirates.
Supporting the Next Generation of American Artists
Gage offers full-time ateliers, based on the traditional teaching model of 19th-century European academies where dedicated art students apprentice with a master artist over a period of several years. By offering an intensive studio curriculum and professional development skills, Gage can proudly claim many of this region’s successful emerging artists as alumni (many of whom have also won distinguished art commissions, awards and scholarships.) Gage seeks scholarship funding to help underwrite the educational expenses of our most talented and deserving atelier students – America’s future artists.