The artist Rebecca Leveille Guay founded SmArt School to address a pressing need. Often art students, self trained artists, and working professionals find themselves stranded and looking for more:
How do you push your vision and your technique further?
How do you connect with people in the industry?
How do you learn the nuts and bolts about how a professional lives and works?
How do you learn the business of art?
How do you shift from one area of art to another successfully?
SmArt School was constructed specifically to address these questions. Our success can be measured by the astounding success of our alumni.
Small and interactive
Big online classes are impersonal. We recognized this and, from the beginning, we focussed on very small and highly interactive courses. We call them mentorships because the teacher can work very closely with the needs of each student. In keeping with a mentorship, the classes also include professional development and industry opportunities.
the best teachers
We only work with teachers who are at the very top of their fields. This is a key part of our focus and we can achieve it because we don't have the overhead of a bricks-and-mortar school. We use our efficiency to pay great teachers what they're worth.
giving students real experience in the profession
Each mentorship (beyond beginning figure drawing and beginning illustration ) includes a professional connection through a classroom visit at the end of the semester. Students not only work with the high level professional who is their teacher, they also get feedback from a guest professional. Depending on the class, these professional contacts include prestigious art directors, gallerists, or publishers. Guests have included representatives of: Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, Tor, Orbit, Plan Sponsor, Charlesbridge, Dark Horse, DC Comics, Johnathan Levine Gallery, SITE Brooklyn, Spoke Art, Modern Eden Gallery, Arcadia Contemporary Gallery, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Imagine FX Magazine, Blizzard Entertainment, Wizards of the Coast, and more. The classes often include receiving assignments from these professionals and completing them for their review. Since 2011 many students of SmArt School have launched their careers through our connections.
building community
Building community is part of building one's vision and career as an artist. We believe that 'a rising tide raises all boats'--there is enough success to go around. We foster a communal environment in which everyone helps each other strive. One exciting new part of our community building efforts is Smarter Art Market. On Smarter Art Market all alumni who have completed a full mentorship, beyond a beginner class, or attended an IMC can have a free portfolio page. Our aim is to do what we can to build sales and opportunities for all who come to study at SmArt School. Check it out: Smarter Art Market.