Our visual arts department trains students to think like practicing artists, and to develop exciting projects in a wide range of media. ESA Visual Arts students graduate with a developed understanding of contemporary art practice and the material skills to be a success in the most demanding international post-secondary programs. Our projects allow students to focus on their own passions while learning from contemporary artists, developing necessary skill sets to succeed in art and design programs around the world.
Visual Art studies are enriched with visits by working artists and specialized field trips, including our annual visit to New York City. Each year representatives from top North American post-secondary art and design schools visit our studios to offer admission to our senior talent. The ESA visual arts department has been ranked amongst the top three in North America, and our graduates routinely receive significant scholarships from better art schools around the world.
On November 12, 2010, ESA hosted Portfolio Day involving twenty post-secondary schools from three countries. Approximately sixty students presented their work from the Visual Arts, Photography and Film Departments to representatives from schools in Florida, California, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Rhode Island, Ohio, Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Paris, France. It was a wonderful day enjoyed by all who participated. Offers of admission and offers of scholarship were presented to many of the participating students, changing future plans and bringing the world of visual studies to our door.
Four grade 12 students have created their own site, Self-Titled [please note: you are leaving the ESA web site.]. From the site: Self-Titled is an art collective comprised of four good friends who met during art classes at Etobicoke School of the Arts. Together, we create art that embodies many themes, covers an array of media, and uses what knowledge and values we have picked up in the four years at school. Next year we are parting ways as we all leave Toronto to enrich our artistic education even further. Our collective – and website – act as a memento of our time at Etobicoke School of the Arts. We are Self-Titled.