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Welcome to The Middletown Art Academy!
Currently Academy is closed due to Covid-19 until further notice. We apologise for any inconveniences.
We are serving Middletown and the surrounding communities with the hope to proudly help turn students into confident and skilled adult artists. At the Middletown Art Academy our goal is excellence in traditional art education for children and adults, beginning to advanced. Our mission is to provide a nurturing environment for fine art education.
“Fine art is that in which the hand, the head and the heart go together.”-John Ruskin 1819-1900
We provide group or individual instruction to children and teens with carefully designed after-school fine art programs and private fine art education for home schoolers. We also offer a fun summer fine art camp with outdoor drawing and painting. Step by step guidance for art portfolio development will be available for students applying to college and art schools. We also provide group or individual fine art instruction to adults year round, one on one private lessons for all levels and all ages, and one on one understudy designed program for teens and adults. At Middletown Art Academy, you can find art lessons and classes for Children, Teens, and Adults!
Our Academy offers structured programs with high level encouragement and proper instruction, helping anyone learn and improve to draw, paint, and to see and think as an artist with exceptional ability.
According to the Boston Globe, students who are part of a regular art program are taught to appreciate art, learn from their artistic mistakes and understand alternative ways of seeing the world around them
26th Annual National Arts Program Competition Award Winner 2018
We would like to thank National Arts Program for awarding student who is very well deserve it. Middletown Art Academy Headmistress Rusa D. along with all art instructors and students very happy to congratulate our very own student Charlotte Parker for taking a 2nd Place Youth on January 27th, 2018. Her Teal Cup created in our Drawing and Painting Fundamentals class during Fall 2017 semester earn her 2nd Place at 26th Annual National Arts Program -Art Competition.Charlotte among other Artists were recognized by judges JoAnne Bauer, Carlos Hernandez Chavez, Ellis Echevarria, Angela Parker and Ed Johnetta Miller. All forms of visual arts were represented; from paintings and photographs to sculptures, crafts and textiles in different age category. Here at MAA we are very proud of Charlotte’s accomplishment and we wish her unlimited growth as an artist and a 1st Place’s in upcoming year’s!!!!!!!
What people are saying:
Tammie T Thompson recommends Middletown Art Academy.
This summer is going to be the third time my daughter will be attending The Middletown Art Academy. She has learned so much about herself and her craft through the gentleness of her teachers expertise. As a parent, I cannot express how much it means for my child to be & feel comfortable in a space that allows her to develop her skill set and learn many different styles of art.
Thank you.
Our daughter has had a wonderful experience with Ms. Rusa! We are astonished at the progress she has made in just a few short months. The Middletown Art Academy’s beautiful, light-filled space on Middletown’s picturesque Main St is a perfect place for kids of a variety of ages to work with a skilled artist and teacher. The impressive work of her students on display in the gallery-like space offers testament to the results students can achieve working with Ms. Rusa. Plentiful parking is available behind the building and on the street. Middletown Art Academy is yet another hidden gem in Middletown!
My son, 11 years old, hates to leave the house (video games) but always looks forward to Art class at Middletown Art Academy. He is learning alot and feels good about himself. Thank you Rusa and Joe!
My 10-year-old daughter attended Middletown Art Academy for a 3-week summer camp session in 2017 and will attend in 2018 for another session. We especially liked the fact that the group was small; the students get to know each other and also get one-on-one time with Mrs. Rusa, who is extremely talented in encouraging students’ abilities. My daughter especially liked working with different media, learning new techniques and taking short trips to paint en plein air, see an art exhibit or have frozen yogurt. The session had a lot of variety so my daughter was never bored; at the end of the session, she was proud of how much she had learned and improved. Mrs. Rusa really helped her to develop and have confidence in her “style” and abilities.
For the duration of my time teaching oil and drawing at Middletown Art Academy, I had a fantastic time, and I will miss it dearly. <3 I have instructed at several other studios- but among them, I found MAA to be one of the most organized, happy, and beautiful places to teach in. Students who come to MAA can’t wait to come to class for the fun, and the development of their skills. Students are dedicated and talented, and encouraging to their fellows, and the staff and faculty are amazing people to work with. These images are oil paintings by students ages 9-13. These were their first paintings; any one willing to learn can become skilled artists at MAA!
Coren Liang
a week ago–
Students are learning different styles and mediums as well as encouraged to focus and develop their social self at The Middletown Art Academy. Headmistress Rusa introduces them to each medium with an open assignment allowing for individual creativity through personal expression. She explains in words, physically demonstrates, and exemplifies on paper how to use a particular technique or techniques; vocabulary is taught, questions answered and participation is expected and encouraged once a child is comfortable. The pride expressed by the children is a direct reflection of not only the child but of the teaching methods and confidence instilled and/or nourished within her studio. The aura within the class is of definitive respect of each other and adults while at the same time thoroughly enjoying their personal expressiveness. I was/am very impressed by Ms Rusa’s interaction with the children, she sets a standard of excellence both in their artwork (which is amazing) and also in their interactions with one another and herself as their teacher. This kind of professional and serious introduction of our five year old last year to different types of drawing/painting mediums and such positive social teachings brought us right back to her studio to sign up again this year, and our daughter is thrilled.
My daughter took two semesters with the Art Academy. I have done one social art night with her. I highly recommend Rusa’s classes. My daughter developed as an artist, learned foundation skills needed to advance at a pace that kept her interested. She could see her own progress and was excited to experiment with various media. Rusa expects students to apply themselves and is a serious teacher. This is not a babysitting class. It also enhanced the work my daughter was doing in her school art classes. Using your “art brain” helps you develop your “math and science brain”. The Middletown Art Academy is a great place to develop your art brain!
My 10 year old daughter took a semester of fine art classes at the Middletown Art Academy in early 2014. Headmistress Rusa is truly a professional, skilled educator of fine art who understands how to nurture and bring out the best in children while making it fun. She has appropriately high expectations which allowed my daughter to be challenged without becoming frustrated. I would recommend her to any parent that would like to foster an appreciation of art in their child while bringing out their children’s own unique abilities.
My 6-year-old daughter just finished her first semester at Middletown Art Academy and we couldn’t be happier with the instruction. This is a place where children and adults can truly nurture their talent under the skilled guidance of Miss Rusa. We’ve participated in other art programs, but we were always underwhelmed by the amateur nature of the projects (basic drawing with crayons, childlike arts and crafts). My daughter has–in a short time–developed essential skills at the Academy. I have been amazed to see the work she has produced with Miss Rusa. I feel my daughter has been encouraged to push her own creative limits and she has gained confidence during the process. I highly recommend the Academy for those serious about honing their artistic talent.
MY family has had a great experience. Rusa is a thoughtful teacher and has pushed my young daughter to create works that seemed to me far beyond her ability. But they weren’t! If you’re looking for a serious class, this is for you. If you just want a fun crafty creative class, maybe no. Rusa has a structured environment and runs a well controlled class. My daughter has really enjoyed it and I’ve been impressed with the results.