ISA, University of the Arts
CREATION
The University of the Arts was created as the Higher Institute of Arts (ISA, according to its acronyms in Spanish) on July 29th, 1976. With the inauguration of this institution, the education for arts in Cuba was opened.
The ISA emerges as the third level of teaching in a scheme that had started many years before (in 1962) with the creation of the National Art School (ENA, according to its acronyms in Spanish).
The ENA was the necessary origin, the foundation that made the conception of a system for the teaching of arts possible; one that was expanded throughout the country, first in two levels of formation, and, from 1976 on, with the university level developed in ISA added to it.
The place chosen for the development of this project was the once excusive Havana´s Country Club, located in the luxurious neighborhood of Cubanacán. In the middle of one of the most famous golf courses of the Cuban neocolonial period, the buildings were constructed. They were projected by prestigious architects (Ricardo Porro, Cuba; Roberto Gotardi, and Vittorio Garatti, Italy), who designed five works considered to be the most outstanding architectural complex of the revolutionary period, and which have been included among the 100 constructions to be protected worldwide. Since their opening, a lot has been published and spread about them, and so they result to be the favorite destination for architects and artists visiting the country.
MISION
To develop an integral university formation, and a continuous superseding in the spheres of artistic creation and cultural management; always starting from the exercise of excellence pedagogy, and from the links with a previous system of artistic education. This has to be in correspondence with contemporary production and practices, as well as with the social demand, from a humanist and revolutionary conception of arts and culture.
STRUCTURE
The University of the Arts has five Schools in its main seat in Havana, two Educational Units located in the cities of Camagüey (Music and Ballet) and Holguín (Art of Communication Media and Singing), and one in Santiago de Cuba. Under the academic roof, five majors are developed, which have more than 35 profiles.
In Havana, there are five Schools, where different majors are studied, and they include multiple specialties.
VISION
To make an impact on the cultural and human development of Cuban society by means of the formation of artists with the highest academic preparation, and the biggest social compromise.
MUSIC SCHOOL
22 specialties
They include: Wind Instruments, String Instruments, Percussion and Piano, Musicology, Composition, Orchestra and Choir Direction, Sound Musical Direction, and Singing.
SCHOOL OF ART OF THE COMMUNICATION MEDIA
Direction
Production
Edition
Sound
Photography
VISUAL ARTS SCHOOL
Sculpture
Painting
Engraving
Conservation and Restoration of immovable assets
DANCE SCHOOL
Folk dancing
Contemporary dance
Ballet
THEATER SCHOOL
Acting
Play writing
Theater theory and critique
Stage design
SENATE
Since its founding, the University has had in its Senate important artists and professors, all of them representatives of the most advanced creative tendencies and lines of thought.
ISA has currently more than 500 professors, most of them artists still in the exercise of the profession, which provides their pedagogical action with great vitality and updating. Furthermore, many professors from the University of the Arts have been awarded with national and international awards, and some of the most important Cuban artists give us prestige with their teaching.
Despite being young, our center constitutes a singular institution in Latin America, for there is no other university where so many manifestations of art come together, or where young students can exchange experiences with the best artists of their generation, the future artistic vanguard of the country.
ISA has received numerous recognitions, two of which are the Medal Alejo Carpentier, in 1996, because of the notable cultural action developed by the University; and the Imperial Award given by the Japanese Association of Arts in 1999, being this last an acknowledgement for the excellent work carried out in the formation of so many generations of artists.
FOREIGN STUDENTS
ISA is part of the Artistic Education System created in Cuba in 1962. This system is structured in three levels: elementary, intermediate, and higher. The students pass through each of them by means of a selective process.
The curriculums at ISA in the majors in Visual Arts, Music, and Dance are elaborated for students who have already finished the intermediate level.
In the cases of Theater and Art of the Communication Media, no previous art studies are required. However, to opt for any of these majors, due to the characteristics of the art studies for which it is indispensable to have specific skills and aptitudes, there is also an entry exam.
The entry exams for foreign students have the same content of those for national students.
Many foreign students have graduated from our University, mainly students from Latin America, who come to the institution encouraged by the excellence of its professors, the high level of its graduates, and the prestige of Cuban art and culture.
University Extension
Our students and professors create and participate in artistic projects that are exhibited and/or performed in the main cultural spaces of the city, and so are protagonists of the cultural and artistic life of the country. The University keeps a constant exchange with society through its community projects.
POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
In ISA, the following services of postgraduate education and research are offered: PhDs, Master´s Programs, Diplomas, Courses and Trainings, Workshops, Seminars, Specialized Conferences, Scientific Events, Group Research Works, Scientific Conferences about Arts and Culture (biennial character), Teaching and Scientific Consultancies, Curricular Designs of Postgraduate Courses, and Academic Exchanges of Professors and Students.
Hola.
Tengo la siguiente consulta.Me gustaria Saber si la Universidad ofrece programas de pregrados en musica para estudiantes internacionales y cuales son los requisitos o si me podrian referir a alguna institucion que la tenga?
Mil gracias.