School Year 2020/2021
Live Studio / Online Studio / Pending Programs
Live Studio
Live studio operations took place at the Academy of Art of Highland Park, in Highland Park, Middlesex County, NJ, USA. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our live studio—running for 22 years strong—temporarily closed for all classes on March 13, 2020.
We are not slated to open for live studio operations during the fall semester of 2020.
The live studio–a private school–operates independently of state mandates concerning public health policy for schools. The live studio is, however, subject to state mandates for places of gathering.
Our internal policy is that the live studio will remain closed for all live classes for all ages until a vaccine against Covid-19 is available to the general public, and suitable to the needs of our staff.
We will announce updates on our re-opening policy by Dec. 31, 2020, or when public health policy presents a vaccine suitable for our staff, whichever comes first.
Online Studio
We are delighted to announce that our online studio will open for school year 2020/2021 starting Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
Online Courses
Starting with the Fall Semester of 2020, we will offer two online courses featuring the exceptional traineeship we have always offered in live studio:
For children ages 8-12:
Foundations of Studio Practice Online (a one-year program)
For teens ages 13-17:
The Portfolio Prep School Online (a strategic program that can mentor any student starting at age 13 and across the years until turning 18, or completing a portfolio, whichever comes first.
Online Course Eligibility:
Our online courses for youngsters in school year 2020/2021 are available for youngsters who are:
- new students to our studio, and from all over the world
- continuing students who were attending our live studio in school
during school year 2019/2020.
- returning students who attended our live studio at any other times in the past
Pending Programs
The following programs are not currently offered online:
—Foundations of Studio Practice is currently not offered online for our “draftlings” ages 5-7, or for adults ages 18 and up.
Live studio classes for these two groups will be offered first, once the live studio re-opens.
—Post-Foundation courses for any age (these courses included all our specialty classes in Watercolors, Acrylics, Oil Paints, Fabric Collaging, etc.)
2020 Structural & Programmatic Shifts at the AAHP
The former AAHP is emerging as three related, but separate, operations. Each operation features the same attentive, student-centered teaching we are known for, as well as our very high standards for teaching and learning time-honored ways of studio practice. These three operations are:
The Academy of Art of Highland Park (the AAHP, located in Highland Park, Middlesex County, NJ, USA). Once a viable vaccine is suitable for our staff’s needs, we will re-open our live studio to offer classes for children ages 5-7, to re-activate our free educational services for Special Needs Artists, and to serve our adult practitioners.
The Portfolio Prep School Online is the continuation of our unique and highly successful college track for ages 13-18. This program evolves out of P3.O (summer 2020), which in turn evolved from our former P3 (in live studio).
The Fall program is for students with a consistent GPA of 4.00. It is limited to 100 students from all around the world. Former AAHP students will receive a special window of opportunity for enrolling, and a special loyalty discount across their entire participation in the program.
Avanti Studio Online: Online Studio for Young Artists, Designers & Builders
As with our live studio, this online course (and support services) is an intensive studio traineeship program in studio practice for youngsters ages 8-12. This year-long online program is not designed as a recreational program. It is not self-paced. This online course is not self-directed. This course affords students both a survey of the artist’s material sciences, methods and technologies in studio, as well as an intensive learning experience in creative problem-solving, and in the stage-based, procedural nature of plastic process.