The Arts
We define ‘the arts’ in many ways - objects that fill museums, music, dance, literature, etc. These are the popular notions of what the arts are. At JFKU we think of the arts as the integration of the personal and the cultural; the physical and the spiritual. Regardless of what media or style, the arts share one characteristic " they remind us of who we are and what’s important in the world. All of the arts have to the ability to transform us " to expand our awareness and heighten our ability to recognize joy.
Today, ‘the arts’ often sounds like something for elite intellectuals or wealthy patrons who understand the secrets of the literati. We’re committed to the idea that the arts are a gift to the community that allows us to see ourselves in new ways and to grow and enjoy our lives more completely. We’re re-defining the role that the arts can play in the world. Careers in the arts might include working in a museum as a graduate of the Museum Studies department or working with disadvantaged youth by teaching them special techniques of self-affirmation and creative thinking. Workers in the arts can work in schools, hospitals, show their work in galleries ort perform their artwork in public plazas.
When notions of ‘the arts’ reflect dead and outmoded traditions of materialism, elitism, formalism and disdain for beauty and meaning, they are part of the old art world. We’re inventing a new world about spirit and beauty and meaning in which wellness and creative self-expression are seen as inter-related. We’re creating an art world in which artists share the tools opf creativity with the whole community and help people think and build and communicate using the tools that artists use " innovation, insight and play. At its best ‘the arts’ refer to a wide variety of activities that lead to a better life and a better world.
At JFK University, the Department of Arts and Consciousness (A&C) in the School of Holistic Studies (SHS) offers three degree programs for individual artists who want to explore the deepest personal, social, and spiritual dimensions of art.
- The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts (BFA) provides a strong foundation in studio art and emphasizes the development of art as a spiritual practice.
- The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) expands the connections among art, culture, and spirituality within the context of contemporary society, developing technical and conceptual achievement with critical assessment skills.
- The Master of Arts in Transformative Arts (MA) helps develop links between personal creative expression and social and cultural change that allow improved states of wellness and self-integration through art.