The Faculty of Media Art and Stage Design conducting first- and second-cycle studies in the unique major of Media Art and in the major of Stage Design (until 2013) was established by the Senate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw on 3 March 2009.
Media art-related curricular activities have been present at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw for quite a while. Already in the 1970s studios of professors Hansen, Jarnuszkiewicz or Winiarski have operated. The new Faculty was fed by teachers from the Faculty of Graphic Arts and eminent professors from the Faculties of Sculpture and Painting of the Academy. Since the very beginning the Studio of Audiovisual Space has been led by professor Grzegorz Kowalski, and the Studio of Painting Space – by professor Leon Tarasewicz. Since then, collaboration was offered by such prominent artists and educators as Mirosław Bałka, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Andrzej Jaroszewicz, Wojciech Prażmowski, Witold Krassowski, Janusz Kapusta, Andrzej Dudziński, Anda Rottenberg, Milada Ślizińska, and many others. Since the very beginning professor Janusz Fogler has been the Rector’s Delegate for organisation of the new faculty.
The Faculty of Media Art is characterised by its unique profile. Our goal is to educate artists and professionals in the field of dissemination of the new media culture, who after graduation would – in addition to purely artistic activities – take up creative and independent work on production of films, television shows, theatrical productions; in advertising and the media. The faculty trains comprehensively qualified professionals in visual communication, able to undertake oftentimes difficult artistic decisions related to form and content of projects they are involved in. In the curriculum a strong emphasis is put not only on courses related to technical side of the profession, but also on broadening general knowledge in humanities – art, culture, philosophy and contemporary information society.
One can graduate from the Faculty of Media Art with a diploma in audiovisual space and painting space, as well as multimedia, activities in space, art of the public domain, inter-media, film production, directing, production, animation and photography.
In the studio of general visual arts students learn, in addition to classes in drawing, painting, sculpture or visual structures, computer techniques, work in film, photography and television studios, and sound and editing studios.