Kansas City Art Institute
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The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private, independent, four-year college of fine arts and design founded in 1885 that has taught many creative students including animator Walt Disney, designer Marisol Deluna and painter Robert Rauschenberg in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ranked among the nation's top 10 art schools by U.S. News and World Report, KCAI is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
KCAI comprises nearly 600 students (representing more than 45 states and several foreign countries) and approximately 75 faculty.
Students pursue the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, in which a comprehensive liberal arts program is complemented by emphasis in one of the following studio majors: Animation, Ceramics, Design, Fiber, Painting, Photo & New Media, Printmaking, Interdisciplinary Arts , and Sculpture. Majors in Art History as well as Studio Art with an Emphasis in Creative Writing are also available.
[edit] History
The school started in 1885 when art enthusiasts formed the "Sketch Club" with the purpose of "talking over art matters in general and to judge pictures." Meetings were originally in private homes and then moved to the Deardorf Building at 11th and Main in downtown Kansas City.
The club had its first exhibition in 1887 and 12 benefactors stepped forward to form the Kansas City Art Association and School of Design.
In 1915 Walt Disney took drawing classes as a child at the school.
In 1927 Howard Vanderslice purchased the August R. Meyer residence (a Germanic castle entitled Marburg and its 8 acre estate at 44th and Warwick Boulevard adjacent to the about to be built Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. A Wight and Wight addition was added to the building. The residence was later renamed "Vanderslice Hall" and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with another building on the campus -- Mineral Hall. The campus has since expanded to 15 acres (61,000 m²).
In 1935 Thomas Hart