The visual arts expand our consciousness and appreciation of the world and enhance our abililty to interact with it by presenting objects and images that excite the senses, stir the emotions and engage the intellect. The visual arts make life more vivid by providing profound experiences of great quality.

By encouraging students to experience the arts, we promote awareness and sensitivity to subtlety and nuance, and we open minds to diversity. By encouraging students to talk and write about art, we promote the development of analytical and expressive skills. By encouraging students to make art, we promote original thinking, creative problem solving, aesthetic judgment and qualitative discrimination. By encouraging the study of history and the recognition of the common ground of human experience, we increase tolerance and promote cooperation between ourselves and others.

At SFA, we are committed to instruction that helps students acquire skill and achieve understanding of the fundamentals of art production. We are equally committed to increasing the students' ability to think critically and to solve problems creatively. We believe in the efficacy of hard work, and we trust that rewarding careers are always available to those who demonstrate excellence in their work.