Best Art Classes For Adults In The Bay Area
Learning is a rewarding lifelong process. Whether you're keen to get your hands into some wet clay or perfect your digital photography skills, if pursuing art and design learning is part of your professional or personal development goals, you can get started at one of these continuing education programs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
800 Chestnut St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 749-4554
www.sfai.edu
One of the nation's oldest schools of contemporary arts, founded in 1871, the San Francisco Art Institute offers accredited graduate degrees and non-credit public education programs. In spring, summer and fall, intensive weekend and evening classes are offered in traditional technique drawing, painting, film, printmaking, sculpture and the well-known photography discipline introduced by Ansel Adams in 1946. Amateur artists can take inspiration from the on-campus 1931 original mural by Diego Rivera, as well as panoramic city and bay views from the Zellerbach Quad rooftop and café on Russian Hill.
365 Lasuen St.
Littlefield Center
Stanford, CA 94305
(650) 725-2650
www.continuingstudies.stanford.edu
Study the ancient art of Chinese brush painting for nine weeks or attend a one day workshop in sports photography. Get grounded with an introduction to architectural principles or go digital with website design for personal or professional development. Adult education classes at Stanford attract 14,000 continuing education students during all four academic quarters. Visitors to the website can search the art department's robust offerings by start date, duration, subject and day of the week.
Golden Bear Center
1995 University Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 642-4111
www.extension.berkeley.edu
Founded in 1891, UC Berkeley Extension serves more than 35,000 students annually. Art and design program areas for continuing education and professional certifications are divided into four categories: interior design and interior architecture, landscape architecture, graphic design and visual arts. Some courses are labeled as "just for fun," such as illustrating children's books and WordPress design, perfect for bloggers and small businesses.
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79 New Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 274-2222
www.academyart.edu
Privately owned since 1929, some 18,000 undergrads currently make up the bulk of the student body at the multi-campus institution which claims to be the nation's largest accredited private art and design school. Continuing education classes for pursuing certification, degree or non-degree learning is a feature of the school offering part-time, full-time, day, evening, weekend and online instruction. Thirty-plus art-related departments offer dozens of classes, including harder-to-find ones such as game development, jewelry and metal arts and music production & sound design for visual media.
1111 Eighth St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 703-9500
www.cca.edu
Founded in Oakland just one year after the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906, the European-led Arts and Crafts Movement provided the roots for what was then a tiny new school. Today, beyond accredited undergrad and graduate programs, CCA extension courses are offered at both locations in San Francisco and Oakland, where adult students can pursue fine arts, digital tools or animation/design/illustration. Explore both campuses with a narrated online tour.
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