Ann Getty Institute of Art and Design

The Ann Getty Institute of Art and Design is an interdisciplinary center of experiential learning and innovation in the arts. It champions visual and performing artists, designers and architects, writers and filmmakers, and arts and museum scholars, as they hone their craft.

Bringing together the power of the arts and a Jesuit, liberal arts education, the institute expands and links USF's arts programs, spaces, and scholarships. Its goal is to nurture a community of artists across disciplines to create projects that support communities, transform lives, and inspire action for the common good.

The institute honors the legacy of renowned art collector Ann Getty, and is funded by her husband, San Francisco philanthropist Gordon Getty.

Give to the Institute

Our Programs

USF arts curriculum expands beyond the theoretical and the classroom. Students participate in the rich creative culture of the San Francisco Bay Area and share their voices through exhibitions, internships, and performances.

Architecture, BA

Architecture, community design, urban design, city planning, landscape design — come study and practice design that makes a difference in underserved communities both locally and internationally.

Architecture

Shabnam Shermatova looking at a piece of art

Art History & Museum Studies, BA

Blend history and theory with practical experience. Learn visual literacy, critical thinking, and research skills that enable you to thrive in the art world.

Art History & Museum Studies

Student works at a computer in a computer lab.

Design, BA

Come join a community of designers. Study with experts in state-of-the-art classrooms. Use graphic design, digital media design, information design, and environmental design to create messages, interfaces, and public spaces. Use your design to make a difference.

Design

English in Writing, Minor

Learn how to write for fluid communication. Analyze prose from the inside out. English in Writing minor courses cover style, structure, usage, and revision in traditional classroom and workshop settings.

English in Writing

Film students inspect a strip of film at a light table.

Film Studies, Minor

Find your voice while constructing unique, engaging stories. Produce films that give voice to your generation.

Film Studies

Fine Arts, BA

Challenge your imagination and define your point-of-view with techniques and tools to last a lifetime. Our curriculum is designed to spark progressive thinking, promote social justice and cultural diversity, and celebrate the processes of art making.

Fine Arts

Media Studies, BA

Come tell stories using audio, video, and the written word. Learn how to analyze and critique media. Explore social, political, and cultural issues of our time. Give voice to the underserved. Create content that matters.

Media Studies

Performing Arts & Social Justice, BA

Promote positive change. Choreography, theater, music measures — whatever you choose to focus on in PASJ, you’ll approach complex issues and strengthen your communities via performance.

Performing Arts & Social Justice

Museum Studies, MA

Be prepared for leadership positions in artistic, cultural, and heritage organizations that operate in a constantly changing social dynamic.

Museum Studies

Light streaks illuminate a San Francisco street at night.

Writing, MFA

Take advantage of San Francisco's vibrant, eclectic literary scene. Hone your creative techniques and vision, and thrive in the larger community of writers.

Writing

Our Arts Spaces

The Ann Getty Institute of Art and Design will include the Performing Arts/USF Stages and Presentation Theater, XARTS visual arts and design studios and Thacher Gallery, the Media Lab and Audio Recording Studio, along with new spaces that bring together the arts disciplines at USF for cross-pollination and collaboration.

The Ann Getty Endowed Chair

Professor Paula Birnbaum, PhD is the inaugural Ann Getty Endowed Chair, and will lead the institute's formative and research efforts. Professor Birnbaum, a scholar in art history and museum studies, has been teaching at USF and collaborating with Bay Area museums and art institutions for over 20 years. As the founding academic director of the Museum Studies program, she is dedicated to elevating USF’s creative work across the arts, recruiting outstanding faculty in cutting-edge research and artistic work, and creating programming initiatives.

Please stay tuned for information on future opportunities for Distinguished Visiting Artists and Scholars.

Paula Birnbaum

Professor & Ann Getty Endowed Chair

Mrs. Getty's extraordinary eye for collecting and curation is something we will celebrate in USF’s new Ann Getty Institute of Art & Design, and I’m very honored to play a role in shaping this new Bay Area center for the arts.”

Paula Birnbaum

Professor & Ann Getty Endowed Chair

Learn About Prof. Birnbaum

Our Students in the Arts

Student wearing gloves handling artifacts.

Person demonstrating a printing technique

Nell Herbert (MA, '16) placing Native California baskets for the exhibition "Interwoven: Native California Baskery Arts from the Missions Forward."

Students from the Museum Studies Curatorial Practicum course install Kristiana Chan’s prints for the exhibition "Elemental Exposures: Revisions of the American Landscape."

PASJ’s Dance Generators (a multigenerational dance group) respond to the exhibition "POROUS: New Works by Jonathan Anazalone" on the Kalmanovitz Hall Sculpture Terrace.

Fine arts professor Arturo Aurajo demonstrates printing techniques on the Albion press as part of the exhibition "Reformations: Dürer & the New Age of Print."

Drew Mortenson (Design, ’17) holding up his work featured in an installation of copy and glitch art.

(L-R) Ava Klubberud, Wyatt Fields, and Cencere Baker on location in our 16mm Film Production class in our Film Studies program.

Performing Arts students in the Rock Band Music Ensemble perform in USF's Presentation Theater (photographed by Katherine P. James).

USF Architecture students Jonathan Chinchilla, Julie Ehrlich, and Tony Abuyaghi building a performance stage for children at Koshland Park in San Francisco.