Historic Synagogue Now Hosts Elite Art Programs Through Partnership with Oberlin College
In an exciting development, Oberlin College is set to bring its BA+BFA in Integrated Arts dual degree program to the heart of Cleveland's arts community. The program, scheduled to launch in fall 2025, will allow students to earn both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Integrated Arts over a five-year period.
During their first four years, students will study on Oberlin's campus, benefiting from a broad liberal arts education. However, the fifth year promises a unique immersive experience, as students will engage with their cohort in Cleveland's professional arts community. This shift could see students involved in local arts projects, such as those in Cleveland Heights, a suburb of Cleveland.
The program is part of a partnership between Oberlin College and the greater Cleveland community. The partnership aims to honour one of Cleveland's historic Jewish synagogues while allowing Oberlin students to interact with the region's cultural institutions.
The venue for this collaboration is Park Arts, an intergenerational center for artistic creation and humanities education. Developed by Sustainable Community Associates (SCA) and the nonprofit Friends of Mendelsohn, Park Arts honours architect Erich Mendelsohn's legacy. The project, a milestone in one of the most ambitious and historically significant reclamation projects within the nation's Jewish community, involves a restoration and repurposing effort to transform the Park Synagogue into a center for creative arts and humanities.
At Park Arts, students will have 24-hour access to private studios, rehearsal spaces, theaters, and production facilities. They will also participate in internships, commissioned works, and public programming as part of their collaboration with Cleveland's arts organizations. The students' culminating project at Park Arts will be a public-facing performance, exhibition, or installation, determined in collaboration with their Oberlin faculty mentors.
While specific details about the program's role in the Park Arts project in Cleveland Heights are not yet clear, it is evident that the program will provide hands-on opportunities for students in Northeast Ohio's vibrant arts scene. For more detailed information about the program's involvement with the Park Arts project, you might consider reaching out directly to Oberlin College or the organizations running the Park Arts project in Cleveland Heights.
The first BA+BFA students at Park Arts are scheduled to arrive in June 2027, marking a significant moment in the fusion of academics, arts, and community in Cleveland.
- The fifth year of the BA+BFA program at Oberlin College, set to take place at Park Arts, will offer students an opportunity for hands-on experience in education-and-self-development, engaging with local arts projects and internships within Cleveland's vibrant arts community.
- Upon graduation, students of the BA+BFA program, which will be based at Park Arts, will showcase their culminating project, a public-facing performance, exhibition, or installation, as a testament to their lifestyle transformation and the integration of both education-and-self-development.
