The Fine Arts Center(FAC), established in 1974 as the first specialized arts school in SC, serves as a model for arts education. Students from all over Greenville County audition to attend, and selection is based on artistic talent, potential, and students’ demonstrated desire and drive to pursue their goals in the arts. Our mission is to prepare dedicated students for 21st-century careers through rigorous, pre-professional arts training in a dynamic, inclusive, collaborative learning community. Programs include courses of study in Architecture; Creative Writing; Dance; Digital Filmmaking; Instrumental Music (Winds, Percussion); Jazz Studies; Recording Arts; Strings Chamber Music; Voice; Music Theory and History; Design and Production/Technical Theatre; Theatre Performance; Visual Arts (Design, Fiber Arts, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, Clay, Metals). Advanced Placement Courses are offered in Visual Arts, Music Theory and Art History. Students who attend FAC join a learning community focused on the daily pursuit of excellence. Faculty are practicing professional artists, passing on not only their expertise as teachers, but real life lessons from their ongoing experience in the field. Students grow in their own confidence and mastery of their art form through individualized curriculum which emphasizes hands-on learning and mentorship. Through specialized Honors and AP level pre-professional training, students develop the skills necessary to take them to the next level of education, while learning about the diversity of vocational opportunities in their discipline, and current trends in professional practice.
As an arts-centered program, the Fine Arts Center introduces students to the possibilities of a life in the arts, and gives them the tools to pursue it. Regardless of what field of study students pursue after graduation, they leave with skills and traits that will nurture success in any career path – critical thinking, passion and purpose, collaboration, determination, grit, creativity, empathy, connectivity, leadership, and confidence.