Originally Written: Dec. 20 2024
First Appeared: Volume 22 Issue 1, published Jan. 13 2025
Last Updated: Jan. 15, 2025
There are hundreds of students at UHS interested in the arts, but not many of them know about one of the best art programs FCPS has to offer! If you are interested in pursuing a career in the arts, looking for more rigorous arts courses, or a community of people then the Academy of Fine Arts (AFA) is for you!
The AFA is run at TJ High School and offers rigorous courses in various different areas of the arts called “focuses”. The program is unique in that it provides students with a community of artists from all over Frederick, all with a deep passion for the arts, and these students are given the opportunity to collaborate with people with different interests and mediums while honing their own craft.
There is limited class instruction, as the Academy is meant to be a place for students to perfect the skills they have rather than learn new ones. Instead, instructors often provide students with very open prompts and allow them to work at their own pace.
he focuses currently provided at the AFA are music (vocal or instrumental), dance, visual arts (2D, 3D, or digital), theater, and musical theater. Classes typically meet in the morning, taking up students’ first two blocks of the day.
There is a very extensive application process for you to be able to become a student. The application process includes attending shadow days, building your portfolio (for those interested in the visual art focus), a written response, an in person interview and audition, and possibly more prompted projects.
This may sound daunting, but the AFA makes applying an easy process, and if anything it should be fun as you’re showing off what you do best! It’s recommended that when applying, you don’t try to do what you think will be impressive. Instead do whatever you know you do best.
The AFA also offers students opportunities they wouldn’t get anywhere else! Such as performing at the “In the Streets Festival” Downtown, performing at shows, and having art displayed at galleries all over the county! In addition, the AFA has multiple yearly productions that are open for students of all focus areas to participate in, most notably being the “Cabaret” which showcases the talents of all the students of the Academy under an over encompassing theme. Other opportunities to collaborate with the other focuses are Cross Focus Day, Collaboration Week, and the collaborative projects which are exclusive to third year students in the Academy.
If any of this interests you, you might just need to consider attending one of AFA’s shadows days, because we’re being truthful when we say there is nothing like the AFA!
