The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts

The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts has been in existence for over 50 years. It has trained not only very notable painters in the classical realist tradition during this time but is the mothership for a good number of Atelier programs worldwide. The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts is the Crown Jewel; it is and has been located in The Twin Cities since its inception. We offer not only classes in fine picture making to a group of full-time students, but also offer this same rigorous training to those who wish it, but are unable to attend our full-time day program, through a series of part-time day, evening, and weekend classes. We firmly believe that every Minnesotan should have the opportunity to be availed of this program. In essence, we train students to see and develop mind-eye-hand coordination skills.

Assistant Director / Instructor Laura Tundel giving student critique

We offer one-on-one critiques from our teachers, structured to fit each individual artist. To be sure that we carry out our mission, we utilize our graduate students to fill the needs in both our full-time and part-time classes. In order to maintain a fresh perspective, we also invite guest teachers to give workshops throughout the year that allow those who attend the ability to learn from master craftspeople, who not only pursue their own successful careers as painters, sculptors, and artists, but also are sought after nationally and worldwide to teach their skills.

Director/Instructor Cyd Wicker giving student critique

In order to bring the arts experience to the general public, we produce a free exhibition of our full-time student works in May, at the end of our school year for the full-time program. We offer an exhibition every other year for our part time and evening class students so they, too, can showcase their work to the community. We also offer, throughout the year, various lecture series that are usually held on Saturday to allow us to better facilitate the needs and desires within our community for those who wish to discover more about the arts.

2016 Student Show

The Atelier would like to thank all of those whose generosity helped us through the trials of last year. We have continued our programs in a meaningful way that benefits the community as a whole by adapting some of our programs to an online format. While this is a means of giving our community an alternate way of accessing our programs, the online experience is limited compared to the hands-on experience of in-person instruction. The Atelier is still offering in-person classes with size limitations to maintain social distancing. Therefore, we need to increase our revenue stream in order to remain viable and effective in our community and to be able to offer an artistic experience of this nature. Our very survival is dependent on the generosity of people like you.

Please donate to help ensure our programs can continue to run. We are looking forward to seeing you again and creating art with you! Thank you again and please give generously.

Full-Time Program Instructors of The Atelier