Alexander Brown enjoyed his Art and Design course at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He attends classes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. During his first week, he attended drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture classes. Alex is one of 25 students who also attended the program. Students were divided into groups assigned to separate rooms, with 5-6 students per group. In addition to the instructors, student teachers were available to help the students with their work.
“Most projects that we start will only be weekly projects. Meaning that we will only have the day to start and complete them. This is the case for drawing and painting. Printmaking has two, two-week projects (which equates to two days of work) and sculpture has one four-week project. We also have a one-hour lunch break each day,” Alexander explains.
“We started many projects this week—my favorite being sculpture! We are creating a life-size self-portrait of our own head! The program is definitely more advanced than the one that I took at RISD,” Alexander adds.
“In just a few days, my group of students have gotten pretty close. We all go and eat lunch on our break and have met over the weekend as well. It has been great to be around like-minded individuals,” Alexander says.
For assignments, students used a program called Canvas to communicate with instructors. “It has a similar layout to Google Classroom or Teams,” Alex explains.
Alexander continued working on his ongoing projects during his second week at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He also had an opportunity to explore the city of Philadelphia with his classmates. “This Friday we were taken around the city as a class to see some small art spaces, workshops, and galleries. It was amazing to see the art community here. I am enjoying the school very much and am really considering continuing there after high school,” Alexander says.
“I am having such a great time — I cannot even comprehend it! Again, I am so grateful to have this opportunity. I’ve been so busy also. Tomorrow we are getting the chance to paint inside the PAFA historical museum, a treat that many artists never have! I am very excited,” Alexander exclaims!
As his third week came to a close, Alexander was really impressed with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. “We had a meeting with admissions about the school and what it would be like to be a student there. As of now, PAFA is my number one choice for college! I would love to spend my time here. There are so many benefits from learning at this institution,” Alexander says.
After his final week at PAFA, Alexander says that the most important experience he gained from studying at PAFA originated from the people he met. “Everyone that I met was amazing and I made lots of connections. The other students my age felt like lifelong friends just after those few weeks. It was surprisingly fast, I wish I lived closer! We have been keeping in contact, and I am planning on flying back to Philadelphia in November to visit them! There were many instructors who taught and were friendly along the way as well,” Alexander explains.
“The trip could not have gone better than it did. It felt like pieces were just falling into place! I’d love to study there for the next four years. I am so grateful that I was able to have this opportunity once again. It is one I will never forget,” Alexander adds.
Great work, Alex… you are so talented!
>> Read Alexander Brown’s final report (PDF file, 51 KB).
>> Learn about other students’ experiences in the GFF Scholarship Program.
