Masterstudiengang in Bildenden Künsten

With the progression of researches in fine arts, design, and multiple media, independent specialized programs at the Graduate School of Fine Arts (Japanese Painting; Oil Painting and Woodcut Printing; Sculpture; Design; Ceramics; and Art History, Theory, and Conservation) were combined into the single Fine Arts program in 2007. This is not only to establish a system suited to the needs of the times; when education and research are sophisticated, and interdisciplinary studies are developed; but also to enhance each conventional specialization. Also, in order to apply the university's researches to practical endeavors, the Graduate School has established projects to reinforce interdisciplinary studies, and those to serve the development of local community and society.

Aichi University of the Arts, surrounded by a vast green forest in Nagakute City, to the east of neighboring Nagoya City, is a "university of fine arts in the woods." Its fundamental policy of education is to provide "small-class education" based on thorough personal guidance. The combined number of students across both undergraduate faculties and graduate schools of art and music studying in this rich natural environment is at most around 1000.

If it is assumed that artists work is to put their own soul into their performances and works, the fact that there have been a large number of painters and composers since ancient times who have escaped from the urban hustle and bustle to place themselves amid the tranquility of nature to pursue their creative activities tells me of today that it was inevitable and certain for them. The prevalence of the Internet in the present day has given people an easy access to knowledge and information, yet at the same time may have kept them away from the kind of understanding which comes from the human senses and physicality. I think this, too, is where people find the meaning and value of learning art in an environment richly endowed with nature.

On the other hand, our university values connections with society. In June 2019, Aichi University of the Arts opened a satellite gallery, "SA・KURA," in Sakae, in downtown Nagoya City. It is a wonderful space for not only exhibitions but also mini-concerts. The lively art expression activities by our faculty members and students, such as regular orchestra concerts at Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, public opera performances at the hall of Nagakute Cultural Center, and various art courses, are the very core, the keystone of our dissemination to society.