San Francisco Treats

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus finds a new home and space to create at Morgan Auditorium. Unable to rehearse in their previous location, the chorus of over 300 members required a large, central place where they could practice. The Academy of Art University is proud to be able to share this space with a legendary group that has impacted the artistic culture and community of San Francisco for decades.

Ridge Lane is a public vacant lot stretching through the Ingleside neighborhood in San Francisco. Concerned community members approached the Academy of Art University to help transform this dangerous man-made path into a safe community park. Landscape Architecture student Nahal Sohbati's design was chosen and she has spent the last three years leading the project.

School of Fine Art students donate their skill to a dedication mural for San Francisco Firehouse Station 1 in the South Market area. The mural depicts the history of the fire department in the city and the officers who serve the community. Does public art provide a better environment to the community it serves?

Academy of Art University fashion design students, Yuki Zhang, Cherish Bai, Sylvia Rivera, Meeneshwer Madhu, and others, collaborate with the fashion merchandising department and students, such as Tuba “Mana” Syed, to bring a real life fashion label to life at 657 Sutter, right in the heart of San Francisco. With the theme of Alice in Wonderland in the Tenderloin, and the help of Jinah Oh, Matt Gerring and Robert Curry of the Academy of Art University School of Fashion, Fashion students, designed their own label, as well as the actual storefront and the presentation of the label.

Academy of Art University students participate alongside academy faculty at the internationals southern graphics conference. The international conference brings together students and professionals passionate about print making, book arts and hand made paper. The theme of the 2014 conference, central to the very character of San Francisco for over four decades, was bridges and each student was tasked at bringing in their own interpretation of that theme. The annual conference allows students to network and build communities around their art form.

Craig Nelson, the Academy of Art University director of fine art, demonstrates landscape painting at Chrissy Field and allows for students to paint along with him in this basic demonstration on getting started in Plein Air Landscape Painting.

The Director of the School of Illustration , Chuck Pyle, briefs students on drawing techniques such as direct drawing assessment and how to make gestural decisions with clarity and purpose.

Lawrence Noble discusses his sculpture of Eadweard Muybridge, one of the fathers of motion pictures, at Lucasfilm.

The Academy of Art University and the school of Landscape Architecture design a garden for the 2014 San Francisco Flower and Garden show. The San Francisco Flower and Garden Show is an annual event that celebrates design and horticulture for the outdoor built environment. The event showcases design installations by landscape design professionals and students from across the globe. This is the third consecutive year that the Academy of Art University's School of Landscape Architecture will be creating a student led design installation sure to captivate the show’s two million visitors. This year’s installation, Urban Mixology, celebrates the diversity of urban centers and the overlap of the digital age through the use of color, texture, and meticulously selected plants that have the ability to flourish in urban environments.

Van Hong Nguyen, discusses her concept of connecting souls and promoting peace and community through sculpture within that community. With the help of the Academy of Art University and the school of fine art sculpture, Nguyen installs her "Soul Connection" piece at the world famous San Francisco Zoo. Starting out as a theses project, two years of design, engineering and installation comes to a fantastic conclusion at the San Francisco zoo for all the world to see.

The Academy of Art University and the students of the school of fine art sculpture, proudly unveil their sculpture installation at the San Francisco zoo. Rocks become the doves of peace in the mind of Academy of Art University student and artist Van Hong Nguyen as she presents and unveils her piece, entitled, 'Soul Connection."

Just as the SFFD is part of San Francisco, so is the Academy of Art University, and together, the two collaborate to celebrate 150 years in the city. With the ingenuity and the help of the school of graphic design,. Academy students were tasked with creating and presenting logos to the SFFD to be used by the fire department for the entire year of celebration.

The city of san Francisco, some of said, is a work of art on its own, so what better way to learn, than to create art for the city. in 2016, in honor of 150 years of service to the city, the SFFD unveiled a new logo. That new logo and the branding revolving from the new logo was orchestrated by the Academy of Art University, the school of Graphic Design and the students, leaving the city with a proud fire department, a fire department with a fresh logo and the students with a start to an amazing resume.

The Academy of Art University and the school of Landscape Architecture help bring about a special Park-Ing day to the city by turning old parking lots into magical art galleries of fun.