Visual Arts and Design
At Avenues, we treat art and design as a way of seeing: a means of exploring, discovering, and expressing a vision of the world that is uniquely your own. From a child's first marks to a senior's final exhibition, students don't just learn techniques; they make meaning. And in West Chelsea, the 400+ gallery walls of one of the world's great art districts are right here.
Arts as inquiry, not just skill
Our visual arts and design courses ask more than “can you make this?” They ask what you intend, what you notice, and why it matters. Students experiment with materials, study artists past and present, give and receive honest critique, and document their process from first sketch to finished piece. The studio is built on a few shared commitments, safety, inclusivity, and respect for one another and for the tools, because real creative risk only happens where it feels safe to try, fail, and try again.
Early Learning Center
Our youngest artists begin by getting their hands on everything: crayons, paint, clay, paper, texture. Taught in the immersion language, early art is about exploration and process: what does this material do, and what can I do with it? Children start to recognize and talk about their own style, and the year builds toward the Kindergarten Art Expo, their first real exhibition.
Lower Division
Middle Grades
Students move from the elements of art into ambitious, concept-driven work: three-dimensional material studies, Mughal miniatures, painting with a limited Zorn palette, “Connected Worlds” imagery, and Majolica relief ceramics. Critique, experimentation, and collaboration sharpen both technique and creative thinking as students begin to define who they are as makers.
Upper Grades
Avenues art studios provide students the time and space to explore their ideas fully through a wide range of materials, techniques and visual strategies. 
A studio within West Chelsea Gallery District
Few schools can say their neighborhood is a working art district. Avenues students visit West Chelsea's 400+ galleries throughout the year, meet professional artists, and connect their own work to what's happening in the field right now. Partnerships with institutions like the Whitney Museum and the China Institute extend the studio into the city, and the city into the studio.
Avenues artists, out in the world
Many of our graduates choose to pursue arts-focused higher education, and our college counseling system ensures they find an institution where they can flourish in their creative pursuits. Examples include:
- Jonathan W. Architecture, Cornell University Sabine B. Parsons
- Mel D. Arts Administration, Skidmore
- Whittier V.W. Painting, NYU Steinhardt Naomi R. Fashion Design, Parsons School of Design
- Samuel C. Film, NYU Tisch School of the Arts
- Hayley R. Collaborative Arts, Tisch School of the Arts
- Lola W. Fashion, Polimoda in Florence, Italy
- Sofia D.J. TV Writing and Production, Chapman University
- Gabi D. Davis College for The Arts
- Alexa G. English with Film and Media Studies, Williams College
- Helen M. Stage Management & Theater, Carnegie Mellon University
- Noi Z. Fashion Institute of Technology
- Tomas L. Film, NYU Tisch School of the Arts
- Louis S. Film, Loyola Marymount University
- Justine B-S Media Studies, Cornell University
Come see the work
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