Piotr Michałowski Art School Complex in Rzeszow

Do you perceive the world visually? Are you willing to pursue your creative potential? Are you keen on History of art? Are you interested in a career in Art or Design?

If so... we are delighted to welcome you to the largest secondary art school in Poland.

WHO ARE WE?

We pride ourselves in long artistic tradition reaching back to 1945. The school was founded in Sedziszow Malopolski as a Town School of Crafts and Artistic Industry. In 1977 it was moved to the city of Rzeszow. It was named after Piotr Michalowski a famous Polish painter and patriot form the 19th century.

We are an art school complex delivering educational opportunities for 13-16 year-olds (elementary school alumni) in Junior High School of Fine Arts, and 16 - 21 year-olds (for junior high school alumni) in Senior High School of Fine Arts. The twofold system allows us to educate teenagers on a lower and upper high school levels. Students graduating from our school need to pass final exams in general subjects (at which our rates are above the average). Moreover, they take a vocational exam, and leave school provided with a diploma and the skills they need to contribute to our culture.
Students of Art School in Rzeszow have access to studios and craft workshops within school grounds including ceramics, wood carving, sculpture, artistic blacksmithing, graphic design and photography, IT, dormitory and library facilities.
Our staff members, some of which are our former students, are highly qualified and passionate. Working with them, students have the opportunity to contextualize their practice in a creative environment with other makers not only in a day-time, all-week classes, but also at extracurricular classes of sculpture, evening drawing, artistic blacksmithing, ceramics, language classes.
The first three years in Junior High School of Fine Arts are a period of interdisciplinary research, observation and analysis. Students, whose curiosity is our starting point, focus on the work over their general education. At the end of the third year they choose to study at one of the available departments at which they undertake a series of skills acquisition projects and self directed work.
In Upper High School of Fine Arts students choose the specialization at the beginning of the first year. It is also the time which gives them a chance to enter many different areas including: Basics of Design and Composition, Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, History of Art (obligatory subjects). Here students evolve, provided with the opportunity to work under supervision of experienced artists and given an insight into traditional and modern methods. The classes are intensive and require independent work completing sketches and designs to work from in the taught sessions.
Students are supported to develop the skills to pursue personal expression through the studies at Art Academies, or a career in industry.

The specializations to choose from are as follows:

SCULPTURE FORMS:
WOOD CARVING
Sculpting in wood (mostly linden) embraces creative practice based on imagination and objective representation of nature. Alongside wooden sculptures and reliefs, students also design and make free standing furniture pieces, everyday use objects, decorative elements. Progressing form simple geometrical shapes to more complex forms, they learn about the whole process of working with wood. They move from developing creative ideas and inspiration via sketches to developing their ideas into unique realisations.

SCULPTURE FORMS:
ARTISTIC BLACKSMITHING
This subject is based on traditional methods of metalwork and blacksmithing. It focuses on the practical skills and techniques associated with forging iron and color metals. Students learn to create different surface textures and finishes, how to bend and make shapes from metal. Challenging the material and process, they create decorative elements and compositions ranging in scale from large scale exterior forged metalwork to small gallery objects such as: lamps, chandeliers, jewellery pieces, sculptures and reliefs. They develop their aesthetic and artistic sense, learning technological routine of work with hot and cold metals. The programme encourages a immense practice, corresponding to subjects of Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, with professionally produced, quality designs as the outcome.

SCULPTURE FORMS:
ARTISTIC CERAMICS
There is a strong practical element to this course which covers everything from moulding to sculpture making & decorating with underglazes and glazes. It's an opportunity to experiment and create a number of unique crafted objects. At the beginning of studies students learn about, ceramic materials, equipment and where to source them. They will have developed their sensitivity via designing techniques of painting and sculpting. The alumni will fully understand and appreciate the basic principles of ceramics.

APPLIED FORMS:
SPACE DESIGN AND INTERIOR DECORATING
The subject is associated with understanding the basic concepts of the process of interior decoration and design. First students aqiure knowledge of basic concepts of form, rhythm, color panel, light, space, materials and finishes, which they apply in designing ergonomic interior decoration elements such as: fabrics, furniture pieces, stained glass, kitchenware. Later they tackle such areas as designing the day-time living space (for example - a room layout), as well as public space and architecture in correspondence to urban planning. Work stages include planning, basic scale drawing, models making and digital documentation. The subject combines functionality with aesthetics all with the use of traditional and modern tools.

GRAPHIC TECHNIQUES:
GRAPHIC DESIGN
The subject puts basic concepts of visual language in use via manual techniques such as: monoprinting and monotype collage, frottage, dry needle, engraving, mixed techniques. Whereas designing classes encourage experimenting with different media in making posters, book covers, illustrations, CD covers, calendars, packaging and visual identification. There students use computer software and explore the world of bitmap edition, vector graphics, and those supporting designing process CAD, Corel Draw, Photoshop to develop a range of skills that build their vocabulary of visual comunication language.

All faculties in the School of Fine Art help students to develop a highly individual way of seeing, interpreting and expressing themselves visually. Emphasis is placed on visual awareness and artistic analysis, on acquiring skills in the use of both traditional and new materials and media.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE:
We participate in European Union projects, student exchanges.
Professional Practice Programs with the support of European funds.
We received top grade in External Asessment Programme run by Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in 2014.
We hold Biennale of Best Diploma Works of Polish Secondary Art Schools from the South- East Macroregion called "Diploma".
We received Grand Prix at the Fine Arts Contest for Art Schools of the South-East Macroregion in Tarnow in 2013.
Second prize at the Contest for Junior Classes of Art Schools of Poland in Koszalin in 2013. Second position at league table of secondary art schools 2014.
And numerous individual prizes.